Glisson, J.T. - "Portrait of Cross Creek" - Draft Chapters

The Al Burt Papers are divided into major sections for public talks, correspondence, subject files, writings and articles, photographs, audiovisual materials, and clippings.

Boxes 2 through 4 contain files of Burt's talks to libraries, civic groups, and conferences. Many of these are variations on the themes of "cracker" life in Florida, sense of place, and preserving Florida's environment. Others are subject specific, such as talks about his career as a reporter. He also made book tour appearances for all three of his popular works on Florida.

The collection is surprisingly sparse in correspondence given the length of Burt's career. Much of his incoming and outgoing mail is incorporated into the subject files as part of the research he was doing on stories for the Herald. A small box of general correspondence (Box 5) contains letters pertaining to the wounding of Burt and Doug Kennedy in the Dominican Republic in 1965; letters from editors and writers at the Miami Herald; letters from family and friends; and fan mail. Where there are two or more letters from the same correspondent, the correspondent is identified by name. Usually these letters are ones that Burt himself kept in a scrapbook of notable mail. Two folders of fan mail contain short notes of appreciation from many well-wishers, including Florida governors LeRoy Collins, Bob Graham, and Bob Martinez, U.S. senators Lawton Chiles, George McGovern, and Ed Muskie, fellow writers Dave Barry, Patrick Smith, and Erskine Caldwell, historians Michael Gannon and Albert Manucy, and other colleagues, interviewees, and readers. This mail is arranged alphabetically by last name.

Subject files fall into several categories: general, county, and Caribbean. These files typically include background research Burt collected on a topic as well as interview notes, letters, emails, and drafts of articles. Burt tended to write down his interview notes on yellow notepads and also backed up his interviews with tape recordings. His notes are legible and in the longer interviews contain material that did not appear in print.

The general subject files are arranged alphabetically according to the labels Burt provided, usually a key word for the topic, individual, or place he was researching for a story. A subsection of the general files (following the letter "M") consist of papers and correspondence about Burt's home base, Melrose, along with files about Historic Melrose, Inc., an association dedicated to preserving the town. The county files are in alphabetical order. With the exception of Okeechobee and Collier counties, they represent Burt's research on central and north Florida and the Panhandle. The Caribbean files are divided into Bahamas, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic. The latter include extensive documentation of Burt and Kennedy's law suit for compensation stemming from the 1965 friendly fire incident.

Box 22 contains miscellaneous writings by Burt, including his college fiction and drafts for Tropic of Cracker.

Burt kept an extensive photo file and most photographs are labeled or otherwise identified. Photos illustrate his career, places he visited, people he interviewed, and assignments he had as a foreign correspondent.

Audiovisual materials supplement all aspects of the collection. Included are CDs and DVDs of Burt reading from his works and taped interviews backing up his written notes. Of interest is his taped interview with Fidel Casto, his set of tapes from interviews with author Harry Crews, and a reel-to-reel news report about the 1965 shooting of Burt and Doug Kennedy in the Dominican Republic (see inventory for audiovisual items). These materials are currently being reformatted and duplicated and may not be accessible for research. Researchers are advised to check beforehand about availability.

The Miami Herald provided Burt with clippings of his articles and stories and the collection includes a long run of his Tropic magazine feature articles (1974-1988) as well as hundreds of other stories he wrote. Burt created a useful index for his Tropic articles and this has been reproduced online (link). The remainder of his archived clippings - features, news reports, op. ed. pieces, foreign correspondence, etc. - are arranged chronologically and are not indexed. They represent a substantial body of his career's work but they are not comprehensive. Tropic Sunday magazine articles are stored in chronological order by decade. Other articles are stored in folders in oversize newspaper boxes by decade.

Two oversize boxes contain citations, awards, and plaques that Burt received. These are also preserved as digital images, as is a 1949 caricature of Burt from around the time of his graduation from UF. The original of this sketch is with Gloria Burt. Other memorabilia include Burt's press identification cards, UF and Herald pins, and copies of the 1947-1948 UF student handbook, of which Burt was the editor.