Emily Wilson Collection on A. R. Ammons
Emily Wilson is an author and poet that predominantly worked in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She retained a strong friendship with poet A.R. Ammons that lasted for 30 years until Ammons' death in 2001. This collection includes Wilson's correspondence, Ammons' written work, newspaper clippings, publications, research materials, book drafts, and photographs of Ammons' personal life and artwork.
Biographical and Historical Note
Emily Herring Wilson was born on June 11, 1939 in West Point, Georgia. She graduated from Woman's College in Greensboro, now the University of NC at Greensboro, in 1961 with a degree in English. After graduation, Wilson pursued an English master's degree at Wake Forest University. Wilson tauht at North Carolina's Poetry in the Schools program, UNC-G, and Salem College, as well as Cornell University at the invitation of friend A. R. Ammons. She wrote for the Winston-Salem Journal and co-founded and ran The Jackpine Press with Betty Leighton. Throughout her career, she wrote many books including, Hope and Dignity: Older Black Women of the South, For the People of North Carolina: The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation at Half-Century and North Carolina Women: Making History. She released a memoir about her 30-year friendship with A. R. Ammons, When I Go Back to My Home Country: A Remembrance of Archie Ammons in 2019. Wilson began teaching in the Wake Forest English department and in 1964, she married then-dean of the College, Edwin G. Wilson and together they had 3 children (Eddie, Sally, and Julie).
Collection Overview
This collection documents the personal life and professional work materials of A. R. Ammons as collected by his friend and fellow poet Emily Herring Wilson. Materials in this collection include a variety of Ammons' written work, personal photographs of Ammons, Ammons' artwork photographs, book drafts by Ammons or about him, Wilson's correspondence, newspaper clippings, research materials and publications. Correspondence of Emily's husband, Dean of the College and Provost Edwin G. Wilson also appears in the collection. All mentions of Wilson refer to Emily Herring Wilson unless specified.
Collection Arrangement
This collection is arranged into two series, Series 1. Ammons materials, and Series 2. Subject files. Series 1. Ammons materials contains materials directly by or about A. R. Ammons. Series 2. Subject files also contains Ammons-related materials, but these relate to the work Wilson did regarding Ammons, including research for books, events that she contributed to, and Ammons' watercolor artworks information and correspondence. Other subjects are also part of Series 2.
Administrative Information
- Publication Information
- Processed by Jenna McAllister and Stephanie Bennett, 2022
- Access Restrictions
- Collection is open for researchers.
- Copyright Notice
- The nature of the WFU Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The Archives and Special Collections of ZSR Library claims only physical ownership of most materials. The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to the U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.
- Preferred Citation
- Emily Wilson Collection on A. R. Ammons (MS896), Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.