Items

• "The Soul Inside The Sentence" - Reading Version

  First 10 pages of a reading version of Gass's essay, originally published in Salmagundi 56 (Spring 1982) and collected for Habitations of the Word. Photocopy of a typescript draft, with autograph corrections and notes.
• Correspondence with David Segal, June 26, 1965

  Photocopy of a typescript letter from Gass to his editor, David Segal, going into the structure, themes and significance of Omensetter's Luck, as well as great works of literature in general.
• "At Horseshoes"

  First five pages of a fifteen-page typescript draft of "At Horseshoes," with autograph note by Gass explaining its origin and his intention to include it in Omensetter's Luck. He filed another draft of the same story, plus typescript fragments and notes in the same folder.
• Omensetter's Luck - Early Drafts

  Two early typescript drafts of the beginning of Omensetter's Luck, with some autograph corrections by the author.
• Omensetter's Luck - Detailed Outline

  Early narrative outline of Omensetter's Luck plot points and chapters.
• The Tunnel - Layout and Design Instructions

  Two letters and one document outlining Gass's layout and design intructions for The Tunnel, some of which were rejected by the publisher.
• "Each '...Is A Rose...' Is Different"

  First five pages (including cover page) of a college essay by Gass about the refrain in poetry, with comments and grade by Professor Daiches. Entire essay is 15 pages.
• "Wisconsin Death Trip"

  Typescript draft fragments and autograph notes for Gass's review of Wisconsin Death Trip by Michael Lesy, published in June 24, 1973 issue of The New York Review of Books, and collected in The World Within the Word.
• "The Doomed in Their Sinking" - Typescript Draft

  First five pages of a typescript draft of an essay written by Gass reviewing two books: The Savage God by A. Alvarez and Suicide by Jacques Choron, published in the May 18, 1972 issue of The New York Review of Books, and collected in The World Within the Word.
• 9/11 Topical Captions

  Four captions written by Gass about the terrorism attacks of September 11, 2001, sent to photographer and friend, Michael Eastman, to accompany his Polaroid photographs of the event, for exhibit at the Missouri Historical Society in September 2002. Includes an email from Mary Gass to Michael Eastman.
• The Equivocation of the Fiend

  First five pages college essay by Gass on the techniques of Shakespeare. The entire essay is fourteen pages with corrections plus three pages of another version.
• The Tunnel Sample Paperback Edition Covers

  Three proposed cover images for the paperback edition of The Tunnel. The first image is the one used for the book.
• The Tunnel Master Proof

  A portion of the master proof of The Tunnel: includes cover letter, memo, routing slips, dust jacket, acknowledgement, artwork and title pages and the first three chapters of the novel. Includes light proof corrections.