Frances Whyatt papers

The Frances Whyatt papers contain materials produced and saved by Frances Whyatt during 1969-2000. The papers document Whyatt’s creative writing practice through drafts, manuscripts, and correspondence, as well as personal and professional networks and involvement with activist and professional organizations. The collection is organized in three series, Series 1 contains Whyatt’s correspondence, Series 2 includes manuscripts and written works, and Series 3 contains ephemera and writing that does not directly pertain to Whyatt’s oeuvre (such as journal entries, miscellaneous research materials, and recipes).

Series 1 includes thirteen boxes of Frances Whyatt’s personal, professional, and administrative correspondence spanning the years 1969-2000, and some undated materials. In addition to letters and attached documents, several folders also contain assorted greeting cards, newspaper clippings, photographs, and a pin. The personal letters within the collection, both incoming and outgoing, reveal the nature of Whyatt’s relationships with family, friends, colleagues, and romantic partners. Correspondence with writer friends, such as Hugh Seidman, Diane Wolff, and Rochelle Ratner, is present in each box and often includes poetry and drafts by these authors and Whyatt herself, providing insight into Whyatt’s approach to writing. Also notable among personal correspondence are the exchanges between Frances Whyatt and her family members, such as brothers Oliver Grannis and Joseph Grannis, which span throughout the entire series. The professional correspondence with publishing houses, universities, and writer’s organizations reveals information about Whyatt's experience as a freelance author and poet in late-20th century New York. There is an abundance of rejection letters present within Whyatt’s papers, but also evidence of many successful publications and reviews, flyers to Downtown poetry readings she participated in, and communication regarding writer’s grants, awards and fellowships. Whyatt’s professional undertakings which are well documented in the series include the Poetry in the Schools program (approximately 1974-79), Macdowell Colony Fellowship (approximately 1974-1980), and consistent involvement with PEN and other writer’s associations. Alongside professional engagements, the correspondence series documents Whyatt’s work with feminist organizations such as Women Against Pornography, Women's Anti-rape Coalition, and National Organization for Non-Parents. The series’ administrative correspondence documents Whyatt’s residences in Florida and New York, a court case, and her divorce from Ron Schiavone.

The Manuscript series contains fifteen boxes of drafts of written works by Frances Whyatt produced from 1973 to 1993. Whyatt’s writing included poetry, prose in the form of short stories, novels and experimental plays. The series includes unpublished and published titles written under the names Frances Whyatt as well as Whyatt’s pseudonym, Shylah Boyd. Titles included are: There was a Time, Everything Under the Sun, “Key Lime Pie”, “Of The Flesh”, Lost Love, American Gypsy, “Electra”, The Book of Maps, American Made, Europe on Five, A Real Man, and Sailor, Sailor!. Some manuscripts and drafts are near completion, in the form of bound galleys or including copyright and title page information, while others include handwritten edits or notes and can be found in the form of loose chapters. The series also includes compilations of poems, some of which were never published, and some of which were published in independent anthologies, collections and literary magazines. Many of Whyatt’s poetic works share titles across compilations, and reference her continuous reworking of themes and ideas. Whyatt’s writing includes characters that frequently reappear throughout her oeuvre of work. Although her work is not directly autobiographical, Whyatt is known to use her own life experience as inspiration for her writing. The name Shylah is used for several protagonists in her novels and short stories, including Everything Under the Sun and the published work, American Made. Plotlines, motifs and locales are similarly repeated across drafts and published works. Whyatt primarily published novels under the name Shylah Boyd, beginning in 1975, whereas her poetry was primarily published under the name Frances Whyatt. Of her poetic works, only the collection American Gypsy has been published in full, although drafts of individual poems can be seen throughout the series in various stages of edit.

Series 3, Additional Materials, contains a book of writings, ephemera, and realia from 1972 to 2000. These are materials which the archivists did not identify as directly connected to Frances Whyatt’s creative writing practice or correspondence, but nevertheless hold evidentiary value about the author’s activities. This includes event flyers, journal entries, research materials, correspondence about animal rights activism, recipes, and a fashion project in collaboration with Mary Grosvenor Boyd, Whyatt’s mother. Other significant materials include correspondence about Robert Hazel, Hazel’s poetry, and a memorial article on Robert Hazel titled "Knowing Bob" written by Frances Whyatt.