Jeanne Browne Krochalis papers

Collection

Identifier: 2002-026c

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Contents of the collection include, Wesleyan MA coursework, including class materials and essays with comments by Fred Millett and Wilbert Snow (1945-1946); correspondence with Padraic Colum, Irish publishers, and Irish literary organizations (all chiefly 1960s); documents reflecting her teaching; notebooks from the Wesleyan Writers Conference taken as a participant (1980-94); her writings, including several about Padraic Colum and notes taken from dictation and audio recordings for an unpublished volume of Colum's memoirs; 3 inscribed play typescripts by Padraic Colum: "Balloon," 1968; "Glandalough," n.d.; "Moytura," 1960; a separate collection of correspondence between Padraic Colum and Harry and Alice Lappin (1920-32), approx. 20 pieces; photos; family photos of Elizabeth Bransfield Brown '07; and one Young Emeralds [Portland, Conn.] Catholic Total Abstinence Union of America Badge, after 1882.

Dates

Creation: 1882-1994

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

University records - Copyright held by Wesleyan University; all other copyright is retained by the creator - In Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted

Some material may be in public domain - No Copyright - United States

Biographical / Historical

Jeanne Brown Krochalis (1921- ) (Wesleyan MA in English, 1946), cofounder of the Suffield/Wesleyan Writers Conference, English teacher at Suffield Academy and Our Lady of the Angels Academy, Enfield, Conn., and close friend and assistant to Irish poet and playwright Padraic Colum. She served as Chair of Manuscripts and Scholarships to the Suffield Writers Conference (1957-69) and Director of the Conference (1969-ca. 1984), seeing its move from Suffield to Wesleyan. She is the sister of Philip B. Brown (Wesleyan class of 1944 and Trustee), the daughter of Elizabeth Bransfield Brown (Wesleyan class of 1907), and the niece of Helen Bransfield (Wesleyan class of 1904). Krochalis and her husband Edmund assisted Padraic Colum in 1970-1972 in the last months of his life which were spent in an assisted living facility in Enfield, Conn. They answered correspondence, took notes, and helped him with revisions to literary work and a projected volume of his memoirs. In this collection are a number of Colum-related documents including play typescripts, correspondence, and photos. Related material can be found in the Padraic Colum Papers and Wesleyan Writers Conference Records in the Wesleyan Archives.