The Woman Behind Henry L. Mencken
Sara Haardt-Mencken
The Woman Behind Henry L. Mencken
Sara Haardt-Mencken, originally from Montgomery, Alabama, was a force to be reckoned with. Her complicated relationship with the South was the focus of many of her works. Despite her contributions to Southern literature, however, she was - and still is - often overshadowed by her husband, or mentioned as an extension of him.
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Sara Haardt's Notebooks
Four Items from Goucher's Special Collections that She Owned
Address Book
A soft leather address book. Some pages are more worn than others, but it highlights Haardt's friends and contacts.
Notebook
Haardt's notebook that she kept records of her efforts to be published. She also tracked how much money she was making from her writings. Many of the pages are worn thin at the holes, and the front cover is close to falling off. This notebook was heavily used and loved, and I imagine she would have kept it close at hand.
Phone Book
A purple marbled phone book filled with the numbers of friends, acquaintances, and other things, such as the number for a local laundry mat and the number for the local fish market. A notable entry is a number for Coca-Cola, one of Haardt's favorite soft drink.
Date Book
Perhaps the most poignant item in the collection is this small, palm-sized daily planner from 1935, the year of Haardt's death. Sick as she was, she kept her days filled, though some days are left empty. Other entries are made up of one word: "Alone" and "Henry."
This project has been a year in the making. I've spent hours digging through folders, deciphering faded, scrawled handwriting and piecing together a life from the few genuine articles Sara Haardt-Mencken left behind. There's no journal she left with all of her innermost thoughts; just her love letters and her stories, her Goucher notes, and the words of others'. Who was the woman who died too young, ensconced in the shadow of her husband?
Julianna Head
