I'm looking for works (fiction or non-fiction) written by authors
who knew they were terminally ill at the time they wrote them.  I hope to
compare such works written by dying authors with works they wrote before
they were told of their terminal diseases (cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer's,
Parkinson's, etc.).
        I don't believe this situation applies to Twain based on my reading
of the Autobiography,the Notebook, various biographies including Paine's,
the late works including Letters From the Earth, and the many works coming
out in the Mark Twain Works and Papers.  Have I missed anything in his late
works, such as "Letters From the Earth" or "The Damned Human Race," or in
recent primary or secondary works that suggests that Twain may have written
anything under the impression that he was terminally ill?
        If anyone has suggestions about other authors that fit the above
description I'd certainly appreciate hearing from you.
        Thanks very much.

Bill Cosgrove
North Dakota State University