Grady (Panna) collection
Panna Grady O’Connor was a patron of writers, primarily poets. Throughout the early to mid-1960s she befriended various writers in New York. After brief relationships with John Wieners and Charles Olson, Panna met Philip O’Connor, with whom she maintained a relationship for over 30 years, until his death in 1998. Shortly after meeting, they moved to France, where Panna still resides. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Panna was known for her parties and her generosity toward poets. The Panna Grady Collection, 1950-2015 (bulk 1960-1970), consists chiefly of correspondence, including letters from William Burroughs, Diane Di Prima, Ed Dorn, Allen Ginsberg, Barbara Guest, Michael Hamburger, Herbert Huncke, Charles Olson, and John Wieners. The collection also contains a number of photographs of Panna with John Wieners and with Charles Olson; a script for a play by Jack Micheline and an annotated manuscript of Revolutionary Letters by Diane Di Prima; an annotated and inscribed broadside, "Hart Crane, Harry Crosby, I See You Going Over the Edge," by John Wieners; and books inscribed to Panna. Panna donated Philip O’Connor’s archives to Leed University, but some materials related to his work are included, such as letters from Stephen Spender and a bibliography of O’Connor’s work. This collection documents through correspondence Panna’s connection to and financial support of writers in New York and London primarily in the 1960s. The letters also reveal the relationships among writers, including collaborations and interactions with each other. Within the series on Correspondence is a file on Parties, which details the elaborate parties given by Panna at her Dakota Building apartment through guest lists, invitations, and responses.