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Box 12 - Dorothy Dix Symposium

Folder 1 of 1

14 items

The Dorothy Dix Symposium was held on September 27, 1991 at Woodstock Mansion, Trenton, Kentucky where Elizabeth Meriwether Gilmer (Dorothy Dix) was born in 1861. The Symposium was sponsored by the F. G. Woodward Library, Austin Peay State University.

Nearly 200 persons gathered for a day long conference to celebrate the life of Elizabeth Meriwether Gilmer, better known as Dorothy Dix.

Six noted scholars presented six papers divided into two separate topics.

First, The Legacy of Dorothy Dix included the following presentations: The Making of a Southern Journalist, The Life of Dorothy Dix, and the The World Travels of Dorothy Dix.

Second, Dorothy Dix’s Career as a Journalist included the following presentations: Elizabeth M. Gilmer as Dorothy Dix: Woman Journalist Rewrites the Myth of the Southern Lady, One Hundred Years of Advice: an Analysis of the Style and Content of Dear Abby and Dorothy Dix, and Dorothy Dix the Woman, the Columnist, the Person: a Look at the Life of Elizabeth Meriwether.

The proceedings of the contributed papers titled Dorothy Dix Elizabeth Meriwether Gilmer: The First Woman Journalist 1861-1951, edited by Inga A. Filippo and Elnor McMahan who also served as coordinators of the symposium. The papers are available in full text on the F. G. Woodward Library’s Dorothy Dix Collection web site.

Inimitable highlights to the symposium were breakfast served inside the mansion with piano selections by Anna Laura Page, wife of the President of Austin Peay State University; during a New Orleans buffet luncheon strolling university drama students in period costumes provided skits portraying scenes from Dix’s life. The luncheon was set under the front yard oaks at Woodstock; tours of Woodstock were given by local historians; a plaque commemorating the symposium was placed and unveiled on the lawn of Woodstock; a pre-play dinner buffet and a theatrical Dorothy Dix Speaks production at the local community theater ended the daily festivity.

1. Dorothy Dix Elizabeth Meriwether Gilmer: The First Woman Journalist, edited by Inga A. Filippo and Elnor McMahan. Proceedings of the contributed research papers of the Dorothy Dix Symposium. F.G. Woodward Library, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, Tennessee. 1993 (http://library.apsu.edu/dix/dix.htm). Dix Coll PS3515.I635 D622 1991.

2. Symposium narrative (for the day) which includes program logistics, by Elnor McMahan. September, 1991 (7 p. typed script).

3. Correspondence with Symposium panel members and Inga Filippo, 1991-1993.

4. Letter from Dear Abby, (Margaret Kilgore, assistant to Abigail Van Buren) to Elnor McMahan, declining the invitation to speak at the Symposium. 1991.

5. Tour of Woodstock, tour script, by Elinor H. Thurman, 1991 and 1996.

6. Pre and post Symposium public announcements. The Leaf Chronicle, Clarksville, Tennessee, The All State, APSU student paper, and a press release from the [Nashville]Tennessean, September 1991 (5 items).

7. Theatrical production script, Dorothy Dix Speaks, by John McDonald (Dix Coll PS3515.I 635 M32); poster, The Leaf Chronicle announcement of the forthcoming production with photo of the three main characters; printed invitation to a later February Valentine performance of “Dorothy Dix Speaks,” 1991 and 1992 (4 items).

8. Autograph luncheon invitation, September 1993. Celebrating the printing of the Symposium Papers with the panelists at the home of Inga Filippo. All panelists received a copy of the book; article with photo of the book presentation to the Meriwether family in New Orleans. The Leaf Chronicle, Around Town, September 19, 1993 (2 items).

9. Copyright permission correspondence between Inga Filippo and the symposium panelists for the Symposium publication, 1994.

10. Symposium registration forms of attendants, 1991 (2 folders).

11. Symposium guest book with handwritten names of participants, September 27, 1991 (incomplete).

12. Symposium program matter including all special tickets such as name tags, luncheon menu, theatre reminder and reservation response cards, September 1991.

13. Symposium bills, 1991.

14. Dorothy Dix Symposium, symposium video recording, 4v. 1991 (Dix Coll VC-Tape PS3515. I 635 D62).