Edward Abbey Manuscripts
Collection
Identifier: MSS -274- SC
Scope and Content
The collection contains two manuscripts: "Jonathan Troy" and "Fire on the Mountain," which was initially called "Vogelins Ranch."
Dates
- 1950-1961 (bulk 1950-1951, 1961)
Creator
- Abbey, Edward, 1927-1989 (Person)
Language of Materials
English
Access Restrictions
Retrieval may require up to 24 hours advance notice.
Copy Restrictions
Limited duplication of CSWR material is allowed for research purposes. User is responsible for compliance with all copyright, privacy, and libel laws. Permission is required for publication or distribution.
Biography
Edward Abbey was born on January 29, 1927. He grew up in the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania. His first glimpse of the American Southwest was in 1944 when he hitchhiked to Seattle and then to Arizona. After serving as a U.S. Army rifleman in Italy from 1945-1946, he enrolled at the University of New Mexico (UNM), where he earned his B.A. in 1951. While an undergraduate at UNM, Abbey explored the Southwest and began his writing career.
From 1951-1952, Abbey was a Fulbright scholar in Edinburgh, Scotland. He enrolled as a graduate student in philosophy at Yale University in 1952, but lasted only two weeks there. He returned to the West in 1954, and received an M.A. in philosophy from UNM in 1956. His thesis was titled, "Anarchy and the Morality of Violence." Abbeys first novel, Jonathan Troycame out in 1954; his second, The Brave Cowboyin 1956.
Abbey began a career as a seasonal employee for the National Park Service at Arches National Monument, Utah, in 1956. He stayed with the National Park Service for almost 15 years, with positions at Arches, Sunset Crater, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Lees Ferry, Organ Pipe, Coronado National Forest, Grand Canyon North Rim, and Glacier National Park. In 1972, he became manager of Aravaipa Canyon wildlife preserve, near Tucson, where he spent three years.
During Abbeys lifetime, twenty-one of his books were published. His best known works include The Monkey Wrench Gang(1975) and Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness (1968). The Brave Cowboy was turned into a movie, Lonely are the Brave (1962), which starred Kirk Douglas and Walter Matthau.
Edward Abbey died of a circulatory disorder at his home in Oracle, Arizona on March 14, 1989. As requested, his body was transported deep into the desert in the bed of a pickup truck, where he was buried anonymously, wrapped in his sleeping bag. Edward Abbey was married five times and had five children. Abbey is remembered as a novelist, essayist, naturalist, philosopher, and social critic.
From 1951-1952, Abbey was a Fulbright scholar in Edinburgh, Scotland. He enrolled as a graduate student in philosophy at Yale University in 1952, but lasted only two weeks there. He returned to the West in 1954, and received an M.A. in philosophy from UNM in 1956. His thesis was titled, "Anarchy and the Morality of Violence." Abbeys first novel, Jonathan Troycame out in 1954; his second, The Brave Cowboyin 1956.
Abbey began a career as a seasonal employee for the National Park Service at Arches National Monument, Utah, in 1956. He stayed with the National Park Service for almost 15 years, with positions at Arches, Sunset Crater, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Lees Ferry, Organ Pipe, Coronado National Forest, Grand Canyon North Rim, and Glacier National Park. In 1972, he became manager of Aravaipa Canyon wildlife preserve, near Tucson, where he spent three years.
During Abbeys lifetime, twenty-one of his books were published. His best known works include The Monkey Wrench Gang(1975) and Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness (1968). The Brave Cowboy was turned into a movie, Lonely are the Brave (1962), which starred Kirk Douglas and Walter Matthau.
Edward Abbey died of a circulatory disorder at his home in Oracle, Arizona on March 14, 1989. As requested, his body was transported deep into the desert in the bed of a pickup truck, where he was buried anonymously, wrapped in his sleeping bag. Edward Abbey was married five times and had five children. Abbey is remembered as a novelist, essayist, naturalist, philosopher, and social critic.
Extent
2 boxes (.26 cu. ft.)
Creator
- Abbey, Edward, 1927-1989 (Person)
- Title
- Finding Aid of the Edward Abbey Manuscripts, 1950-1961 (bulk 1950-1951, 1961)
- Status
- For Approval
- Author
- Processed by B. Silbergleit
- Date
- ©1999
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid is in English
Revision Statements
- June 28, 2004: PUBLIC "-//University of New Mexico::Center for Southwest Research//TEXT (US::NmU::MSS 274 SC::Edward Abbey Manuscripts)//EN" "nmu1mss274bc.sgml" converted from EAD 1.0 to 2002 by v1to02.xsl (sy2003-10-15).
- Monday, 20210524: Attribute normal is missing or blank.
Repository Details
Part of the UNM Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections Repository
Contact:
University of New Mexico Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections
University Libraries, MSC05 3020
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque NM 87131
505-277-6451
University of New Mexico Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections
University Libraries, MSC05 3020
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque NM 87131
505-277-6451