Brad J. Vest/The New York Times Dawn Powell’s biographer Tim Page with items from Powell’s archive.Columbia University has negotiated to permanently retain the archives of the author Dawn Powell, the novelist who cast a gimlet eye on life in Manhattan, died in 1965 and has enjoyed an unlikely resurgence among readers in recent years.
Last year, Tim Page, who wrote a biography of Powell and has done more than anyone to champion her work, announced that he was going to auction the author’s 43 handwritten diaries himself through a Web site, but no taers met his minimum bid of $500,000. “I consider this a pretty complete failure,†Mr. Page said at the time.
Columbia would not disclose the price it paid Mr. Page for the archives, which include the diaries, published and unpublished manuscripts, artwork and more. The material is available at the Columbia University Libraries’ Rare Book & Manuscript Library, where it had already been kept on deposit.
