Melinda McCracken fonds, 1949-2002

MSS 141, PC 147, TC 93, (A.02-43)

5.84 m of textual records.-- 38 audiotapes.-- 199 photographs

Melinda McCracken was born on 1June 1940. She attended Riverview School from 1946-1955 and Churchill High from 1955-1957. She received her BA in Honors English from the University of Manitoba in 1961. McCracken attended the Bynam Shaw School of drawing and painting in Paris in 1962-1963. She attended the Hornsey College of Art in London in 1963-1964, where she took silversmithing. McCracken returned to Canada in 1964 and worked as a journalist in Montreal and Toronto. A former Globe and Mail Staff writer, she is the author of Memories Are Made of This, published by Lorimer in 1975. Her articles and reviews have appeared in many Canadian newspapers and magazines. She was Manitoba's contributing editor to the NeWest Review, and in 1996 was Carman's Writer-in-Residence. She passed away May 2002.

The fonds were donated by Melinda McCracken and her daughter Molly to the Department of Archives & Special Collections in 1998 (A.98-35) MSS 141 and in 2002 (A.02-43)

The fonds consists of six series. The first series is Correspondence. The second series involves McCracken's Literary Career. The third series regards the years that McCracken worked at Manitoba Energy and Mines. The fourth series had material from various Organizations that she was or is involved with. The fifth series contains material from McCracken's Academic Career. The final series is Miscellaneous. There is also a Photograph Collection (PC 147) consisting of 69 photographs, and a Tape Collection (TC 93) consisting of 18 audio tapes and 1 phono record

Title based on the contents of the fonds

There are several confidential folders of personal writings. There are also several original letters that are water and mold damaged and are unavailable in their original form to researchers, although photocopies have been made available

Further accruals are possible

Findings aids available:

Mss 141 (A.93-35)

Mss 141 (A.02-43)