Correspondence

This collection documents May Sarton's enduring friendships with several Sisters of St. Joseph who were faculty or administrators at the College of St. Catherine (now St. Catherine University). Sarton was especially close to Sister Alice Gustava (Maris Stella) Smith, who was a member of the English faculty and herself an accomplished poet. Sarton made a donation to the college that enabled Sister Maris Stella to take a sabbatical. Sarton also acted as a mentor to Sister Mary Virginia Micka, another poet on the English faculty. The bulk of the collection consists of Sarton's letters to Sister Maris Stella and to Sister Mary Virginia, in which Sarton enclosed copies of her poems in the form of typescripts or fine letter-press printing, photographs, clippings, and other small gifts. The Micka correspondence also includes copies of Sister Mary Virginia's letters to Sarton. A smaller amount of correspondence with Sister Rosalie Ryan (English faculty) and three former presidents of the College (Sisters Antonius Kennelly, Mary William Brady, and Albert Huber) also exists.

Sarton's three visits to campus are also documented in the collection: her visit as Phi Beta Kappa scholar in 1958, her convocation lecture in 1968, and the presentation of the College's Alexandrine Medal to Sarton in 1975.

The remainder of the collection includes works by Sarton and biographical materials that were collected over the years by the Sisters.