Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker gives personal archive to USC
November 13, 2017
Kathleen Parker, author and Washington Post columnist, has given her personal archive to the University of South Carolina Libraries’ South Carolina Political Collections.
Parker, who lives in Camden, South Carolina, will be honored and give the keynote address at the University Libraries’ Ex Libris Society annual dinner on Thursday, Nov. 16.
The 2010 Pulitzer Prize winner for commentary is the most widely syndicated columnist in the nation.
Her papers include columns and other writings, correspondence with newsmakers and journalists, fan mail and letters from critics. Once catalogued, the collection will be made available to students, scholars and the public for viewing and research.
Parker’s archive joins dozens of collections amassed by prominent legislative and judicial leaders, journalists and grassroots activists. The collections, archival materials and oral histories that comprise the South Carolina Political Collections are valuable resources in the study of contemporary government and society.
“Kathleen Parker’s papers represent a significant element in our effort to reflect our history and community,” says Herbert Hartsook, director of South Carolina Political Collections. “Her papers will fit well with those of other journalists we hold, including Jack Bass, Charles Wickenberg Jr. and William D. Workman Jr., as well as her Washington Post colleague, Pultizer Prize winner and university alumnus Jim Hoagland.”
Parker, who describes her politics as “mostly right of center,” writes a twice-weekly column on politics and culture, which is syndicated in more than 400 U.S. media outlets.
Her career as a journalist began in South Carolina at the Charleston Evening Post. She went on to write for five major newspapers and an array of magazines including Time, Town & Country, The Weekly Standard, Fortune Small Business and Cosmopolitan. She wrote the book, “Save the Males: Why Men Matter, Why Women Should Care.”
In addition to her writing, Parker frequently provides television commentary. She co-hosted CNN’s Parker Spitzer with former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer in 2010 and 2011 and appeared as a popular guest on NBC’s Meet the Press and MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews.
“Parker is among the country’s most thoughtful commentators on modern society,” Hartsook says. “Her work is of national interest and will appeal to the university’s students and faculty in history and political science as well as library and journalism in the College of Information and Communications.”
The Ex Libris Society dinner will take place at 6 p.m. in the university’s Capstone Conference Center. To purchase tickets, which cost $50 per person, call 803-576-6016.
