Maryland Authors
The Maryland Collection is a rich source for the study of Maryland literature, which can be defined as prose and poetry written by authors closely associated with the state. Although most Maryland writers have never limited themselves solely to Maryland themes or settings, many of the titles by lesser known authors in the collection have a more local flavor. Maryland authors who have achieved a more national reputation are also well-represented in the collection, including Francis Scott Key, Edgar Allan Poe, H.L. Mencken, F. Scott Fitzgerald, James M. Cain, John Barth, Anne Tyler, and Tom Clancy.
Email the subject area specialist specialist or call (301) 405-9210 for more information.
Highlights of the collection include:
- Brasseya Johnson Allen's Pastorals (1806), the first published collection of poetry by a Maryland woman
- Swallow Barn (1832), Rob of the Bowl (1838) and other novels by John Pendleton Kennedy (1795-1870)
- Poetry and dramatic works by Edward Coote Pinckney (1802-1828), George Henry Calvert (1803-1889), George Henry Miles (1824-1871), Samuel J. Donaldson (1835-1872), John Banister Tabb (1856-1909), Folger McKinsey (1866-1910), Henry Randolph Latimer (1871-1944), and others
- Works by nineteenth century women writers such as Anne Moncure Crane Seemuller (1838-1872), Estelle Anna Blanche Lewis (1824-1880), Amy Ella Blanchard (1856-1926), Lizette Woodworth Reese (1856-1935), and Anna Ella Carroll (1815-1894)
- Novels by Francis Hopkinson Smith (1838-1915), Timothy Shay Arthur (1809-1885), Richard Malcom Johnston (1822-1898), George Alfred Townsend (1841-1914), and Sophie Kerr (1880-1965)
- Modern poetry by the Poet Laureates of Maryland (Maria B. Coker, Vincent Godfrey Burns, Lucille Clifton, Reed Whittemore, Linda Pastan, Roland Flint, Gilbert Byron) and other notables such as Josephine Jacobsen and Michael Collier. Works by other Maryland poets are represented in the records of the Dryad Press in the Archives & Manuscripts Department.
- Contemporary novelists such as Christopher Tilghman and Gallatin Warfield, and Maryland mystery writers including George Pelecanos, Elizabeth Peters, Martha Grimes, and Louise Titchener
