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Phyllis Barber photograph collection

 Collection
Identifier: P1515

Scope and Contents

The Phyllis Barber photograph collection consists of 1 box containing 45 black and white and color photograph prints depicting Barber's family and friends and documenting her career as a writer. The collection includes images of illustrations by Ann Baumann from Barber's children's book Legs, The Story of a Giraffe (1991); photographs of the Writers at Work Conference in Park City, Utah, in 1984 and 1985; and images sent in Barber's correspondence with Sandy Ellsworth from 1986 to 1990.

Dates

  • 1984-2000

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.

Conditions Governing Use

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.

Permission to publish material from the Phyllis Barber photograph collection must be obtained from the Special Collections Manuscript Curator.

Biographical Note

Phyllis Nelson Barber (1943-) was born in Henderson, Nevada, on May 11, 1943. She was raised in Boulder City and Las Vegas Nevada. Barber attended Brigham Young University from 1961 to 1964, where she studied piano. There, she met and married David H. Barber in 1964; together, they had four sons. Phyllis Barber divorced from David Barber in 1996. She married William “Bill” Traeger in 2000; the couple divorced in 2002 and remarried in 2010, whereupon they settled in Park City, Utah.

After marriage, the Barbers moved to Palo Alto, California, while David Barber pursued a law degree at Stanford. In California, Phyllis Barber continued her studies, receiving a BA in Music from San Jose State in 1967. Barber taught and performed music while living in California; however, she decided that working as a concert pianist was not a viable career. The Barbers subsequently lived in Colorado and Utah, where Phyllis participated in various writing workshops and took creative writing courses at the University of Utah. During this time, she began writing for Utah Holiday magazine in Salt Lake City.

In 1984, Barber received an MFA in writing from Vermont College. The same year, she co-founded the annual conference Writers at Work in Park City, Utah. In addition to publishing novels, short stories, articles, essays, and a book for young readers, Barber served on the faculty of Vermont College, where she led numerous writing workshops and continuing education classes. She has received numerous awards for both teaching and writing. Barber is known for her cycle of memoirs, which began in 1991 with How I got Cultured: A Nevada Memoir. Raised a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Barber’s fiction and nonfiction deal with themes of organized religion and spirituality; her work also engages with the history, environment, and culture of the American West.

Extent

45 Photographic Prints (1 box)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Phyllis Barber (1943-) is an American author known for her memoirs; she has also written novels, essays, and books for young readers. This colleciton contains photographs of Barber's family and friends as well as images related to her career as a writer.

Arrangement

Arranged by subject

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated by Phyllis Barber in 2007.

Separated Materials

See also the Phyllis Barber papers (ACCN 0369) in the Manuscripts Division of Special Collections.

Processing Information

Processed by Special Collections staff.
Title
Guide to the Phyllis Barber photograph collection
Author
Finding aid created by Claire A. Kempa.
Date
2022
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Repository Details

Part of the J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections Repository

Contact:
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City Utah 84112 United States
801-581-8863