Born to Dempsey DeKalb Bonner and Emma Virginia Johnson near Austin, Texas, Anne Bonner (1884-1973) attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she studied music. After teaching elementary school for six years, Anne married James P. Marley, a general in the United States Army, who fought in World War II. Anne composed music and wrote poetry, publishing her first poem in 1936. She was later recognized by the 61st Texas Legislature, which named her Poet Laureate in 1969.
Source:
Composed of correspondence, manuscripts of poetry and musical compositions, certificates, printed material, photographs, and a scrapbook, the Anne B. Marley Papers, 1907-1973, documents Marley’s life in Austin, Texas, as well as her career as a poet. Correspondence concerns personal affairs, while unpublished manuscripts of poetry and music represent her creative and professional endeavors. Certificates consist of awards she received for her poetry and creative writing, printed material includes two issues of The Pen Woman, and photographs depict Marley and her husband James at their home and in Panama. Additionally, the scrapbook contains newspaper clippings on Marley’s literary achievements and her husband’s service in the army during World War II, correspondence regarding their professional lives, and invitations.
This collection is open for research use.
Anne B. Marley Papers, 1907-1973, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s