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University of Chicago Library

Guide to the Hoke Norris Papers 1974-1977

© 2009 University of Chicago Library

Descriptive Summary

Title:

Norris, Hoke. Papers

Dates:

1974-1977

Size:

0.2 linear feet (2 folders)

Repository:

Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center
University of Chicago Library
1100 East 57th Street
Chicago, Illinois 60637 U.S.A.

Abstract:

Hoke Norris, reporter, novelist, director of Public Affairs for the University of Chicago. The Hoke Norris Papers primarily consist of newspaper clippings of articles written by Norris. There are also six letters, including one from Bülent Ecevit, the prime minister of Turkey in 1974, 1977, 1978-1979, and 1999 to the present.

Information on Use

Access

The collection is open for research.

Citation

When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Norris, Hoke. Papers, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library

Biographical Note

Hoke Marion Norris was born on October 8, 1913 in Holly Springs, North Carolina. He received an A.B. from Wake Forest College (now Wake Forest University) in 1934. His post-graduate work included time at the University of North Carolina (1946), Harvard University (1950-1951, as a Nieman Fellow), and the University of Chicago (1960-1961, on a Ford Foundation Grant).

Norris’ long career in journalism began in 1934 when he started working for the Daily Advance of Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Work at other papers soon followed including the News and Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina, 1936-1937), the Associated Press (editor for Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina, 1937-1942, 1946), the Winston-Salem Journal-Sentinel (1946-1950, 1951-1955), the Chicago Sun-Times (reporter, 1958-1959; literary editor, 1959-1968), and the Chicago Daily News (editorial board member, 1968-1970).

In addition to his work in journalism, Norris served as public relations director for the Lost Colony summer theater of Manteo, North Carolina (1946-1947). He was also an instructor in creative writing at the University of Chicago, at the Y.M.C.A., and at the summer program of the University of Wisconsin. From 1971 to 1974 he served as the Director of Public Information for the Chicago Public Library. In 1974 Norris returned to the University of Chicago to serve as Assistant Vice-President for Public Affairs and Director of Public Information. Amidst these jobs Norris served as an intelligence officer in the Army Air Force from 1942 to 1946 in the Southwest Pacific Theater.

Norris’ publications extend from newspaper articles to non-fiction to novels. His work includes All the Kingdoms of the Earth (1956), We Dissent (1962), and It’s Not Far But I Don’t Know the Way (1968). He also had short storied published in Playboy, Redbook, Rogue, Cavalier, Gallery, Genesis, and other journals and anthologies.

In 1965 the Illinois Library Association presented Norris with the Intellectual Freedom Citation.

Norris married Edna Dees. The couple had one child, Marion Dees Norris.

Hoke Norris died on July 8, 1977 in Chicago. He was 63.

Scope Note

The Hoke Norris Papers primarily consist of newspaper clippings of articles written by Norris. There are also six letters, including one from Bülent Ecevit, the prime minister of Turkey in 1974, 1977, 1978-1979, and 1999 to the present.

Related Resources

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Subject Headings

INVENTORY

Box 1   Folder 1

Correspondence

  • Hoke Norris to Kathy Neidert, May 19, 1976
  • Martin Kirby to Hoke Norris, August 11, 1976
  • Hoke Norris to "Staff," August 12, 1976
  • Hoke Norris to Martin Kirby, August 13, 1976
  • Bulent Ecevit to Hoke Norris, August 17, 1976
  • Hoke Norris to "you all," June 8, 1977
Box 1   Folder 2

Newspaper Clippings

  • "Pearl Harbor: Who Died There?," article, December 1, 1974
  • "Immense Testament of a Holy South," article, December 22, 1974
  • "Details Engulf Study of Civil War Battle," article, January 5, 1975
  • "Drury's Dreary Political Dinosaur," article, March 8-9, 1975
  • "...And Sir Plum's Last Amiable Adventure," article, April 12, 1975
  • "Dutch Schultz' Last Delirium, Scripted By Burroughs," article, May 17-18, 1975
  • "Wilson Baker, Who Prevented Disaster," article, September 28, 1975
  • "John O'Hara, A Neglected Original," article, October 4, 1975
  • "Words Perhaps Best Saved for a Later, Better Novel," article, October 5, 1975
  • "Gritty Tale of Chicago's Uptown," article, January 11, 1976
  • "Exploring the Burden of the False Image," article, February 7-8, 1976
  • "In the Beginning, the Cubs," article, February 15, 1976
  • "Left we forget...," article, March 7, 1976
  • "Where Does History Stop and Fiction Begin?," article, April 10-11, 1976
  • "Elkin's Fictional Franchising," article, May 29-30, 1976 (2 copies)
  • "A Hemingway Spiro Isn't -- And Neither is John," article, June 6, 1976 (with second column by Scott Elliot)
  • "The Hardy Boys, Born in a Fictional Factory," article, June 19-20, 1976
  • "The Last of the Lardners Tells How It Was," article, June 12-13, 1976
  • "The Short, Turbulent Life and Hectic Times of Harry Crosby," article, August 22, 1976
  • "Back When the South Liked Racial Busing," article, August 30, 1976
  • "Christopher Isherwood, Searching for Approval," article, November 21, 1976
  • Untitled article about stealing CB radios, Sunday November 21, 1976 (with Mike Chiapetta)
  • "William Faulkner Finds Love in Hollywood," article, December 5, 1976
  • "The South is Proud of Its Presidents," article, January 14, 1977
  • "Borden Deal Offers Good Horsemanship and Good Fiction," article, January 23,
  • 1977
  • "Art for Ireland's Sake," article, January 30, 1977
  • "Soon There’ll Be More Baptist Than People," March 6, 1977
  • "A is for Astonishing," article, March 13, 1977
  • "A Time of Cleaning Up," article, March 13, 1977
  • "A Diabolical Plot to Rob Israel," article, April 10, 1977
  • "Extraordinary People in a Conspiracy to Conquer the World," article, April 24, 1977
  • "The Lovers and Other Stories," article, July 10, 1977
  • "A Beautiful Blurred World," article, July 31, 1977
  • "Less is Too Much When the Right Word is Fewer," article, July 31, 1977