Handy Writers' Colony

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The Handy Writers' Colony, often called simply the Handy Colony or the Colony, was located in Marshall, Illinois. The Handy Colony was founded in 1950 by Lowney Turner Handy and her husband, Harry Handy, along with her student, best-selling novelist James Jones. Lowney Handy was the Colony's quirky teacher and mentor, with financial support coming from her husband and Jones, particularly from the sale of Jones' first novel, From Here to Eternity. A unique aspect of Handy's approach was to have her students spend many hours simply copying, by hand or typewriter, materials from authors whose work she admired.

Many young writers found support at the Colony. The colony dissolved with the death of Lowney Handy in 1964.

The archives of the Handy Colony are in the collection of the University of Illinois-Springfield. In addition, the Department of Special Collections at Cunningham Memorial Library at Indiana State University holds the Colony's library, including books by Handy's students and the books from which she had them copy.

[edit] References

Wood, Thomas J. and Keating, Meredith (1989). James Jones in Illinois: A Guide to the Handy Writers' Colony Collection. Springfield, Illinois: Sangamon State University.
Hendrick, George; Howe, Helen; and Sackrider, Don (2001). James Jones and the Handy Writers' Colony. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press. ISBN 0-8093-2365-6.
Bowers, John (1971). The Colony. New York: E. P. Dutton.
Hendrick, George; Howe, Helen; and Sackrider, Don (editors) (2002). Writings from the Handy Colony. Urbana, Illinois: Tales Press.