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William D. Barney Papers

 Collection
Identifier: MS 132

Collection Scope and Content Summary

The collection includes drafts of poems, plays, and other writings from 1934-1992. His poems cover a wide range of topics dealing with Fort Worth life and business. Manuscripts in short hand, children's poems, and aphorisms are also included.

Dates

  • 1934-1992
  • Majority of material found in 1934-1992 inclusive, 1972-1983

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research. Copyright has not been transferred to TCU.

Biographical / Historical

William D. Barney was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma on April 19, 1916. His family moved to Fort Worth, Texas in 1928, where his father wanted to try out for the local semiprofessional baseball team. Barney graduated from Fort Worth Central High School and attended Texas Christian University for a few years. During his time in school, Barney developed a fascination with poetry and wrote numerous stories about Fort Worth. In addition to working for the U.S. Postal Service, Barney published his works. The poem The Killdeer Crying won a National Robert Frost Award circa 1961. He went on to publish nine books of poetry and a few plays. Barney also became a member of the Texas Institute of Letters, The Poetry Society of America, and The Poetry Society of Texas. The third organization elected him president in 1952 and 1953. After thirty years of service, he retired from the U.S. Postal Service and dedicated the rest of his life to writing. In 1982, the state of Texas appointed him Poet Laureate of Texas. Barney died in Fort Worth, Texas on November 20, 2001 at the age of 85. He is buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery.

Extent

2.5 Linear feet

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

The collection includes the poet's writings such as, poems, short stories, manuscripts, plays, and drafts of works from 1934 to 1992.

Physical Location

Vault BB6 ; BC1

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donations made by William D. Barney in 1980, 1983, 1985, 1986, and 1989.

  • Poetry Society of America Subject Source: {:aat=>"Art & Architecture Thesaurus", :cash=>"Canadian Subject Headings", :gmgpc=>"TGM II, Genre and physical characteristic terms", :ingest=>"Unspecified ingested source", :lcgft=>"Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms", :lcsh=>"Library of Congress Subject Headings", :lcshac=>"Library of Congress Children's Subject Headings", :local=>"Local sources", :mesh=>"Medical Subject Headings", :nal=>"National Agricultural Library subject headings", :ram=>"Répertoire d'autorités RAMEAU", :rbgenr=>"Genre Terms: A Thesaurus for Use in Rare Book and Special Collections Cataloguing", :rvm=>"Répertoire de vedettes-matière", :tgn=>"Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names"}
  • Poetry Society of Texas Subject Source: {:aat=>"Art & Architecture Thesaurus", :cash=>"Canadian Subject Headings", :gmgpc=>"TGM II, Genre and physical characteristic terms", :ingest=>"Unspecified ingested source", :lcgft=>"Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms", :lcsh=>"Library of Congress Subject Headings", :lcshac=>"Library of Congress Children's Subject Headings", :local=>"Local sources", :mesh=>"Medical Subject Headings", :nal=>"National Agricultural Library subject headings", :ram=>"Répertoire d'autorités RAMEAU", :rbgenr=>"Genre Terms: A Thesaurus for Use in Rare Book and Special Collections Cataloguing", :rvm=>"Répertoire de vedettes-matière", :tgn=>"Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names"}
  • Poets laureate -- Texas Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Title
Guide to the William D. Barney Papers
Author
Compiled by Miriam E. Villanueva
Date
2014
Language of description
English
Script of description
Code for undetermined script

Repository Details

Part of the Archives and Special Collections, Mary Couts Burnett Library Repository

Contact:
TCU Box 298400
2800 S. University Drive
Fort Worth, Texas 76129-0001
Fort Worth Texas 76129
(817) 257-4566
(817) 257-7282 (Fax)