Ernest Matthew Mickler (1940 - 1988)
Papers, 1917-1990, bulk 1940-1988
Manuscript Group 95
15 Boxes; 6.5 linear feet

Biographical note:

Writer, photographer, artist. Born August 23, 1940, in Jacksonville, Florida, and raised in nearby Palm Valley in St. Johns County. His parents were William Alfred Mickler and Edna Ral Mills Mickler. Mickler received his bachelor's degree from Jacksonville University and a master's from Mills College in San Francisco. As a young man, Mickler was a recorded country music singer. He was mentored in art by Memphis Wood, a Jacksonville artist and teacher. 

After leaving North Florida, Mickler lived in San Francisco, New Orleans, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and Key West. He later returned to St. Johns County, first to St. Augustine and later to his final home in nearby Elkton. He worked as an artist, teacher , and cook, before his first book, White Trash Cooking, was published by the Jargon Society. His other published book, Sinkin Spell, Hot Flashes, Fits and Cravins, was published by Ten Speed Press, almost simultaneously with his death on November 15, 1988.

Sources of information include obituaries in the New York Times, November 18, 1988. Publications about Micker are housed in Box 5 of the Papers. A transcript of an interview with Cal Yeomans, taped shortly before his death is found in Box 7.

Summary:

The Papers include manuscripts of Mickler's two published books and of several shorter, unpublished writings. It is rich in photographs, mostly taken by Mickler, for possible inclusion in his books, and of friends, family, and places which he visited. Correspondence and documents relate to his publications and to his personal life. The papers include published biographical information about Mickler and his books. The principal biographical source is a tape interview conducted by Cal Yeomans. Also included in the papers are works of some of Mickler's friends, notably Yeomans and Andrew Holleran. Other individuals heavily represented in the collection are Mickler's companion Gary Dale Jolley, and poet and Jargon Society publisher Jonathan Williams. Many published and unpublished recipes are included.

 

Additional information may be found in Frank Orser, "University of Florida Received Gift of Papers of Cookbook Author Ernest Matthew Mickler," Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Journal of Florida Literature, IV:1992, 59-63.

 

Abbreviations: The following abbreviations are used throughout the finding aid:

29 March 2002