Handy Writers' Colony


The Handy Writers' Colony, often called simply the Handy Colony or The Colony, was a writers' colony located in Marshall, Illinois, which operated from 1950–1964. The Handy Colony was founded in 1950 by Lowney Turner Handy and her husband, Harry Handy, along with Lowney's student, best-selling novelist James Jones. Lowney Handy was the Colony's quirky teacher and mentor, with financial support coming from her husband and Jones, particularly after the sale of Jones' first novel, From Here to Eternity. A unique aspect of Handy's approach was to have her students spend many hours simply copying, by hand or typewriter, materials from authors whose work she admired.
Handy was vehemently opposed to homosexual writers, often making homophobic and derogatory remarks about artists such as Walt Whitman, Marcel Proust, and Hart Crane, as well as D. H. Lawrence and T. S. Eliot, which she had banned her students from reading, even going so far as to tear up books and physically assault students.
Originally conceived as a Utopian commune where budding artists could focus exclusively on their writing projects, the colony dissolved largely because of Handy's own erratic behavior and Jones' focus on his own novels. Jones' editor and mentor, Burroughs Mitchell, said of Handy:
Despite Handy's policy prohibiting outsiders from entering the colony, certain visitors were allowed, including Burroughs Mitchell, Norman Mailer, and actor Montgomery Clift.
Many young writers found support at the Colony. Published writers associated with the Colony included James Jones, John Bowers, Tom T. Chamales, Edwin C. Daly, William Duhart, Jere Peacock, Jon Shirota, Jerry Tschappat, and Charles S. Wright. The colony dissolved with the death of Lowney Handy in 1964.

Novels associated with the Colony

Published novels written at least in part at the Colony or with editorial advice from Lowney Handy include:

Archives

The archives of the Handy Colony are in Archives/Special Collections in Norris L. Brookens Library at the University of Illinois Springfield. In addition, the Department of Special Collections at Cunningham Memorial Library at Indiana State University holds the Colony's library, including books by Handy's students and the books from which she had them copy.