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Ruth Suckow (right) and Amy Buchanan holding two of Ruth's cats
at her house in Vermont, 1930.
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Collection
Overview
Author Ruth Suckow (1892-1960) was born in Iowa and spent much
of her life there. She moved to Denver to live with her sister and
attend the University of Denver, where she received a Bachelor of
Arts degree in 1917 and a Masters in 1918. While she was a graduate
student she assisted Dr. Ida Kruse McFarlane, then the director
of the English Department at the University. She worked in Estes
Park, Colorado, during the summer of 1918, and in the winter of
1918-1919 she worked for a map company in Denver. She returned to
Iowa to be near her father after her mother’s death in 1919.
During this time she raised bees to earn an income while she worked
on her writing. She lived in New York City for two years, where
she met her future husband, Ferner Nuhn. They were married in 1929,
and moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico. They returned to Iowa late in
1929, and remained there until 1948, except for a brief time in
the East.
Suckow was widely published during her lifetime. Twelve books of
fiction, and numerous short stories and non-fiction works were published
between 1924 and 1960. Most famous of these was The Folks,
a novel, published in 1934.
Scope and Content
The Ruth Suckow Collection primarily consists of letters, notes,
and postcards from Suckow to Amy (Carlson) Buchanan written between
1918 and 1960. A small number of letters from Ruth Suckow to other
individuals are also included, as are a few miscellaneous notes
and handwritten poetry selections. The collection is augmented by
an assortment of photographs and two biographical sketches of Suckow
written by Amy Buchanan. This collection provides information about
Ruth Suckow during her graduate year at the University of Denver
and her early career (1917-1921), as well as during her years of
major literary activity (1927-1936), though materials in this collection
span her entire career.
Other Ruth Suckow collections are held by the Special Collections
Department at the University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City, and the
Ruth Suckow Memorial Library at Earlville, Iowa. Secondary biographical
material may also be found in the biographical files at the Archives
and Special Collections at Penrose Library, University of Denver. |
