Thomas D. Howells papers, 1934-1991

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Howells, Thomas D.
Title
Thomas D. Howells papers
Dates
1934-1991 (inclusive)
Quantity
3.8 linear feet, (5 boxes)
Collection Number
WCMss.052
Summary
Thomas D. Howells was a Whitman College professor from 1938 to 1987. This collection includes his literary manuscripts, published materials, lectures, tributes from his former students and colleagues, and administrative records.
Repository
Whitman College and Northwest Archives
Whitman College and Northwest Archives
Penrose Library, Room 130
345 Boyer Avenue
Walla Walla, WA
99362
Telephone: 5095275922
Fax: 5095264785
archives@whitman.edu
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Languages
English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Thomas D. Howells was born July 21, 1912 in DuQuoin, Illinois. He received Bachelor's and Master's of Arts degrees from the University of Chicago. He also attended the University of Southern Illinois and the University of Michigan.

He joined the Whitman College faculty in 1938, and was promoted to the rank of full professor in 1957. He retired in 1978 but resumed teaching as an adjunct professor from 1981 to 1987. He served as Director of Curriculum from 1954-1965, Chairman of the English department from 1966-1974 and Chairman of the Faculty from 1974-1976.

In 1984, Professor Howells was presented an honorary Doctor of Letters degree at commencement. He was honored then as a "distinguished teacher, caring colleague, institutional as well as literary critic and writer."

Professor Howells was one of five founders of the Walla Walla Little Theatre and was Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Walla Walla Public Library.

His poetry, articles and book reviews were regularly published in literary magazines. He also co-authored a history of the Walla Walla Symphony, Bringing the World's Best Music. A collection of lectures, Gods and Heroes, was published by Northern Kentucky University following his appearance there in 1981. Howells died in January 1991.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The papers of Thomas D. Howells include Howells' unpublished literary manuscripts, typed manuscripts of lectures, a video of his lectures at Northern Kentucky University, audio tapes of lectures, theater reviews, his files from his tenure as Chairman of the Faculty, newspaper clippings, and students' recollections of him gathered as a tribute to him upon his retirement.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

By series.

Acquisition Information

Donated to the Whitman College and Northwest Archives by Ada B. Howells in April 1992. The accession number is retro-0046.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

1:  Chairman of the Faculty records, 1971-1977Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 13
Applications for department of art
1971-1972
1 20
College budget
1974
1 9
Faculty requests for financial assistance
1974-1975
1 10
Academic Council
1974-1975
1 19
Faculty minutes
1974-1975
1 2
President's Council
1975-1976
1 4
Committee of divisional chairman
1975-1976
1 5
General material while chairman of the faculty
1975-1976
1 6
General material while chairman of the faculty
1975-1976
1 8
General material while chairman of the faculty
1975-1976
1 7
Faculty meetings
1975-1976
1 27
Letters regarding scholastic scholarship
Undated
1 12
Letters regarding scholastic probation
1976
1 3
Budgets
1976-1977
1 29
Committee on aid to faculty scholarship
1974
1 1
Material concerning Martin Kopf
Undated
1 11
Letters regarding proposed change of grading system
Undated
1 14
Material regarding tenure of Geoffrey Brown
Undated
1 15
Letters regarding evaluations of faculty
Undated
1 16
Material from Whitman Indian Hills Conference
Undated
1 17
Letters regarding Ronald D. Cohen
Undated
1 18
Academic council material
Undated
1 21
Letters regarding scholastic probation
Undated
1 22
General material while chairman of the faculty
Undated
1 23
Letters regarding scholastic probation
Undated
1 24
Letters regarding scholastic probation
Undated
1 25
Review committee
Undated
1 26
General material while Chairman of the Faculty
Undated
1 28
Academic council
1975-76
1 30
Budget requests
1976-77

2:  Director of Curriculum records, 1954-1976Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
2 7
Reports while Director or Curriculum
1954-1965
2 14
Danforth proposals
1960-1961
2 1
Material concerning Dean of Faculty
1966
2 4
Committee inquiry
1966
2 6
Report of the committee to study innovation
January 1973
2 8
Material while Chairman of the Faculty
1974-1976
2 2
Memorials and tributes by Howells
Undated
2 3
Material regarding the Whitman College Pioneer
Undated
2 5
Material regarding Donald L. Lehmann
Undated
2 9
Material while director of curriculum view
Undated
2 10
Material while director of curriculum view
Undated
2 11
Material while director of curriculum view
Undated
2 12
Material while director of curriculum view
Undated
2 13
Material while director of curriculum view
Undated
2 15
Statements made on various occasions
Undated
2 16
Statements made on various occasions
Undated
2 17
Notes for statements made on various occasions
Undated
2 18
Notes for statements made on various occasions
Undated

3:  Lectures, Publications, Reviews, 1934-1985Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
3 22
"Contested Vigil" in Story
1934
3 20
"Sonnets": The John Billings Fiske Prize Poem
1936
3 23
"Status", "The Equal Passion", and "Vigil" in Poetry
August 1939
3 24
"Poetry and the Ecclesiastical Criticism" in Poetry
November 1939
3 25
"Plan" in Poetry
March 1940
3 26
Review of "Campion, Musical Poet" in Poetry
April 1940
3 27
Review "Where To, Where Now?" in Poetry
September 1940
3 28
Review "A Wide Range" in Poetry
May 1941
3 29
"Yvor Winters, Anatomist of Nonsense" in Poetry
November 1943
3 30
"Value in Poetry" in Interim, vol. 1, no.1
Summer 1944
3 33
"Darkness with Rain" in The University of Kansas City Review
Autumn 1944
3 21
"Excursion" and "A Way of Dying" in Crescendo, vol.3
Autumn 1944
3 34
"Denial of Sunsets" in The University of Kansas City Review
Spring 1945
3 31
"Walking at Night", "Entreaty at a Point in Time", and "Question of Some Hour""Walking at Night", "Entreaty at a Point in Time", and "Question of Some Hour" in Interim, vol.1, no.4
1945
3 35
"Seasonal" in Experiment
Winter 1945-1946
3 36
"Experiment, Revolution, and Tradition" in The New Mexico Quarterly Review
Winter 1946
3 32
"Toward Pluralism" in Interim, vol. 3, no.4
1949-1950
3 13
Letters, memos, AAUP Bulletin, and Revised Constitution and By-laws of Whitman College, regarding the battle over tenure
1950-1953
3 14
Material regarding AAUP
1950-1977
4 11
"Kaloics" in Dark Horse, number 13
Fall 1977
3 5
Lectures on G.B. Shaw
1979
3 19
Bringing the World's Best Music: A Short History of the Walla Walla Symphony Society and the Walla Walla Symphony Orchestra From 1907 to 1982
1981
3 6
Lectures delivered at Northern Kentucky University (including video disc)
October 1981
3 7
Lecture, "Greek Realities in the Age of Pericles"
1982
3 9
Lecture, "Notes on Finnegans Wake"
1982
3 10
Lectures, "King Lear" and "Illusion and Reality in Macbeth"
1982
3 8
Aeschylus's "The Persians", translated by Howells
1983
3 4
Senior alumni college lectures
1985
3 3
Senior alumni college lectures
Undated
3 1
Lectures
Undated
3 2
Lectures
Undated
3 11
Material regarding the Little Theater
Undated
3 12
Material regarding AAUP
Undated
3 15
Comments on various individuals, including literary figures
Undated
3 16
Reviews of Harper Joy Theater and various publications
Undated
3 17
Reviews of Harper Joy Theater
Undated
3 18
Verses
Undated

4:  Unpublished literary manuscripts, 1965-1987Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
2 21
" The Return"
1965
2 24
Verses
1975-1977
2 20
" The Last Judgement"
1968
2 22
Verses
1975
2 23
Verses
1976-1977
2 25
Verses
1978-1979
2 26
Verses
1980-1982
2 27
Verses
1982
2 28
Verses
1984
2 29
Poems
1984-1985
2 30
Poems
1986-1987
2 31
Poems and verses, undated
2 19
" The King and the Wonderful Melody"
Undated
2 32
Notebook
Undated
4 1
" Search for a Sister"
Undated
4 2
" Another Thing To Do" , part 1 and 2
Undated
4 3
" Another Thing To Do" , part 3 and 4
Undated

5:  Speech manuscripts, newspaper clippings, correspondence, 1976-1984Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
4 6
"An Imitation of Time": Convocation of Whitman College
September 5, 1976
4 7
"The Third Generation: A Study in Vital Metaphor and Vital Thought"
October 7, 1976
4 8
"The Quality of Wonder": Commencement Breakfast, Phi Beta Kappa, Whitman College
May 20, 1978
4 9
"Memory as Experience Revisited", Mortar Board Reunion, Whitman College
October 20, 1979
4 14
Letter from Howells to Marilyn Sparks
June 1, 1984
4 10
Alumni College Lectures – "Journey to Meaning; Out of the Labyrinth with Myth and Symbol"
June 19-20, 1980
4 15
Letter from Howells to Gordon A. Philpot
September 1, 1984
4 13
Letter from Howells to Prof. James C. Story
July 31, 1966
4 4
Memorial service transcripts and obituary
February 4, 1991
4 5
Correspondence on retirement tribute to Howells
Undated
4 16
Newspaper clippings and pamphlets
Undated
4 12
"Song of the Greatly Daring" Music by William H. Bailey; Text by Thomas D. Howells
Undated
4 17
Northwest literary magazine proposal

6:  Audio recordings of lectures on Shakespeare and Whitman Alumni College Symposium on the origins of life, 1979, 1983, undatedReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box
5
"As You Like It", Lecture #2
February 27, 1979
5
"Romeo and Juliet", Lecture #3
March 13, 1979
5
"Richard II", Lecture #4
March 27, 1979
5
"Henry VI" Lecture #5
March 24, 1979
5
Duplicate of Tape #4
March 24, 1979
5
"Henry VIII" Lecture #7
April 17, 1979
5
"Measure for Measure" Lecture #8
April 9, 1979
5
"Merry Wives of Windsor"
January 27, 1983
5
3 audiotapes (George Ball and Howells speaking at Symposium)
Undated

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Corporate Names

  • Whitman College