And we meet Capote himself, who, whether he is smoking with his cleaning lady or trading sexual gossip with Marilyn Monroe, reminds one of the most elegant, malicious, yet compassionate writers to train his eye on the social fauna of our time. After dropping out of high school in the 1940s, he began publishing short stories in the New Yorker and other magazines. An admitted alcoholic and drug addict, Capote and his work deteriorated over the following ten years and he died in Los Angeles shortly before his 60th birthday. Tru , a play about his life written in 1990 by Jay Presson Allen, was a hit on Broadway. Guide to Truman Capote Papers Papers of Truman Capote are for the most part made up of holograph and typescript manuscripts of his works, both published and unpublished.
Collection also includes correspondence, printed matter, photographs, and graphic materials.
Manuscripts are representative of Capote's work beginning with his high school writings, which comprise a separate series. There are a large number of holograph notes and manuscripts as well as clean typescripts and those with revisions and annotations. Material related to In Cold Blood forms an important part of the collection and reflects Capote's five years of research and involvement in the Clutter murder case upon which the book was based. Alvin Dewey, of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, was the principal investigator in the murder of the Clutter family. Printed matter includes articles and clippings by and about Capote and about the Clutter case.