Series 3. Writings and Related Materials, Box 4, Folders 14-18; Boxes 5-10, 1931-1993 and undated

This series includes drafts of published collections of poetry and memoirs, an unpublished book, loose poems, and other writings. It chiefly contains drafts of three published books, Milkweed Ladies (1988), Hill Daughter (1991), Fermi Buffalo (1994), and the unpublished essays, "Three Shades of Blue." Drafts are both manuscripts and typescripts, some of which have handwritten annotations. This series also includes related materials such as book reviews, correspondence with the University of Pittsburgh Press, dust jackets, marketing materials, and notes for these books as well as a few such items for Mountain White (1931), Gauley Moutain (1939), and Elderberry Flood (1979). Drafts are organized in chronological order where possible.

Materials related to Milkwood Ladies date from the 1970s to 1987 and include early versions of the memoirs, when it was titled "Appalachian Heart." This subseries contains handwritten drafts, typescripts with annotations, a July 1987 typescript with comments on each chapter by Maggie Anderson, an August 1987 typescript, and related materials. Hill Daughter materials date from 1990 to 1992 and include both handwritten drafts of the included poems and McNeill's 1990 typescript copy of the publication. Materials related to Fermi Buffalo date from 1984 to 1993. This collection of poetry, which was published after McNeill's death in 1993, was initially called "Tumblebug." This subseries also includes science articles that may have influenced McNeill's work.

This series also contains drafts of an unpublished book of essays titled "Three Shades of Blue." While there is one draft of the introductory section, this subseries consists almost entirely of handwritten notes and typescript drafts of the two main sections, "Lorenzo Waugh" and "Lt. Glen Vaughan" and includes comments by McNeill about the work. Almost all of the material is undated, but seems to have been written in the early 1990s.

Also included are manuscript and typescript poems, composition books, and groups of poems organized and reviewed by McNeill. Loose poems are arranged in alphabetical order by title. Poems in folders 4-14 of box 9 were sorted into envelopes and labeled by Louise McNeill. Poems have been removed from the envelopes, but any information written on the envelopes has been photocopied and included at the front of each folder. Folder titles reflect the content but not necessarily the exact wording found on the envelopes. Within each folder poems are arranged alphabetically by title with untitled poems and scraps at the back of the folder. Almost all of the poems are undated. Since copies of the same poem may appear in multiple places, researchers are encouraged to review all folders that contain loose poems.