Willa Cather at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln

The Cather Project of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln English Department, directed by Melissa Homestead, promotes teaching and research about American novelist and University of Nebraska graduate Willa Cather at UNL and beyond. The Cather Project produces the Willa Cather Scholarly Edition and Cather Studies, supports research by UNL English department faculty and students on Cather, brings scholars from outside of UNL to present on Cather and conduct research in UNL Archives & Special Collections, and organizes conferences and other events.

Archives & Special Collections in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries holds the largest collection of Willa Cather related materials in the world, with 14 collections of material related to Cather’s life, works, and scholarship. The Roscoe and Meta Cather Collection, one of the richest Cather collections in the repository, includes almost 400 letters written by Willa Cather to her family members and friends, as well as letters to Cather family members from Willa Cather’s partner of 40 years, Edith Lewis. Many of the collections include photographs, first editions and inscribed copies of Cather’s novels, and other Cather family materials that support research and scholarship through diverse and significant content.