A look at varied, eclectic items in vast collection of author Pat Conroy’s papers now at USC

The collection of papers and items from author Pat Conroy now at the University of South Carolina includes:

—About 10,000 handwritten pages, primarily on yellow legal pads the author used to compose his manuscripts.

—About 15,000 typewritten pages of 11 books and novels, six screenplays, and numerous short stories, articles, essays and poems.

—Some 80 scrapbooks put together by Conroy’s father, Don, with family pictures dating to the 1940s.

—23 personal diaries from 1960 to 2011.

—Hundreds of pages of correspondence from the early 1960s to 2011 from editors, authors and family members.

—A wide array of memorabilia including cards, newspaper clippings, letters and childhood memorabilia collected by family members, friends, mentors and admirers.