Mary Calhoun Papers

Collection

Identifier: CLRC-707

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Mary Calhoun's papers focus on her work as an author of children's books. The collection includes manuscript materials for numerous titles and includes typescripts, proofs, notes, clippings, illustrations, and correspondence. Included are materials for her first Katie John book (1960) plus numerous others.

Dates

Creation: 1957 - 2001

Creator

Calhoun, Mary (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Open for use in the Elmer L. Andersen Library reading room.

Conditions Governing Use

This collection may be protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code). It is the user's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and to obtain all necessary permissions prior to the reproduction, publication, or other use of any portion of these materials. Researchers may quote from the collection under the fair use provision of the copyright law.

Biographical / Historical

Mary Huiskamp Calhoun was born in Keokuk, Iowa in 1926. After graduating from the State University of Iowa in 1948 she worked as a newspaper reporter in Omaha, Nebraska and Gresham, Oregon.

Her first children's book, Making the Mississippi Shout, was published in 1957 and reflected her lifelong love of the river near which she was raised. She is known for her Katie John books that developed from childhood memories of her great-grandfather's big brick house on a bluff above the Mississippi River.

Biographical source: "Mary (Huiskamp) Calhoun (1926-)." Something About the Author. Vol. 2. Detroit, MI: Gale, 1971.