The papers of American Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Arthur Miller consist of drafts of published and unpublished plays and other works, personal and professional correspondence, notebooks, photographs, clippings, and family papers which document Miller's writing career—spanning over fifty years—and include plays, novels, screenplays, short stories, essays, speeches, and poetry. The papers are arranged in seven series: I. Works, 1936-2013, undated; II. Correspondence, 1933-2006, undated; III. Personal and Professional Material, 1944-2007, undated; IV. Works about Miller, circa 1940s-2005; V. Photographs, circa 1910-2002; VI. Works by Others, 1938-1997; and VII. Notebooks and Journals, 1940s-2004.

The arrangement of the materials closely reflects Miller's own organization of his papers. Where Miller provided a meaningful label for a grouping of material or an unpublished work, that wording was used in the container list and is indicated in single quotation marks. Labels written on any sticky notes were photocopied and the sticky notes housed in polyester sleeves and placed at the front of the new folder.

Series I. Works forms the bulk of the material and consists of 246 document boxes of scripts, drafts, notes, specific performance-related material, adaptations, and film treatments associated with Miller's plays and writings. The works are arranged into two subseries: A. Plays, Screenplays, Radio Plays, and Books, 1936-2013, undated and B. Short Works, circa 1938-2005, undated. Short works include essays, speeches and lectures, eulogies, short stories, memoirs, poems, reviews of books and films, blurbs and introductions for other authors' works, open letters, statements, and other similar writings.

Works within each of these subseries are generally in alphabetical order by published title. The exceptions are categories of writing that are better served by grouping them together by genre (poetry, radio plays, etc.). For example, poetry is listed alphabetically under the letter "p". Each of these groupings has a distinct arrangement governed by the genre: radio plays are filed together by series program title; introductory essays to works by other authors are filed alphabetically by author; eulogies are filed alphabetically by the name of the deceased; poetry is filed together by poem title or grouping; reviews of books are filed alphabetically by the author of the work; and speeches are filed together alphabetically by title (when one exists) or by event when no specific speech title is given.

For unpublished, unfinished, or incomplete works, the title listed is taken directly from any title that appears on a draft; if no drafts of that work have a title, then the title listed is taken from any label written on the file folder and is enclosed in single quotation marks. Usually, these labels are only descriptive (often the name of a character), and Miller never intended them to be the final title. Miller used the term "unfinished" to mean that he never arrived at a final version of that work, so drafts of an unfinished work may be present as complete typescripts as well as fragments. Miller revisited works over long periods, so dates listed for drafts may have wide date spans, often over several decades.

Materials associated with individual works include drafts (fragments and notes as well as complete drafts), correspondence, production material (such as photographs, programs, posters, reviews and articles), published versions or excerpts, adaptations, translations, and publicity material. For a specific play, production material related to its premiere production is listed first, with subsequent productions grouped by decade and then by year. Correspondence regarding a specific play or production of that play may be located throughout the papers and can be filed with the title of the play as a general correspondence file, within a specific production, or the chronological correspondence in Series II. The Index of Correspondents at the end of this finding aid contains box and folder locations for all correspondence in the collection.

Miller's wife, Magnum photographer Inge Morath, photographed many of Miller's productions. There are often numerous duplicates of specific prints. For preservation purposes, duplicate prints were removed. If a specific print contained different information on the back or if there were differences in processing (such as more or less contrast or different tonality), all of those variant prints are retained. All duplicates are housed in boxes beginning with the letter "D" (such as D1.2). Other notable theatre photographers represented in the papers include Fred Fehl, Eileen Darby, and Alfredo Valente.

Because Miller reworked his plays extensively, numerous folders of "out-pages" and fragments are present. Within each individual draft or folder of material, Miller's original order was retained when evident. Pages appear in the order they were found at the time of processing, even if this does not follow their given by the page numbers. (Thus, if page "17" appeared before page "15," it was left in that sequence). Where groups of pages were clipped together, the groupings were placed together in either a white paper or a polyester sleeve to preserve that grouping.

Many of Miller's manuscripts are brittle and extremely fragile. Due to special handling considerations, all brittle manuscripts are housed together in boxes beginning with the letter "B" (such as B1.2).

More detailed information about specific works in this subseries:

: The play was extensively revised over many years, and numerous scripts and outpages are present. One version of the play was to be published by Viking Press as in 1980, and a printer's copy and bound proofs for that abandoned version are located with scripts. Miller worked on a proposed television miniseries of The American Clock in 1985 and 1986, and used early playscripts and scenes from the play to work on that project; therefore, typescripts of scenes, the Mark Taper Forum script, and possibly other playscripts have notations or edits made at the time of his work on the teleplay. Some playscript pages also are located with teleplay material.

: The dates of the script pages and working drafts reflect two concentrated periods of revision. The earliest notes begin 1974 through 1975. Within the drafts are dated segments and loose pages which are likely out-pages. A one-page typed note dated August 27, 1975 begins with the statement "Burial of a Play" wherein Miller describes his abandonment of the project. Miller returns to the script in 1985 and appears to add reflective notes directly to the earlier draft pages. For example, he evaluates the original text and uses "VG" (likely for very good) for a segment or describes what is or is not working.

: The play had a tumultuous history with changes in script, cast, and director. Harold Clurman was to direct the play and it was to star Barbara Harris and Hal Holbrook. The cast and director had difficulty meshing and the script proved difficult to perform. Ultimately, Clurman resigned from the project, as did Harris. When the play premiered at the Colonial Theatre in Boston under the direction of Gerald Freedman, African-American actor Susan Batson (who was an understudy for Harris) played the part of Eve. Once the production moved to the Eisenhower Theatre at the Kennedy Center, Zoe Caldwell had replaced Batson and George Grizzard played Holbrook's part of Lucifer.

Miller said it took about six weeks to write the original draft of the script, but he reworked it constantly during rehearsals and through each production. The majority of scripts and working draft pages are undated. If any dates appear, they are listed, but that may reflect a single dated page. The complete scripts are also undated. An attempt was made to list the scripts in chronological order based on changes within the script; however, such changes might not have been maintained from script to script, making that process difficult. The script listed as "final" is based on comparing that script with the version published by Viking in 1973. The "first reading" script contained in the embossed notebook dated August 28, 1972 likely contains portions of the original script used during the Boston preview which included actors Barbara Harris and Hal Holbrook, as their names and the names of other actors are listed on the cover page. That script draft also includes many inserted pages dating from November 2 through November 23, 1972, as well as a sketch depicting the play.

The play was ready for production in the 1971-1972 season, but difficulties with casting postponed the opening. The first rehearsal was at the American National Theatre and Academy Playhouse in New York on August 28, 1972. A tryout run was held at the Kennedy Center's Eisenhower Theatre on October 17, 1972.

The review and article clippings for the first US productions are in chronological order to allow a better understanding of this play's complex production history.

: Because it is one of Miller's most-produced plays, there are programs, posters, photographs, reviews, and other production material for numerous productions, including many in Germany. Boston University produced the original, unpublished version of the script in 1962 and script comparisons along with Miller's revised typescript pages for that production (directed by Lloyd Richards) are present. A New Zealand production includes costume drawings. Robert Ward's operatic version won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1962. Also noteworthy is correspondence from Aaron Copland in 1956 about the possibility of his writing an opera of . Film scripts, photographs, and other material from Jean-Paul Sartre's (1957) and the 1996 film directed by Nicholas Hytner and starring Daniel Day-Lewis are present.

: Each draft of the one-act play is quite different from the previous draft. The final draft is more like the first 1969 draft.

: An unproduced play first written by Miller from 1939 to 1940, then worked on again from 1969 to 1975. The script was discovered at the Ransom Center by Christopher Bigsby and subsequently reworked by Miller for a BBC Radio 3 production. Therefore, in addition to a 1940 script there is a photocopy of the script made by Ransom Center staff for Miller which contains his handwritten edits and additional pages from 1987.

: An early manuscript contains Miller's annotation indicating that it is a novel based on his short story "The Misfits" and is a precursor to his screenplay of that work. Miller's "cinema novel" was apparently begun during his work on the screenplay, and some of the screenplay manuscripts might have been used for the novel.

(1935) / (1936) / (1939): Miller wrote and submitted while at the University of Michigan. It won a $250 Hopwood Award, but was never produced. Miller reworked the play in 1936 and it was retitled , which was later reworked again in 1939 and became . Though these plays are related, they are viewed as individual works and thus are each listed separately in alphabetical order.

: Script drafts may be filed under a particular production if it was used for that production or was heavily revised during the production. The notes entitled 'Notes begun July 27/77' were originally in a blue binder and includes typed and handwritten notes.

The dates of the script pages and working drafts reflect several concentrated periods of revision. The earliest notes begin in July 1977. Miller returns to the script in 1981 and 1982, then in 1987 and 1989. In 1989, Miller very often returns to the 1981 and 1982 drafts, adding edits directly on those pages and adding new pages, as he reworks the narrative and structure. All of the script pages are heavily revised and often include notes, reflections wherein Miller talks through what he is trying to convey and possible ways to represent that. In 1990, Miller was preparing for the 1991 world premiere at the Wyndham Theatre in London and the scripts suggest that director Michael Blakestone collaborated with Miller on revising the script.

Miller significantly revised and worked on particular plays during the rehearsals and previews, including . Miller revised the script again for the American premiere, five years later, at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Multiple drafts document this process.

: Within his notes, Miller describes that he began working on an autobiography over several decades, "writing a few pages now and then about various turning points of my life." The "precursors" contain these short anecdotes written as fully as memory permitted at the time of their writing, most between 1974 and 1981. Miller used many of these stories in ; however, often in a much revised form.

Pagination is inconsistent, and there are notes detailing printing/pagination errors, as well as notes regarding certain digital copies and the corresponding printed page—the page "on the screen" differed from the printed page. Often, typescript pages were re-numbered—sometimes several times—within a manuscript draft, making it difficult to put pages in the proper sequence.

: A reworked musical version of , Miller wrote in collaboration with composer Stanley Silverman who wrote the incidental music for . The work-in-progress premiered as in 1974 at Miller's alma mater, University of Michigan, in place of , which was to have debuted that year in Michigan where Miller was in Residence. In addition to writing the book and lyrics, Miller was also the play's narrator. As with many of Miller's later plays, the script evolved with each performance and each production. In June 1977, Miller staged a revised version of at the Kennedy Center's Musical Production Lab production and in 1981, Silverman and Miller staged a concert-reading at the Whitney as part of the Composers' Showcase.

: Included in the materials is correspondence regarding the Lord Chamberlain's Office refusal of license and proposed script changes. The play was subsequently produced as a club presentation to avoid the censor's opposition to a kiss between male characters. A bound typescript of a French translation by Marcel Aymé contains a note by Miller regarding "curious Gallic interpolations in the final section." Opera and film adaptations of the work are also represented, and the actor Raf Vallone's career playing the lead role in stage and television productions is well-documented.

Series I. Works, Subseries B. Short Works contains short stories and memoir pieces, as well as essays, speeches and lectures, poems, reviews of books and films, blurbs and introductions for other authors' works, open letters, statements, and similar writings. Most of these reflect Miller's concern with contemporary political and social issues, as well as the theater. Common subjects include the state of American theater, censorship, McCarthyism, and the Vietnam War. Materials relating to a short work are filed under its published title, if any; otherwise, they are filed by any title on a typescript, folder label, or sticky note. Those transcribed titles are indicated by single quotation marks. Miller revisited unfinished short stories at different times, and they can be present in more than one form. For example, manuscripts for and include earlier, longer versions. A work based on Miller's parents titled The Form is represented by manuscripts dating from the 1960s to 2003. The monologue was preceded by playscript and short story versions.

Similarly, Miller's speeches overlap with his essays as he melded material from one into another. For example, his well-known essay About Theatre Language is also present as speeches as well as an afterword to the 1994 published edition of . Introductory essays written by Miller for published texts of his plays are located with the other material for those plays in Subseries A, as are any program notes he wrote. These can include early, lengthier versions that were not used and that are similar to topics discussed in other essays within short works in Subseries B.

Series II. Correspondence is organized into three subseries: A. Family, 1934-2006, undated; B. Chronological, 1933-2006, undated; and C. General Public / Fans, 1950s-2000s. Subseries A. Family correspondence contains one box of letters; most date from the 1930s while Miller was at the University of Michigan, and from the 1940s. Family correspondence is organized alphabetically by correspondent with the bulk being letter exchanges to and from Miller's mother Augusta and his brother Kermit. The largest segment, however, are the letters written by Miller to his wife Mary Slattery while Miller traveled; first, right after their marriage in 1940 when Miller boarded the SS Copa Copa in an attempt to expose himself to experiences that would inspire his writing and later in 1947 and 1948 when he traveled to Europe for the same reason. Many of these letters are brittle and fragile.

Subseries B. Chronological correspondence is primarily professional and includes letters associated with Miller's role as a writer and public figure. This includes letters from agents, publishers, directors and producers associated with his plays and their productions, as well as other writings and publications, publicity, rights information, etc. Due to Miller's role in PEN, political activism, and social causes, there are numerous letters with activists, artists, authors, diplomats, directors, heads of state. A significant volume of letters are requests for appearances and readings, interviews, signed books, charitable donations, etc., as well as from fans, aspiring writers, universities, scholars, and other professional associates.

The organization of the chronological subseries closely mimics Miller's own chronological filing sytem. Since the materials were received at the Ransom Center over several decades, repetitive groupings were consolidated and organized by decade and then alphabetically by name or subject. Miller's headings for subject files is maintained and indicated by single quotation marks. For folders titled with the letter of the alphabet, letters are arranged alphabetically by surname or corporate entity within the folder; and if there is more than one letter from that correspondent, the letters are in reverse chronological order. Very often, a carbon copy of Miller's response is filed in front of the incoming letter, allowing a more complete picture of the exchange.

Personal and professional letters are interfiled in the chronological subseries. Miller's groupings are not absolute and are not the only possible location for letters from specific correspondents or on certain subjects. For example, Miller categorized requests for interviews, appearances, etc. as "requests" and then divided these into specific categories. However, requests are located throughout the chronological series. Another example, Miller titled a files "famous people," but these files can include letters from correspondents who are also filed elsewhere alphabetically by last name. Letters related to political causes or PEN are also filed throughout this subseries and may be filed by correspondent or by the country that was at the center of the political controversy.

The volume of letters varies by decade. There is very little correspondence during the1940s and a relatively small amount during the 1950s and with large gaps between years. The fact that the 1960s represents the largest volume, isn't surprising considering that many are related to political movements. The correspondence illustrates the common causes of prominent social critics, celebrity activists, and non-celebrities. Most correspondence in this decade relates to peace movements, nuclear disarmament, ending the Vietnam War, and Israeli and Jewish causes. Though this is a large segment, there are mid-decade gaps. Correspondence in the 1970s and 1980s remains large, but the volume is significantly smaller in the 1990s and 2000s.

Business correspondence between the late 1980s and early 2000s was often conducted via fax machine. As a result, the papers contain a large number of faded faxed correspondence. For preservation purposes, these were photocopied during processing and in extreme cases, some faxes were digitized to enhance the contrast and printouts made.

All correspondents along with the folder location(s) of her/his letters are listed individually in "The Index of Correspondents" at the end of this finding aid.

Series III. Personal and Professional Material includes documents relating to Miller's career, personal life, and political activism. It is ordered alphabetically by theme or topic. Two of the most important segments relate to Miller's subpoena to appear before the United States House Un-American Activities Committee and include the FBI's surveillance dossier documenting Miller's political and cultural activities and the numerous files Miller kept to document the "Congressional Investigation."

Miller was elected President of International PEN in 1965 for a four-year term. Once his term ended, he remained active in American PEN and continued work on behalf of the organization. This series includes correspondence, newsletters, memos, reports, statements, research material, and publications related to PEN's defense of writers facing persecution, imprisonment, and other human rights violations throughout the world. Correspondence related to PEN campaigns or from or about exiled or imprisoned writers is also filed within the Correspondence Series in the Chronological subseries. Related writings authored by Miller are filed within short works in Series I.

A significant volume of material relates to awards and honors Miller received and events he attended, frequently with his wife Inge Morath. Any typescripts of speeches given by Miller at these occasions are located with other speeches within short works in Series I.

Series IV. Works About Miller is divided into five subseries: A. Scholarly Works, 1949-2005, undated; B Interviews, circa 1940s-2001; C. Educational Materials, 1968-1993; D. Documentary Films, 1978-2002; E. Profile Articles and Clippings, 1949-2005. Theses, dissertations, journal articles, school reports, and similar writings about Miller or his works are listed alphabetically by author within the Scholarly Works subseries. Interview transcripts and published interview clippings are filed in the Interviews subseries and listed alphabetically by author, interviewee, or entity sponsoring the interview. Following that are interviews contained in whole issues of magazines or journals. These are listed alphabetically by periodical title. Educational materials includes teaching packets and films intended for use in school settings and is organized alphabetically by organization. Documentary films includes scripts, research material, interview transcripts, and promotional material for films made for public television and is ordered alphabetically by organization. Profile articles and clippings is the largest segment and is ordered chronologically by decade. Within each decade, the material is arranged by the following categories: general clippings, foreign language press clippings, specific titles used by Miller, and whole issues of periodicals. Many of the clippings from the 1940s and 1950s are brittle and too fragile to handle; therefore, the originals are restricted and replaced with photocopies.

Series V. Photographs is arranged into four subseries: A. Childhood, Early Life, and Family, circa 1910s-circa 1960s, undated; B. Photographs of Miller by Inge Morath, 1960-2002; C. Photographs of Miller by Other Photographers, circa 1940s-circa 2000s; D. Snapshots, 1990s. Subseries A contains portraits and casual snapshots of Miller taken before his marriage to Inge Morath and includes the earliest photos of Miller as a child, as well as his parents as a young couple, and his siblings Joan and Kermit. Photos of Miller as a student at the University of Michigan and his first wife, Mary Slattery, and his children Jane and Robert, are often included as subjects. Of particular interest are the photos taken of Miller in 1940 while conducting fieldwork for the Library of Congress.

The photographs taken by Miller's wife–Magnum photographer Inge Morath–constitute the largest segment of photographs. The subseries is organized by category: Miller at their farm in Roxbury, Connecticut; Miller in other settings; Travel; and Family. Most of the photos depict Miller in casual and candid situations, working with Elia Kazan, planting trees or working in his workshop in Roxbury, entertaining at his home, or traveling. Within each category, the photographs are in chronological order by year, beginning in 1960. Individuals photographed with Miller include: Alexander Calder, Ralph Ellison, Elia Kazan, William Styron, Pablo Neruda, as well as other friends and acquaintances.

Photographs by others is in alphabetical order by photographer and includes such artists as Eve Arnold, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Eileen Darby, Roddy McDowall, Dan Weiner, and others. The photographs in this subseries depict Miller in a professional capacity and were used for promotional purpose, published with magazine profiles of Miller, or other similar venues.

Snapshots are photographs taken by various people–frequently unidentified–that were processed by commercial entities and not professionally developed. These include images of the Millers at their home in Roxbury, travelling, or at events. These are in order by approximate date.

Series VI. Works by Others contains writings that are unrelated to Miller specifically. One segment which Miller titled "Articles of Interest" includes pieces written by or about friends or acquaintances on a variety of political topics. The remaining works were interspersed throughout Miller's papers, sometimes mixed in with his correspondence or other papers. They are in alphabetical order by author.

Series VII. Notebooks and Journals includes Miller's notebooks and journals dating from the 1940s through 2005. The notebooks are not listed in any particular order, but are generally chronological. For each notebook, any labels or titles that were written by Miller on the cover or spine of the journal or notebook is listed in single quotation marks. A general description of the contents then follows. The notebooks often contain the earliest versions and drafts of his plays and other works. He used these pages to reflect on his writings and to clarify his thoughts and intentions as part of his writing process. These journals also include diary entries, dream descriptions, jottings, personal notes, writing ideas, letter drafts, and similar material. In later life, Miller returned to these notebooks and found renewed inspiration for works he had previously abandoned. It's not uncommon to find notes dated decades later added to the original entries.

In some cases, when a journal is dedicated predominately to one or two single major works, the journal description is also included under the titles for those works in Series I. Works. The notebooks that were owned by the Ransom Center and previously open for research are available to researchers. Notebooks, as well as some identified journal-like notes and folders, that were part of the 1983, 2005, and 2017 accessions are restricted from access by the Miller estate and will be open to researchers no later than 31 December 2029.