FAYE GIBBONS PAPERS

de Grummond Children's Literature Collection
The University of Southern Mississippi

	Creator:	Faye Gibbons
	Title:	Faye Gibbons Papers
	Dates:	[ca. 1970s]-2000
	Dates:	[bulk 1982-1985]
	Quantity:	1.40 cubic feet (5 boxes)
	Identification:	DG0370

Biographical Note

Faye Gibbons was born in 1938 in Carter's Quarter, Georgia. She and her four younger siblings grew up in mill towns and mountain areas throughout north Georgia. Lacking the amenities of electricity, the family entertained themselves by storytelling. Gibbons grew up hearing and telling family history stories, hunting yarns, funny stories, and spooky tales. Her parents' suspicions of the government kept Faye from school until she was nine years old. Once at school, however, she discovered a love of books, especially those that introduced her to yet more stories. She began reading stories to her younger brothers and sisters, eventually making up tales of her own. When she graduated from high school her teachers gave Gibbons a $130 scholarship to help pay her tuition to Berry College in Rome, Georgia. After graduating, Gibbons attended Oglethorpe, Emory and Auburn Universities before becoming an elementary and high school teacher.

But it was only after she married and became the mother of two boys that she began to write. From the first, Faye Gibbons' stories have been rooted in her memories of the north Georgia mountains and the country people she knew. Her junior books Mighty Close to Heaven and Some Glad Morning are both about adolescents in 1940s Georgia who must face the realities of broken homes, poverty, and the harshness of rural life. Both stories, however, also reflect the author's appreciation of family, the beauty of nature, and the unending bounty of the land.

Her earliest novel, Some Glad Morning, went through several drafts. Gibbons' frustration with the early manuscripts forced her to temporarily set her story aside. Later, with suggestions made by a William Morrow editor, she renewed her efforts and achieved a flow to her writing. The result was a very successful first book, earning her the 1983 Georgia Author of the Year Award for Children's Literature. Her second publication, Mighty Close to Heaven, like Some Glad Morning, got its title from an old-time gospel hymn, reflecting another early inspiration in Gibbons' life.

Gibbons writes stories for intermediate and younger readers. One popular book is Hook Moon Night, a collection of spooky stories that Gibbons says are mostly original and are based on the ones she heard in the mountains as a child. Her book King Shoes and Clown Pockets, an intermediate reader, made the USA Today Best pick list for 1989. For younger children, Gibbons has written several stories that take place in the early twentieth-century rural mountains. Night in the Barn, a story of four boys who decide to sleep in a barn on a darker-than-dark night was named one of the best children's books of 1995 by both Sesame Street Parents' Guide and Smithsonian Magazine. The colorful children's book Mountain Wedding and its sequel Mama and Me and the Model T tell the hilarious story of what happens when a widowed mother of five marries a wifeless father of seven.

Faye Gibbons and her husband currently live in Deatsville, Alabama.

Scope and Content Note

The Faye Gibbons Papers contain manuscripts, typescripts, proofs, correspondence with her publisher, and reviews for two junior books published in 1982 and 1985. Also included are photocopied book reviews for three titles not included in these papers. The material is organized into two series: personal papers and books. The papers in the book series are arranged alphabetically by title, then chronologically in order of creation.

Mighty Close to Heaven is a story of a boy who runs away from his cheerless grandparents to join his wandering father. The papers contain style sheets, correspondence between Gibbons and William Morrow publishers, and a Faye Gibbons pencil drawing of Dad and Maw's farmhouse. Also included are a corrected typescript and marked proof.

Some Glad Morning went through several revisions. In the earliest drafts family names are different and two of the children are a year younger. Within the early revisions are four chapters not in the final edition. Later drafts focus more on the main character of Maude and increase the importance of Densella and Sam. Later revisions also include a significant alteration of the story ending. The Faye Gibbons Papers contain manuscripts and typescripts edited by the author, with proofs and reviews.

Restrictions

Restrictions on Use

Noncirculating; available for research.

Copyright Restrictions

The collection is protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code). Reproductions can be made only if they are to be used for "private study, scholarship, or research." 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, other than that noted above.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

(Identify the item and cite the series), Faye Gibbons Papers, de Grummond Children's Literature Collection, University of Southern Mississippi Libraries.

Provenance

These papers were donated to the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection of the University of Southern Mississippi by Faye Gibbons between 1986 and 2000.

Processing Information

Processed by C. Alder, October 2001. Encoded into EAD Version 1.0 by Danielle L. Bishop. This finding aid is the product of a grant funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Container Listing

Contact:
The de Grummond Children's Literature Collection
Box 5148
Hattiesburg, MS 39406
(601) 266-4349
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