Papers of a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee English professor. The majority of the
collection focuses on Kerr's professional activities and her study of the works of American
author William Faulkner.
The collection consists of correspondence, photographs, copies of published papers, drafts
of articles, newspaper clippings, and calendars.
There are numerous photographs in the collection, but not all of them are labeled. In most
cases, either the date of the photograph, or the name of the subject is written on the back
of the photograph. A large number of photographs are of Oxford, Mississippi. These
photographs were taken in 1962, while Kerr was vacationing in the area. There are also
photographs of William Faulkner, participants are Faulkner conferences, and Kerr's family
members.
Kerr published a number of papers, and when possible, a printed copy of the published work
has been included in the collection. When a printed copy was not located, the most recent
draft of the work was retained. Drafts of published books were not retained, as the books
are available in the UWM Libraries.
The newspaper clippings that were retained mostly deal with Kerr's study of the writings of
William Faulkner.
The calendars in box six functioned essentially as diaries for Kerr, in that they chronicle
her activities and personal observations on a daily basis.
Boxes seven and eight contain 3 x 5 inch note cards. Most of the cards contain
bibliographic information, and are filed by the name of the author. The basic arrangement is
alphabetical, but there are many deviations from this scheme.
There is a table of contents and an inventory for a William Faulkner Slide Collection, but
the slides were not found while processing the collection.
