The New York Public Library will shine a new light on literary icon Joan Didion this March with over 300 boxes of (mostly) private archival material.
Not only is the forthcoming display an intimate deep dive into the author’s professional and personal relationship with husband, writer John Gregory Dunne, but it offers a different perspective on how her work came to be. Those stopping by the new exhibit, which opens on March 26th, can expect new typescripts from the author’s interviews with Manson Family member Linda Kasabian, singer Joan Baez, and classic rock band The Doors, records and dinner party menus with guests like Warren Beatty and Annie Leibovitz, notes from her time at Vogue, and even Didion’s “Babyhood” book.
“Few writers have shaped the world of letters as profoundly as Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne,” said Brent Reidy, Andrew W. Mellon Director of the Research Libraries at The New York Public Library. “The opening of this archive provides scholars and writers alike with an unparalleled opportunity to explore Didion and Dunne’s intellectual journeys, collaborations, and enduring impact on literature, journalism, and criticism.”
Considering New Yorkers’ totes are incomplete without a copy of Slouching Towards Bethlehem and The White Album, we expect this to be a huge moment for writers, readers, and beyond. Plus, it has been carefully curated and a work-in-progress for quite some time.
“After two years of careful processing and preparation, the Library is thrilled to make the papers of Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne available to our communities of researchers,” said Julie Golia, Associate Director, Rayner Special Collections Wing, and Charles J. Liebman Senior Curator of Manuscripts. The opening of this rich, expansive, and deeply personal collection will spark a new generation of scholarship on Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne.”
All those with a library card will be able to access the exhibit in the Manuscripts and Archives Division at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building.
🗓️ Beginning Wednesday, March 26
📍 NYPL Stephen A. Schwarzman Building: 476th Fifth Ave
💵 Free