Browne Popular Culture Library

Introduction | Biographical Sketch | Transfers | Scope and Content | Series Description | Inventory

Introduction

Marta Haake Labus is a comedy-mystery writer. She writes under the pseudonym Claire McCormick. Literary manuscripts of two of her books form the core of the collection.

In 1983, Marta Labus first began transferring her manuscripts to the Browne Popular Culture Library, Bowling Green State University. The collection is open for research, however, the photocopying of manuscripts must comply with applicable copyright laws. This register was compiled by Nancy White Lee, Popular Culture Library Associate II, in March 1986, revised with an addendum in July 1992, and updated in August 2009 by Patricia Falk.

Biographical Sketch

Marta Haake Labus was born on September 13, 1943, in Huntington, West Virginia. She graduated summa cum laude from Ohio University in 1965; received a Master of Arts degree in 1966 and a Ph. D. in 1971 from the University of Illinois. Labus married Otto Philleo Labus on May 10, 1982. They reside in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Labus is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Modern Language Association of America, Women in Communications, McCormick Ranch Woman's Association Career Group, Phi Beta Kappa, and Phi Kappa Phi. She was a Woodrow Wilson scholar in 1965, University of Illinois dissertation fellow in 1969, and held National Endowment for the Humanities fellowships in 1974 and 1976-1977.

Labus has always been interested in writing. As a child she spent much time writing plays and composing song lyrics. In high school she wrote radio scripts for the local Junior Theater of the Air; one script was published in The National Scholastic. During college she stopped writing except for poetry. In 1981 she began work on her first novel writing under the pseudonym Clair McCormick. Labus completed a third comedy/mystery, Murder in Cowboy Bronze in 1985.

Transfers

The following books have been transferred from the collection to the Browne Popular Culture Library main stack area. Call numbers for these books may be found in the BGSU Libraries Catalog.

• The Club Paradis Murders
• Resume for Murder

Scope and Content

The Marta Haake Labus Collection consists of manuscripts for three books; Resume for Murder, The Club Paradis Murders, and Murder in Cowboy Bronze. Included with the manuscripts are galley sheets, outlines, and an area map for illustration purposes.

The published books of these three works are located in the book section of the Browne Popular Culture Library. The manuscripts are arranged chronologically.

Series Description

Literary Productions

Series

Manuscripts (Literary)

1980-1985

Arranged chronologically.

Typed manuscripts for three books. This series includes original outlines, various drafts of the manuscripts, deleted pages, a map and galley sheets.

Inventory

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