Note card from Ivan Doig collection with typing that says it seemed only right.

 

The note card collection of the Ivan Doig Archive consists of hundreds of individual 5" x 8" note cards containing typed and handwritten words, sentences, phrases, character traits, lingo, plots, landscapes, and ideas that were incorporated into Doig's writing process. Occasionally Doig would remove note cards and place them within a working manuscript for referral, or sort them in a different manner depending on the composition he was working on. 

 

 

Featured Note Cards


 

Note card from the Sweet Thunder collection with typed words and phrases.Sweet Thunder Note Card Collection

Note cards for Sweet Thunder are compressed into 3 files and contain a mix of characters related to English Creek and Dancing at the Rascal Fair. The last file labeled “Possible Inserts” contains more information related to Sweet Thunder and Butte, Montana, as well as phrasing from Heart Earth. Also in the last file are interview questions for Doig about Whistling Season, Work Song, and Sweet Thunder as well as writing in general. Doig talks about why he doesn’t live in Montana, why he wrote The Bartender’s Tale and Whistling Season and shares his views about writing and writers.

 

 

 

Note card Ivan used for two unwritten books: Rainbow Hope and The Glass Sea.

Unwritten Books: The Rainbow Hope and the Glass Sea

These two unpublished novels tie largely to military and politics. The Rainbow Rope relates to the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Glass Sea relates to the Communist Party in Montana. Both stories involve characters associated with the University of Washington. There are no numbered cards, and the concepts for the novels are in their early phase. Not surprisingly, many cards from previous novels, probably unused material, have been inserted here.