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Didion-Dunne archives acquired by New York Public Library

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AP1977

FILE - Authors Joan Didion, left, and her husband, John Dunne, appear in their Malibu home, Ca., in Dec. 1977. The archives of the late Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne have been acquired by the New York Public Library. (AP Photo, File)

NEW YORK ā€“ The archives of the late Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne, spanning from letters and wedding pictures to manuscripts and screenplay drafts, have been acquired by the New York Public Library.

ā€œThe Library is thrilled to announce that our outstanding research collections will now include the archive of Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne, iconic voices of postwar American journalism, fiction, and screenwriting,ā€ Declan Kiely, the library's director of Special Collections and Exhibitions, said in a statement Friday.

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Didion and Dunne were married from 1964 until his death in 2003. They were among the worldā€™s most prominent literary couples and the letters in their archives include correspondence with Jacqueline Kennedy, Tennessee Williams, Nora Ephron and former Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, childhood friend of Didionā€™s who spoke at her memorial last year.

ā€œWe anticipate that the Didion and Dunne papers, once processed, will become one of our most heavily used collections and an essential resource for scholars, students, and those interested in their intensely collaborative life and work,ā€ Kiely's statement said.

Didion was known for the novels ā€œPlay It as It Laysā€ and ā€œA Book of Common Prayer,ā€ such classic essay collections as ā€œThe White Albumā€ and ā€œSlouching Towards Bethlehemā€ and for her memoir ā€œThe Year of Magical Thinking,ā€ in which she writes about mourning Dunne.

Dunne's books included the nonfiction Hollywood account ā€œStudioā€ and the novel ā€œTrue Confessions.ā€ He and Didion also collaborated on several screenplays, including ā€œThe Panic in Needle Parkā€ and the 1976 remake of ā€œA Star Is Born.ā€


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