David Lane Wright was born on May 22, 1929, in Bennington, Idaho to Conover and Lenora Rich Wright. He was a descendent of LDS Apostle Charles C. Rich. He spent his childhood in Bennington, and from the time he was a young man he kept copious journals. He loved sports, especially baseball and football, and enjoyed exploring the terrain around Bennington and Montpelier which figures prominently in his work. When he was seven, his brother Rich, to whom he had been very close, died from an acute appendicitis and this event continued to influence David for the rest of his life and the character of his brother often appeared under different names in many of his writings. In fact his most prominent piece, a play first produced in 1956 called “Still the Mountain Wind,” was about Rich’s death.
Wright started attending Utah State University,(then called Utah State Agricultural College), in 1946 at the age of seventeen on an athletic scholarship. He studied English under the tutelage of Professors A. N. Sorensen and Ira Hayward both of whom encouraged him to write and publish. He also was a sports writer for the student paper. Throughout his life, his dream was to become a writer, but he also prepared to become an English teacher. For the first three years at college he was on the track team and played football. His final year he quit football to spend more time writing.
After graduation Wright held many jobs as a teacher throughout Idaho. On October 22, 1950 he married Nancy Johnson, one of his students from Rexburg. He changed positions several times and eventually ended up back his home town working at the elementary school. He entered the Air Force and was called into active duty and continued write, winning several Air Force story contests and producing his work, “Still the Mountain Wind.” Also during this time he was stationed in various places throughout the United States and the world including South Dakota, Florida, Alabama, and Iceland.
In 1963, Wright was able to pursue his Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of Iowa while still in the Air Force. He completed it in 1964. While stationed in Alabama during this time, he became involved in the civil rights campaign. In 1965, Wright was sent to Saigon, Vietnam. There he performed mostly administrative and diplomatic duties, earning a Bronze Star and was promoted to rank of Major. When he returned from Vietnam in December, 1966, he and Nancy divorced. Wright maintained custody of the children. In February of 1967, he suffered a heart attack. He recovered somewhat and was able to return to his home in Montgomery, Alabama where he lived for the next four months. On June 26, 1967, he suffered a second heart attack and passed away at the age of thirty-eight.
Sources:
David L. Wright. “Autobiography.” David Lane Wright Addendum Mss Coll 39, Box 12, Fd 1. Special Collections and Archives, Utah State University Merrill Library: Logan, Utah.
James Miller. “Discovering A Mormon Writer: David L. Wright 1929-1967.” Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. V(2), pp. 79-85.
David L. Wright. “Autobiography.” David Lane Wright Papers Mss Coll 2, , Box 7, Fds 5, 6. Special Collection and Archives, Utah State University Merrill Library: Logan, Utah.
Scope and Content:
This collection contains the letters and writings of David Lane Wright. The scope and breadth is impressive due no doubt to Wright’s compulsive saving, including letters he received as a child. The first six boxes are devoted to Wright’s correspondence with friends, family, publishers, and the Air Force. Box 1 contains outgoing mail from 1942 to 1963. Boxes 2 through 5 contain incoming mail organized either chronologically or by addressee along the lines which Wright organized them himself. Box six contains the envelopes from these letters. Box seven contains early writings and autobiographical writings. Boxes 8 through 11 contain some his writings. Box 8 contains college writings and recommendations to the University of Iowa. Box 9 contains mostly drafts and reviews of “Still the Mountain Wind.” Box 10 contains drafts of “River Saints,” and “Speak Ye Tenderly of Kings.” The final box, Box 11, contains various other poems and short stories. Finally, because the addendum was too large to incorporate into this collection and since they overlap, cross references to the addendum have been added to this register where appropriate.
See also:
David Lane Wright Addendum, Mss Coll 39
David Lane Wright Photograph Collection PO135
Inventory:
Box I: Correspondence Sent, Chronological Arrangement (see also Mss Coll 39, box 9, Fds 4-8; box 10; box 10a)
Fd 1: June 2, 1942 - August 24, 1945
Fd 2: September 5, 1945 - December l9, 1946
Fd 3: December 12, 1947 - July 16, 1949
Fd 4: August 9, 1953 - October 27, 1953
Fd 5: November 10, 1953 - January 22, 1954
Fd 6: January 30, 1954 - March 23, 1954
Fd 7: March 26, 1954 - May 11, 1954.
Fd 8: May 15, 1954 - July 5, 1954
Fd 9: July 6, 1954 - August 24, 1954
Fd 10: September, 1954 - December, 1956
Fd 11: January, 1957 - February, 1957
Fd 12: March, 1957 - April, 1957
Fd 13: 1958 to 1962
Fd 14: January, 1962 - March, 1962
Fd 15: April, 1962 - September, 1962
Fd 16: October, 1962 - December 1962
Fd 17: 1963 -
Box II: Correspondence Received To 1950, Listed Alphabetically (see also Mss Coll 39, Box 1, Fds 1-2)
Fd 1: Correspondence Allen - Croft
Fd 2: Correspondence Deseret News - Dunn
Fd 3: Correspondence French - Hunter
Fd 4: Correspondence Ipsen - Montpelier
Fd 5: Correspondence James Miller
Fd 6: Correspondence Olsen - Robertson See also: Peterson, Betty and Romney, Dick
Fd 7: Correspondence Peterson, Betty
Fd 8: Correspondence sent to September, 1949 Romney, Dick
Fd 9: Correspondence Received to June, 1950 Romney, Dick
Fd 10: Correspondence Sarbach - Stephens
Fd 11: Correspondence Teuscher - Tuddenham See also: Taylor, Doris
Fd 12: Correspondence Taylor, Doris.
Fd 13: Correspondence Utah - Young
Box III: Correspondence Received From The Wright Family And Unidentified Correspondence, Arranged by Addressee (see also Mss Coll 39, Box 1, Fd 1; Box 7, Fds 7-13)
Fd l: To 1950. See also: Wright; Conover, Donna, Lenore Nona Marie, and Robert E.
Fd 2: To 1950 from Conover Wright
Fd 3: Donna Wright, to 1950
Fd 4: Lenore Wright, to 1950
Fd 5: Nona Marie Wright, to 1948
Fd 6: Nona Marie Wright, 1948-1950
Fd 7: Robert E. Wright, to 1950
Fd 8: Unidentified Addressors, to 1950
Fd 9: Unidentified Addressors, Received to 1950. Fd 2
Fd 10: Unidentified Addressors, Received to 1950. Fd 3
Fd 11: Cards and Announcements (some identified)
Box IV: Correspondence Received, 1951 - 1959, Chronological with Individual Folders Alphabetic (see also Mss Coll 39, Box 1 Fd 2-6; Box 3 Fd 1-8)
Fd 18: 1958 - 1959. Wright; Conover, Lenore and Warren
Fd 19: 1958 - 1959, Unidentified.
Box V: Correspondence Received November, 1961 - 1965, Arranged Alphabetically by Addressee (see also Mss Coll 39, Box 4, Fd 4 -5; Box 7, Fd 1- 2)
Fd 1: 1962, Abramson - Brosnan, See also: Massachusetts Review; Brown, Robert; and Esquire
Fd 2: 1962 Call - Esquire, For Esty, Jane, see Mutiny; for Hills, Rust, see Esquire
Fd 3: 1962, Hendricks - Mutiny, See also: Miller, James (2 Fds) For Lett, Paul, see Mutiny; for Hills, Rust, see Esquire; for Massachusetts Review, see also Abramson, Doris.
Fd 4: November, 1961 - May, 1962, Miller, James
Fd 5: June, 1962 - December 1962, Miller, James
Fd 6: 1962, Saturday - Wright
Fd 7: 1962, unidentified.
Fd 8: 1964-65, Alleman - Cummins
Fd 9: 1964-65, Esty - Mueller See also: Miller, James (Photos with Mueller correspondence)
Fd 10: 1964-65, N - Z
Fd 11: 1964, Miller, James
Fd 12: 1965, Miller, James
Box VI: Envelopes From The Correspondence
Box VII: Journals, Autobiographical Accounts, Early Writings, M. F. A. Thesis (For Journals, see also Mss Coll 39, Box 23 - Box 27; for M. F. A. work see also Mss Coll 39, Box 21, Fd 1; for early writings see also Mss Coll 39, Box 13, Fds 1-4)
Fd 1: Work Schedules (Writing), 1956 8 leaves included day book notes
Fd 2: Student Teaching Critiques, 1949
Fd 3: Journal, 1946
Fd 4: Journal, November 5, 1946 - April 15, 1947
Fd 5: Autobiography, 1950 - 1951 See also: "The Death of Rick", Fd 1,
Fd 6: Autobiographical Sketch, April 15, 1962 6 typescript pages, 1st carbon Probably written as part of an application for Paul Engle's creative writing workshop at University of Iowa
Fd 7: Early Writings, 1940's one notebook 38 holograph typescript leaves
Fd 8: Early Writings, 1940's 33 typescript and holograph sheets
Fd 9: Early Writings, Summer, 1947
Fd 10: Early Writings
Fd 11: Early Writings Notebook
Fd 12: Early Writings Notebook
Fd 13: Early Writings Notebook
Fd 14: Early Writings Notebook
Fd 15: Miscellaneous Early Papers
Fd 16: MFA Thesis, State University of Iowa, "Afterward and Before: Four Stories", "Of Pleasures and Palaces", "A Train of Events", "A Summer in the Country", "Speak Ye Tenderly of Things".
Box VIII: College Notes, Athletic Papers, Romney Correspondence, Letters Of Recommendation To State University Of Iowa, Civil Service Forms, Early Poems By James Miller (see also Mss Coll 39, Box 15, Fd 3; Box 21)
Fd 1: E. L. "Dick" Romney, Correspondence 1936 - 1949 in the files of David Wright 14 pieces, most dealing with USU-AAU playoffs in 1936
Fd 2: U. S. U. Athletic Papers Notes from Romney to Wright, Sports information prepared by Wright, and Correspondence dealing with this 23 pieces
Fd 3: Class Notes, Fall Quarter, 1947
Fd 4: Class Notes (Literary Notes), 1947 - 1948
Fd 5: Class Notes, Fall Quarter, 1948
Fd 6: Class Notes, Winter Quarter, 1948
Fd 7: Published Material, U. S. U.
Fd 8: Newspaper Clippings
Fd 9: Letters of Recommendation for the Creative Writing Workshop at State University of Iowa 19 pieces
Fd 10: Civil Service Forms, 1956 Application for position as Publications Editor/ Writer, GSll, USAF 13 pieces
Fd 11: Early Poems by James Miller, 1947 - 1949 12 items, some duplicates
Box IX: "Still The Mountain Wind," Genera, Articles (For “Still the Mountain Wind,” see also Mss Coll 39, Box 17, Fds 4-7; for articles see Mss Coll 39, Box 16, Fds 7-18)
Fd 1: "The Death of Rich" 47 pages Typescript, first carbon Ca. 1954 Autobiographical account Formed basis for dramatization as "Still the Mountain Wind"
Fd 2: Notes on dramatizing "Still the Mountain Wind" Notes on discussions with Joe Robertson and Ken Olson at Panama City, Florida
Fd 3: Pre-production Correspondence for "Still the Mountain Wind" 1955-1956 Contains holographs
Fd 4: Script "Still the Mountain Wind" typescript, early draft Contains holograph corrections and changes by Vosco Call -- 37 pages
Fd 5: Script "Still the Mountain Wind" typescript, late draft January 25, 1956 Holograph corrections by Vosco Call 20 Pages
Fd 7: Script "Still the Mountain Wind" 1956 Director's copy for Logan Premiere performance
Fd 8: Critiques from Premiere performance Comments received on forms distributed to the audience 24 pieces
Fd 9: Critiques from Premiere performance letters from member of the audience
Fd 10: Critiques from Premiere performance Typescript copies of contents of Fds 8 & 9
Fd 11: Newspaper and other articles on the Premiere performance
Fd 12: Correspondence Sent March to December, 1956 Contents: possibilities of further productions of "Still the Mountain Wind"
Fd 13: Correspondence Received March to December, 1956 Regarding further productions of "Still the Mountain Wind"
Fd 14: Critiques for the 1960 Beaver High School Production of "Still the Mountain Wind" 60 items
Fd 15: "A Summer in the Country" 29 pages, typescript Rewrite of the play into short story form
Fd 16: Reviews of "A Summer in the Country" 5 items, typescript and mimeograph Short story published in Mutiny, Autumn, 1960
Fd 17: Genera. Typescript of works by David L. Wright Poems and prose
Fd 18: Articles by David L. Wright
Box X: "River Saints: A Mormon Chronicle" And "Speak Ye Tenderly Of Kings" (For “River Saints,” see also Mss Coll 39, Box 16, Fd 6; for “Speak Ye Tenderly,” see also Mss Coll 39, Box 14, Fd 13)
Fd 2: "My Peaceful Village: An Account of my Visit Home, October 13-29, 1964 (from my Journal, notes, and added rememberings)" 6 typescript pages with holograph corrections and changes The prose account written on which the poetic form of "River Saints" is based
Fd 3: "My Peaceful Village ..." 26 pages typescript Revised draft First page missing
Fd 6: "River Saints: A Mormon Chronicle" Logan, [1969] Edited, put in final form and printed by James Miller
Fd 7: Notes 6 pages, holograph, 10 pages typescript Notes in Wright's hand with typescript re-working (possibly by James Miller) Suggests treatment of novel "Speak Ye Tenderly of Kings" (in Deseret's Sweet Land) in the manner of River Saints
Fd 8: Notes 28 typescript pages (Various numbers) from novel "Speak Ye Tenderly of Kings"
Fd 9: "Speak Ye Tenderly of Kings" (short story) two items, typescript, 17 pages; reprint, pp. 23-33 considerable variation in wording
Fd 10: "Speak Ye Tenderly of Kings" (play) preliminary drafts adapted from short story by Charles W. Whitman (q. v. in "Correspondence Received") Contains correspondence and holograph notes by both Wright and Whitman.
Fd 11: "Speak Ye Tenderly of Kings" A one act play by Charles W. Whitman and David L. Wright Adapted from a short story of the same name by David L. Wright two drafts (one with carbon copy) and a typed page of notes from Vosco Call on production descriptions
Fd 12: "Speak Ye Tenderly of Kings" 480 typescript pages with holograph notes Originally titled "In Deseret's Sweet Land", the strongly autobiographical novel which Wright mined for the production of short stories, including that of the same name
Box XI: Short Stories And Poems (for short stories see also Mss Coll 39, Boxes 13-15; for poetry see Mss Coll 39, Box 16, Fds 1-6)
Fd 1: "The Bigger Game" 11 pages typescript, first carbon
Fd 2: "A Boy and Girl and An Evening" 5 pages typescript, 1 page typed notes, all with holograph changes
Fd 4: "Every Little Moment" 2 pages typed Also titled "The Time After the First Time"; "The Argument B. C. and A. D."
Fd 5: "A Fisherman Among Men" 9 pages typescript See also: "River Saints" and "The Conscience of the Village"
Fd 6: "Flight" 25 pages, holograph
Fd 7: "The Hawk" 7 pages typescript, second carbon
Fd 8: "Her Third Birthday" 3 pages 2 original typescript copies
Fd 9: "The Hero" 11 pages typescript
Fd 10: "The High Life" 10 pages, 3 drafts with holograph corrections and notes
Fd 11: "Honesty is the Best Policy Except Sometimes" 11 pages typescript two drafts included first carbon of early draft entitled "The Making of a Citizen" and original and two carbons of final draft holograph notes on first carbon
Fd 12: "Of Pleasures and Palaces" 45 typescript pages with holograph changes Earlier titled "Amid the Alien Corn" Final draft in MFA Thesis,
Fd 13: "Of Pleasures and Palaces" Third draft 40 pages, original and partial carbon typescript Original with holograph changes
Fd 14: "Of Pleasures and Palaces" Fourth draft 36 pages, typescript with holograph changes
Fd 15: "Of Pleasures and Palaces" Fifth draft 40 pages First carbon with holograph changes
Fd 16: "A Measure of Contentment" 11 pages typescript together with page proofs from publication in The Humanist
Fd 17: "Mice Men and Principles" 7 and 8 pages Five drafts
Fd 18: "Moods in Christmastime" various drafts in typescript and ditto
Fd 19: "Too Small" 5 pages, 12 drafts, typescript and carbon with holograph changes Titled through various re-workings "The Littlest Enemy" "What Little Boys Are Made Of" "Comes The Revolution" "The Day the Revolution Began"
Fd 20: "Sparkplug" 5 pages, original and first carbon
Fd 21: "A Train of Events" 13 pages, Six drafts Typescript with holograph changes, also first carbon
Fd 22: Poems 1 (Drafts) "A Difference in Age" - "Hired Help"
Fd 23: Poems 2 (Drafts) "Inside the Outside Boy, Down South" - "Six Years of Marriage and One Threat"
Fd 24: Poems 3 (Drafts) "Small Town Girl" - "Word of Wisdom from a Friend".
Fd 25: Poems (Untitled)
Fd 26: Poems (Last revisions) Typescript by Janice Wright from last known revisions
Fd 27: "Scenes From a Train Trip (to Larry Holmes)" Poem 6 pages typescript with holograph changes
