Sinclair Lewis Letters to Marcella Powers

Identity elements

Reference code

15

Name and location of repository

St. Cloud State University Archives and Special Collections

Level of description

Collection

Title

Sinclair Lewis Letters to Marcella Powers

Date(s)

  • 1939-1947 (Creation)

Extent

0.42 linear feet

Name of creator

Lewis, Harry Sinclair
(1885-1951)

Biographical history

Harry Sinclair Lewis, known to his friends as “Red,” was a prolific American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. Main Street, published in 1920, is Lewis’ best known work.

Born in Sauk Centre, Minnesota on February 7, 1885, to Edwin and Emma Lewis, Lewis had two older brothers, Fred and Claude.

At Yale University where Lewis received a degree from in 1908, Lewis published in the Yale Literary Magazine, the Courant, and the Record. This began a long career of writing novels, plays, and short stories.

Lewis turned down the Pulitzer Prize in literature in 1926, but accepted the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1930.

Lewis was married twice: Grace from 1914 to 1925. They had a son, Wells, who was born in 1917. In 1944, Wells died in combat in France during World War II.

In 1928, Lewis married Dorothy Thompson, a well-known journalist. They had one son, Michael, who was born in 1930. They divorced in 1942. Lewis never remarried.

Lewis died in Rome, Italy on January 10, 1951. His cremated remains were interred in Sauk Centre, Minnesota.

Name of creator

Powers, Marcella
(1921-1985)

Biographical history

Born on April 12, 1921 in New Jersey, Marcella Powers passed away on March 10, 1985 in Santa Fe, New Mexico at the age of 63. Marcella was survived by children Emily Pigeon and Alexander Pigeon. A son, Michael Edward Amrine, passed away in a 1971 Paris car accident.

Content and structure elements

Scope and content

The 262 letters and 1 poem included in this collection were written by Sinclair Lewis to Marcella Powers between 1939 and 1947. Lewis met Powers in August 1939 when they were both acting in Eugene O’Neill’s play Ah Wilderness! at the Provincetown Theater in Cape Cod. Lewis and Powers began a relationship despite the 36 year age difference between them.

In these letters, Lewis discusses a wide variety of topics - his career, his writing, and his feelings for Powers. During the time of their relationship, Lewis traveled quite a bit throughout the United States giving lectures. He also spent time working in Los Angeles in the motion picture industry and lived in Excelsior and Duluth in Minnesota where he spent much time writing. Lewis also wrote about his social life, including the people that he met, the games of chess that he played, and the books that he read. Many of the letters are very long while others are quite short, with some including cartoons drawn by Lewis.

The letters end in September 1947, shortly after Powers marriage to Michael Amrine. Lewis tells Powers that she will no longer receive an allowance from him, but that if she were ever in need of help that he would be there for her. When Lewis passed away in 1951, Powers was listed in his will.

System of arrangement

Items are in chronological order.

Records are located at 27B.4e.

Conditions of access and use elements

Conditions governing access

There are no access restrictions.

Physical access

Technical access

Conditions governing reproduction

Permission to publish, quote, and reproduce must be secured from the copyright holder.

Languages of the material

  • English

Scripts of the material

    Language and script notes

    Finding aids

    Acquisition and appraisal elements

    Custodial history

    Immediate source of acquisition

    These letters were purchased by St. Cloud State University from Mary Branham, a longtime friend of Marcella Powers. Branham inherited the letters as part of Powers’ estate.  Powers passed away in March 1985.

    Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information

    Accruals

    Related materials elements

    Existence and location of originals

    Existence and location of copies

    Related archival materials

    Claude Lewis Family Papers, Sinclair Lewis Letters to Fred Lewis, Joan McQuary Collection of Sinclair Lewis Letters, Sinclair Lewis Writings, Hubert Irey Gibson Collection of Sinclair Lewis, and the Ida Compton Papers.

    Related descriptions

    Notes element

    Specialized notes

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    Rules or conventions

    Sources used

    Archivist's note

    Processed by Alissa LaChapelle in 2009.

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