Special Collections

Department of Archives & Special Collections

Archives and Special Collections will be closed to the public May 11 – June 9 for installation of new flooring.

Finding Aid for the Dr. Jerry “Jake” Leath Mills<br /> Collection (MUM00684) The Department of Archives and Special Collections. The University of Mississippi Libraries

Finding Aids >>
MUM00000

Finding Aid for the Dr. Jerry “Jake” Leath Mills
Collection (MUM00684)

Questions? Contact us!



Descriptive Summary
PURL:
http://purl.oclc.org/umarchives/MUM00684/
Title:
Dr. Jerry “Jake” Leath Mills Collection
Inclusive Dates:
1988-2001
Abstract:
Letters and photographs between Dr. Jerry Leath Mills and
Mississippi author Larry Brown
Quantity:
1 box of letters and manuscripts; 1 folder of photographic
materials
Number:
MUM00000
Repository :
The
University of Mississippi
J.D. Williams
Library
Department of Archives and Special
Collections
University Archives
P.O. Box 1848, University, MS 38677-1848,
USA
(662) 915-7408
Cite as:
The Jerry “Jake” Leath Mills Collection, The Department of Archives
& Special Collections, J.D. Williams Library, The University of
Mississippi.

Scope and Contents Note
Thirteen photographs, three typed manuscripts (two for “Fire Notes”
and one for “A Roadside Resurrection”), and thirty one letters written
by Larry Brown to former University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
English professor Dr. Jerry “Jake” Leath Mills. At the time of the first
letter from Larry Brown, Dr. Mills was also writing book reviews for
newspapers across the South, and after he reviewed Larry Brown’s first
book Facing the Music in the Raleigh, NC
Spectator, Mr. Brown wrote to Dr. Mills.
A close friendship ensued over the years and their correspondence
attests to this revealing the twists and turns of an author’s life and
the writing process. Mr. Brown and his editor at Algonquin Books of
Chapel Hill also asked Dr. Mills to read through drafts of his work
“Fire Notes” which would later become the 1993 book On Fire.

Arrangement
Arrangement of letters is in chronological order with the copies of
manuscripts following. The arrangement ends with copies of the original
photographs which have been removed to cold storage for
preservation.

Restrictions
Use Restriction
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code)
governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted
material.Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and
archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction.
One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction
is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship
or research.” If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy
or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use”, that user may be
liable for copyright infringement.

Separated Material
Thirteen original photographs and twelve scanned copies with
identifying information removed to Collections Photographs for
preservation purposes.

Collection History
Processing Information
2007-19-02
Processed by Jennifer Ford.

Other Finding Aids
See also Larry Brown Manuscript Collections

Box and Folder Listing
Box 1
1.1. T.L.S. Larry Brown to “Mr. Mills.” [Dr. Jerry “Jake”
Leath Mills]. October 21, 1988. 1 page letter. With envelope.
Note: also includes Dr. Mills’ description of the contents
of the letter. Re: Dr. Mills’ review of Facing the Music in the Spectator; Algonquin Books and his editor
Shannon Ravenel; reception of the book; friends in Oxford; Square
Books and Richard Howorth; comparisons with Faulkner; Cormac
McCarthy; Dirty Work.
Box 1
1.2. T.L.S. Larry Brown to “Jerry” [Dr. Jerry “Jake” Leath
Mills]. October 30, 1988. 1 page letter..
Note: also includes Dr. Mills’ description of the contents
of the letter. Re: Tim McLaurin and The Acorn
Plan
(1988); Cormac McCarthy and his work; work at the fire
department in Oxford, MS.
Box 1
1.3. T.L.S. Larry Brown to “Jake.” [Dr. Jerry “Jake” Leath
Mills]. May 22, 1989. 2 page letter..
Note: also includes Dr. Mills’ description of the contents
of the letter. Re: Their recent meeting in Chapel Hill; Clyde
Edgerton; Cormac McCarthy’s screenplay The
Gardener’s Son
(1977); Peter Workman and Algonquin Books;
James Seay; Eudora Welty, award from the Mississippi Institute of
Arts and Letters; American Booksellers Association; Dirty Work; Samuel E. Chamberlain and Blood Meridian.
Box 1
1.4. T.L.S. Larry Brown to “Jake.” [Dr. Jerry “Jake” Leath
Mills]. June 18, 1989. 3 page letter..
Note: also includes Dr. Mills’ description of the contents
of the letter. Re: Tim McLaurin’s illness; Cormac McCarthy; Clyde
Edgerton; fishing; Richard Howorth; Larry McMurtry; Faulkner
Conference at the University of Mississippi; American Booksellers
Association; Roy Blount, Jr.; Dirty
Work
.
Box 1
1.5. A.L.S. Larry Brown to “Jake.” [Dr. Jerry “Jake” Leath
Mills]. July 1, 1989. 8 page letter.
Note: also includes Dr. Mills’ description of the contents
of the letter. Re: Sardis lake; life at the firehouse; fishing;
family; hunting; Tim McLaurin; Cormac McCarthy; Shannon Ravenel;
Workman; Dirty Work; Corinth, MS;
drinking laws in Mississippi; Elizabeth Spencer; Jill
McCorkle.
Box 1
1.6. T.L.S. Larry Brown to “Jake.” [Dr. Jerry “Jake” Leath
Mills]. August 7, 1989. 1 page letter. With envelope.
Note: also includes Dr. Mills’ description of the contents
of the letter. Re: reviews of Dirty
Work
; his reading at the Faulkner Conference; “Sleep”; “Big
Bad Love”; the South; Tim McLaurin; William Faulkner; Cormac
McCarthy; Jack Butler..
Box 1
1.7. T.L.S. Larry Brown to “Jake.” [Dr. Jerry “Jake” Leath
Mills]. September 16, 1989. 1 page letter. With envelope.
Note: also includes Dr. Mills’ description of the contents
of the letter. Re: Cormac McCarthy; Larry’s “Today Show” appearance;
Dirty Work; Clyde Edgerton; Joe; Tim McLaurin.
Box 1
1.8. T.L.S. Larry Brown to “Jake.” [Dr. Jerry “Jake” Leath
Mills]. October 27, 1989. 2 page letter. With envelope.
Note: also includes Dr. Mills’ description of the contents
of the letter. Re: copy of the Carolina
Quarterly
; “Sleep”; Glennray Tutor and his artwork for
Dirty Work; Tim McLaurin; American
Playhouse and Dirty Work; hunting;
new book; Pat Conroy.
Box 1
1.9. T.L.S. Larry Brown to “Jake.” [Dr. Jerry “Jake” Leath
Mills]. December 15, 1989. 3 page letter. With envelope.
Note: also includes Dr. Mills’ description of the contents
of the letter. Re: Christmas gift; students leaving Ole Miss for
holidays; fire in the girls dormitory; resignation for the fire
department and his concerns; play adaptation for American Playhouse;
new novella with the possible title 92
Days
; fishing and the Yocona River; Poke Boats; Algonquin
and his decision to leave the fire department; Shannon
Ravenel.
Box 1
1.10. T.L.S. Larry Brown to “Jake.” [Dr. Jerry “Jake” Leath
Mills]. May 30, 1990. 2 page letter. With envelope.
Note: also includes Dr. Mills’ description of the contents
of the letter. Re: Recent visit to North Carolina and fishing;
settling differences between Algonquin and Houghton-Mifflin; Dirty Work in paperback with Vintage; Big Bad Love; Glennray Tutor; decision to
build a cabin; Australian paper with Jake’s list which included
Larry’s name as one of the best recent southern fiction writers;
Clyde Edgerton; Tim McLaurin.
Box 1
1.11. T.L.S. Larry Brown to “Jake.” [Dr. Jerry “Jake” Leath
Mills]. May 1, 1990. 4 page letter. With envelope.
Note: also includes Dr. Mills’ description of the contents
of the letter. Re: article by Jake on Larry’s work; Shannon Ravenel;
worries about possible reviews of Big Bad
Love
; fishing and the Yocona River; Tim McLaurin; family
pets; possible visit to Chapel Hill; Clyde Edgerton; play; Glennray
Tutor; Joe; Cormac McCarthy; worries
about publishers; Shannon Ravenel.
Box 1
1.12. A.L.S. Larry Brown to “Jake” [Dr. Jerry “Jake” Leath
Mills]. June 20, 1990. 2 page letter.
Note: also includes Dr. Mills’ description of the contents
of the letter. Re: American Booksellers Association; Cormac
McCarthy; Dean Faulkner Wells; sending Jake a large portion of the
typescript of Joe for his review; Tim
McLaurin; dislike of traveling to New York City; Breadloaf Writer’s
Conference; Richard Ford; Clyde Edgerton; worries about possible
reviews for Big Bad Love;
deadlines.
Box 1
1.13. T.L.S. Larry Brown to “Jake” [Dr. Jerry “Jake” Leath
Mills]. September 15, 1990. 2 page letter. With envelope.
Note: also includes Dr. Mills’ description of the contents
of the letter. Re: Bread Loaf Conference in Vermont; traveling;
photographs of their fishing trip; Clyde Edgerton; low water and his
pond; Cormac McCarthy; Vintage buying out Dirty Work; French scholar interested in his
work; accepted reading appearance at Notre Dame; Will Blythe sent
Larry a letter from Esquire asking
for a story; The Paris Review looking
at “A Roadside Resurrection”; William Faulkner’s home; Kaye Gibbons;
Vicki Covington; Tim McLaurin.
Box 1
1.14. T.L.S. Larry Brown to “Jake” [Dr. Jerry “Jake” Leath
Mills]. September 30, 1990. 2 page letter. With envelope.
Note: also includes Dr. Mills’ description of the contents
of the letter. Re: Jake’s recent review of Larry’s work (Big Bad Love); “Sleep”; Rick Bass and the
Dallas Morning News; fundraiser for
the Harvey Gantt campaign and his reading; Jesse Helms; National
Endowment for the Arts and possible grant; National Public Radio and
Steven Molpus; Shannon Ravenel; recent visit to Jackson, MS to visit
with Eudora Welty and smoking; Clyde Edgerton; Cormac McCarthy;
hunting.
Box 1
1.15. T.L.S. Larry Brown to “Jake” [Dr. Jerry “Jake” Leath
Mills]. October 23, 1990. 1 page letter.
Note: also includes Dr. Mills’ description of the contents
of the letter. Re: Thanks for recent visit to Jake’s home in North
Carolina; Harry Crews’ review for Big Bad
Love
in the L.A. Times;
appointment to the associate staff at the Bread Loaf Conference in
Vermont; story brought out either by the Paris Review or Esquire; Tim McLaurin.
Box 1
1.16. T.L.S. Larry Brown to “Jake” [Dr. Jerry “Jake” Leath
Mills]. March 13, 1991. 2 page letter.
Note: also includes Dr. Mills’ description of the contents
of the letter. Re: finishing Joe;
sending Jake a copy of the manuscript; Algonquin; visit last fall;
catfish; Tim McLaurin; hope for different views of his writing with
publication of Joe; the writing
process; family; hunting; James Seay; Clyde Edgerton.
Box 1
1.17. T.L.S. Larry Brown to “Jake” [Dr. Jerry “Jake” Leath
Mills]. October 6, 1991. 2 page letter. With envelope.
Note: also includes Dr. Mills’ description of the contents
of the letter. Re: piece on Cormac McCarthy (written by Jake in the
Contemporary Fiction Writers of the
South
); Clyde Edgerton; Dean Faulkner Wells; Richard
Howorth; Harry Crews visit in a few weeks; Ann DeLisle; Suttree; The Orchard
Keeper
; Joe and use of his
life experiences; Flannery O’Connor.
Box 1
1.18. T.L.S. Larry Brown to “Jake” [Dr. Jerry “Jake” Leath
Mills]. October 31, 1991. 1 page letter. With envelope.
Note: also includes Dr. Mills’ description of the contents
of the letter. Re: recent visit with Jake; taping of Gary Hawkins’
documentary film, The Rough South of Harry
Crews
; John Sepich; George Plimpton; Tim McLaurin.
Box 1
1.19. T.L.S. Larry Brown to “Jake” [Dr. Jerry “Jake” Leath
Mills]. June 23-24, 1993. 4 page letter. With envelope.
Note: also includes Dr. Mills’ description of the contents
of the letter. Re: recent visit; Tim McLaurin’s land; Clyde
Edgerton; Harry Crews tape; Cormac review; Fred Chappell; Kenneth
Holditch; deadlines; Fisketjon; Sonny Mehta; Jim Kilgo; Bland
Simpson; Pinckney Benecdict; a copy of the London Times Literary Supplement with an
unfavorable article on the work of Cormac McCarthy; Liz Dahransoff
at Algonquin; Bob Shacochis; William Faulkner; Katherine Anne
Porter; Albert Erskine.
Box 1
1.20. T.L.S. Larry Brown to “Jake” [Dr. Jerry “Jake” Leath
Mills]. December 1, 1993. 3 page letter. With envelope.
Note: also includes Dr. Mills’ description of the contents
of the letter. Re: Cormac McCarthy’s play The
Stonemason
; Suttree; stage
version of Dirty Work; Clyde Edgerton
and Sussan Ketchin; Harry Crews; James Seay; Tim McLaurin; Shelby
Foote; coming to North Carolina; deer season; family;
Algonquin.
Box 1
1.21. T.L.S. Larry Brown to “Jake” [Dr. Jerry “Jake” Leath
Mills]. February 1, 1994. 1 page letter.
Note: also includes Dr. Mills’ description of the contents
of the letter. Re: early January 1994 staging of Dirty Work at the Arena Stage in Washington,
D.C.; book tour coming up; interview with The
Independent
; Shelby Foote; Cormac McCarthy; Fisketjon;
Chattahoochee Review; Pete Hamil;
Harry Crews; Skube; Wayne Pond.
Box 1
1.22. T.L.S. Larry Brown to “Jake” [Dr. Jerry “Jake” Leath
Mills]. February 22, 1994. 1 page letter. With envelope.
Note: also includes Dr. Mills’ description of the contents
of the letter. Re: Pig business; Shane; trip to North Carolina; Tim
McLaurin; fans; first printing of Joe
has sold out; Absolut vodka out in Southern
Accents
; Cormac McCarthy ordering some of books from Square
Books in Oxford, MS; Shelby Foote; Robert Olen Butler; Clyde
Edgerton; Wallace Kuralt; Allan Gurganus; play; fishing; Tommy Lee
Jones; Annie Dillard; Hal Crowther.
Box 1
1.23. A.L.S. Larry Brown to “Jake” [Dr. Jerry “Jake” Leath
Mills]. July 26, 1994. 5 page letter. With envelope.
Note: also includes Dr. Mills’ description of the contents
of the letter. Re: fall of pecan limb on Larry; Emory reading;
Faulkner Conference; family pets; work on Father and Son; Algonquin; Cormac McCarthy;
The Crossing; William Faulkner;
Fetzer Mills; Clyde Edgerton; Vermont and the Bread Loaf Conference;
family; hunting and fishing; The Pugilist at
Rest
; The Rifles; Barry
Gifford and the screenplay for On the
Road
; possible movie of Dirty
Work
; possible screenrights to Joe.
Box 1
1.24. T.L.S. Larry Brown to “Jake” [Dr. Jerry “Jake” Leath
Mills]. August 25, 1994. 2 page letter. With envelope.
Note: also includes Dr. Mills’ description of the contents
of the letter. Re: Cormac McCarthy and The
Crossing
; John Irving’s reading; family; Fetzer and Becky
Mills; Mark Richard; Amy Hempel; family pets; Ole Miss trying to
raise money to put on Dirty Work for
the Conference on the Book; fishing; Clyde Edgerton’s manuscript for
Redeye; Jake’s article, “The Dead
Mule Rides Again” in Southern
Cultures
6 (Winter 2000) 11-34.
Box 1
1.25. T.L.S. Larry Brown to “Jake” [Dr. Jerry “Jake” Leath
Mills]. June 22, 1995. 5 page letter. With envelope.
Note: also includes Dr. Mills’ description of the contents
of the letter. Re: marriage of Dr. Jerry “Jake” Leath Mills and Dr.
Rachel Victoria Mills (June 17, 1995 in Chapel Hill, NC); Clyde
Edgerton; Dirty Work play in Dallas;
play moving to Ghana; Cormac McCarthy and his play The Stone Mason; Wayne Pond; John Grisham’s
new movie shooting in Mississippi; Gary Fisketjon; traveling; new
novel (Father and Son); Mark Richard;
Doug Martin; family; The Oxford
American
; starting another novel; fishing; Blues Conference
at the University of Mississippi; Faulkner Conference and the Elvis
Conference; Thom Jones; Guggenheim; Louis D. Rubin, Jr.
Box 1
1.26. T.L.S. Larry Brown to “Jake” [Dr. Jerry “Jake” Leath
Mills]. November 26, 1996. 3 page letter..
Note: also includes Dr. Mills’ description of the contents
of the letter. Re: Recent visit to North Carolina; Clyde Edgerton;
fishing and hunting; traveling and sickness; working on the
screenplay for Dirty Work; Sundance
Film Festival; Jeremy Horton; Harry Crews; Jim Varney; 100 Proof; working on Billy Ray’s Farm; working also on Wild Child (published as Fay in 2000); retirement; book
reviews..
Box 1
1.27. T.L.S. Larry Brown to “Jake” [Dr. Jerry “Jake” Leath
Mills]. July 12, 1998.. 3 page letter. With envelope.
Note: also includes Dr. Mills’ description of the contents
of the letter. Re: Bland Simpson’s book Into
the Sound Country
(1997); Algonquin and Fay; Cormac McCarthy; Gary Fisketjon; Jay
McInerney; Richard and Lisa Howorth; hunting; Cities of the Plain; family; plays from his
work in L.A.; Sundance Film Festival and 100
Proof
; Tom Rankin.
Box 1
1.28. T.L.S. Larry Brown to “Jake” [Dr. Jerry “Jake” Leath
Mills]. September 14-16,
1998. 3 page letter. With envelope.
Note: also includes Dr. Mills’ description of the contents
of the letter. Re: Cows on the farm; building a little house on the
back bank of his pond; Big, Bad,
Love
; Jake’s offer to read draft; revisions and writing
schedule; possible visit to Chapel Hill; Tom Rankin, Clyde Edgerton;
and Tim McLaurin; family and children; garden; his picture in Sports Afield; script for All the Pretty Horses; music; Lila
Wallace-Reader’s Digest Award.
Box 1
1.29. T.L.S. Larry Brown to “Jake” [Dr. Jerry “Jake” Leath
Mills]. February 10, 1999. 2 page letter.
Note: also includes Dr. Mills’ description of the contents
of the letter. Re: Ted Tally’s script; Tally’s possible work on the
script for Father and Son;
possibility of working with Billy Bob Thornton and Joe; heard that Cormac McCarthy was ill;
revisions on most recent book; won the Lila Wallace Reader’s Digest
award; Andre Dubus; visiting writer; hunting; Billy Ray.
Box 1
1.30. T.L. Larry Brown to “Jake” [Dr. Jerry “Jake” Leath
Mills]. May 21, 2000. 2 page letter (fragment).
Note: also includes Dr. Mills’ description of the contents
of the letter. Re: Kevin Canty; George Saunders; reviews of Fay; Max Childers; Arliss Howard and the
script for “Big Bad Love” (really “92 Days”); “Dirty Work” play at
the Loretta Theatre in Hollywood; possible Joe film with Billy Bob Thornton and
Angelina Jolie; visit to Montana.
Box 1
1.31. T.L.S. Larry Brown to “Jake” [Dr. Jerry “Jake” Leath
Mills]. January 18, 2001. 2 page letter. With envelope.
Note: also includes Dr. Mills’ description of the contents
of the letter. Re: Talks about seeing them at Tim and Carol
McLaurin’s wedding at the home of Lee Smith and Hal Crowther in
Hillsborough, NC in November, 2000; hunting; glad that Jake likes
the new book (Billy Ray’s Farm);
reading Madison Jones’ work; Debra Winger and Big Bad Love; possible CD for the movie;
party for Barry Hannah; Jonny Miles; and work.
Box 1
1.32. TMs. Annotated copy of “Roadside
Resurrection.”. [1990]. 44 page manuscript.
Note on front of manuscript reads, “forthcoming in Paris Review 1991″.
Box 1
1.33. T.L.S. Copy of letter from Shannon Ravenel to Larry
Brown. And TMs. “Fire Notes.”. January 28, 1993. 4 page photocopied letter. 245 page clean copy of
manuscript.
Re: Letter from Shannon Ravenel to Larry gives suggestions
for changes to the manuscript “Fire Notes.” She notes that Jake had
met with her to discuss the book also. She gives her suggestions
with Jake’s and those of Ina and Liz also. She also gives a possible
calendar for revisions to get to her.
Box 1
1.34. TMs. Photocopy of annotated manuscript for “Fire
Notes.”. [1993]. 121 page photocopied manuscript.
Box1
1.35. Photocopies of original photographs removed to cold
storage.. . .
These photographs contain several images of Larry Brown
with friends, especially with Jake Mills..
 
Feedback

JavaScript disabled or chat unavailable.