Words and Phrases

This subseries very clearly shows Vliet’s process of writing from preliminary research through final product. It includes extensive background research files including files by subject containing clippings from newspapers and magazines, library call slips, color and black and white photographs, and handwritten notes. Following these research files are drafts of chapters handwritten in pencil, annotated typescripts, clean typescripts, and (minimal) correspondence. Perhaps most meticulously documented is the process of writing Scorpio Rising, Vliet’s last novel, despite the fact that he was violently ill when writing it and died only one week after completing it. The author’s widow, Ann Vliet, saw this novel through to publication.