GUIDE TO THE WILLIAM LEE KEENE PAPERS
1928 - 1975


Compiled by
by
Sharon Brown McConnell

Eastern Kentucky University
R.G. 82
Keene, William Lee, 1896-1975
Papers, 1928-1975
.45     cubic feet
750 items
1 Box
86A4


TABLE OF CONTENTS


Introduction  to the William Lee Keene Papers
Biographical Sketch of William Lee Keene 
Miscellaneous Series       
Speech Series              
Writings Series



INTRODUCTION TO THE WILLIAM LEE KEENE PAPERS

The William Lee Keene Papers, consisting of one box

containing speeches and writings of Mr Keene from 1928-1975, were donated to the Archives by Keenes daughters, Mrs. Kathryn Kearns and Mrs. Alice Garnache, in 1982. While the collection is small, it is representative of the material which Mr. Keene wrote or composed for speaking. All of these are fine examples of Mr. Keene 5 unique ability.

WILLIAM LEE KEENE:  A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

William Lee Keene was a professor of English at Eastern Kentucky University from 1926 until his retirement in 1965. He was born on April 3, 1896 in Lafayette, Tennessee to Henry and Alice Branford Keene. He attended Middle Tennessee College in Murfreesboro for three years before going on to George Peabody Teachers College in Nashville. There he received both his bachelor of science and his master of arts degrees. He completed two years of additional study at Peabody and served in the armed forces from 1917-1919.

Mr. Keene was noted for his genteel public speaking and was sought after for his expertise in offering tributes to deserving individuals. An annual event to select an outstanding female orator at Eastern has been named in his honor,"The W.L. Keene Oratorical Contest." His skills in writing are not to be overlooked. While he did not actively seek publication, many items he wrote have appeared in print. One of his poems, "Our Unreturning," has been set to music by Mr. Dean Gatwood. It was first performed by the Richmond Choral Society in 1986. A bibliography of his published work is included in these papers.

Mr. Keene was a very creative, sensitive, modest man. While he was not a joiner, he was very active on campus and in the community. He frequently served as a speaker during the weekly assembly programs on campus and was often asked to read the scripture during public gatherings. He was a member of the First Christian Church and the Kiwanis Club. For a great number of years he was faculty advisor to the staff of the Eastern Progress.

He married Mae Powell of Garrard County in 1929. They had two daughters Kathryn Kearns and Alice Garnache. Mrs. Keene was a teacher in the Training School at Eastern before her marriage. Mr. Keene died on October 3, 1975 following a short illness and was buried in the Richmond Cemetery.

*Miscellaneous Series*

Description: The Miscellaneous Series includes a photograph of Mr. Keene, ca. 1960, a bibliography of his published works, a short biographical sketch, and a small number of letters. The correspondence includes the years 1945-75.

Inventory

Box 1   Bibliography Biographical Sketch Correspondence Photograph

1962
1962
1945-75
ca. 1960

*Speech Series*

Description: There are twenty-eight speeches in this series. Some of these were given at dedications of buildings or were tributes to outstanding individuals. They are arranged by type and then alphabetically by title.

Inventory

Box 1  

Dedications:

     Bert T. Combs Building - 1964 
     Keene Hall - 1969 
     Meditation Chapel - 1971 
     Roy B. Clark Room - 1971 
     Yearbook - 1946

Speeches:

     Continuity to Change - 1963
     Founders Day Pledge - n.d.
     Literature Speaking - ca. 1950
     On Communism - ca. 1950
     Only Yesterday - 1963
     Queen of the Ball - 1954
     The Right Word - ca. 1958
     Tribute to Mother's Day
     The War Years - 1957

Tributes:

     As We Remember Them - 1946 
     Mrs. Della Spears Turley - n.d 
     Dorland Coates - ca.  1970 
     Greetings to a New President - 1960 
     Herman Lee Donovan - 1965 
     James E. Van Peursem - 1964 
     Names On A "Service Board" - ca. 1942 
     President and Mrs. O'Donnell - 1960 
     Thomas J. Coates - 1965 
     To Graduating Seniors Of Any Year - n.d. 
     To Mrs. Maureen Bronson Todd - n.d

*Writing Series*

Description: The Writings Series consists of twenty-nine items. Essays, short stories, poems, dramatizations and miscellaneous writings are included. While much of the writing was done in the 1950s, there is at least one poem dating back to 1928. These items are arranged by type and then alphabetically by title.

Inventory

Box 1  

Dramatizations:

     Books At Home - 1939 
     A Century of Public Education In Kentucky Pt. I & II - 1938 
     Pillars of Peabody - ca. 1941

Essays:

     Campus Incident - ca. 1950
     Carols At Assembly - ca. 1950
     How To Live With A 14 Carat Brain - ca. 1950
     The War Years - n.d.

Miscellaneous Writings:

     Boys On A Bus - ca. 1950
     First Assembly of a New Home - 1947
     Kid On The Street - 1940
     Old Books, Old Wine, Old Friends - ca. 1950
     The Play Begins - ca. 1950
     Portrait - ca. 1950
     Prayers - n.d.
     Selective Service Men - ca. 1940
     Telford Community House Stands
     There On A Hill - ca. 1955
     Ten Years From Now - 1940

Poems:

     White Silence, 1928, De Profundis II,
     1936, Our Unreturning, 1944, and Untitled - n.d
  
Short Stories:

     Always Jeanne - n.d.
     A Green Land - n.d
     Joe Mooney - n.d.
     White Shirts - n.d