Harvard University has acquired the archives of the late author and Harvard alumnus John Updike. (Martha Updike/Alfred A. Knopf/Associated Press) Pulitzer Prize-winning author John Updike's manuscripts, artwork, golf scorecards and letters from fellow writers and fans are among the vast trove of documents acquired by Harvard University.
The school, which announced the acquisition on Wednesday, said the collection will be housed at its Houghton Library.
The celebrated American writer, who died in January at the age of 76, is one of Harvard's most illustrious literary alumni. He was a member of the class of 1954.
The collection will be "a lasting and living tribute to one of the college's most creative and accomplished graduates," Harvard president Drew Faust said in a statement.
It will not only "enrich our understanding of a distinguished writer and his work, but will also provide insights into the literary craft and its place in late 20th-century America."
Financial terms of the acquisition were not revealed.
Updike had previously given some of his papers to Houghton, including early short story manuscripts he wrote for The New Yorker, his early poetry collection Telephone Poles and extensive documentation relating to the writing of his famed novel Rabbit, Run.
After being archived by library staffers, the newer material will expand upon that collection.
Other authors whose papers are housed at the Houghton Library include Ralph Waldo Emerson, Emily Dickinson, T.S. Eliot and Herman Melville.
With files from The Associated Press
