Fonds GB 0210 PRYNES - A. G. Prys-Jones papers

Identity area

Reference code

GB 0210 PRYNES

Title

A. G. Prys-Jones papers

Date(s)

  • 1907-1989 (Creation)

Level of description

Fonds

Extent and medium

0.153 cubic metres (17 boxes, 1 volume)

Context area

Name of creator

(1888-1987)

Biographical history

Arthur Glyn Prys-Jones (1888-1987) was an Anglo-Welsh poet, writer and educationalist. He was born on 7 March 1888 in Denbigh. His mother died in 1895 and his father remarried and moved the family to Pontypridd, Glamorgan, in 1898. At the age of 13 he went to Llandovery College, where he appears to have known the poet Dudley G. Davies (1891-1981). In 1908 he won a scholarship to Jesus College, Oxford, to read history, graduating in 1912; he became friends with T. E. Lawrence there. He went to teach in Macclesfield, Walsall and then Dulwich College, London. In 1919 he married Betty Gibbon of Pontypridd, shortly before being appointed Assistant Inspector of Schools for Carmarthenshire, later Staff Inspector for Secondary Education in Wales. He settled in Cardiff where, in 1932, he became one of the founders of the Little Theatre for which he wrote plays. He retired in 1949 and was awarded an OBE. He left Cardiff in 1951, moving to Wimbledon. He produced six volumes of his own poetry, Poems of Wales (Oxford, 1923), Green Places (Llandysul, 1948), A Little Nonsense (Cowbridge, 1954), High Heritage (Llandybie, 1969), Valedictory Verses (Llandysul, 1978) and More Nonsense (Cowbridge, 1984). He also wrote prose, including Gerald of Wales (London, 1955) and The Story of Carmarthenshire (2 vols, Llandybie, 1959, 1972). He edited Welsh Poets (London, 1917), an anthology of Anglo-Welsh poets, and co-edited National Songs of Wales (London, 1959). He regularly wrote reviews in the Western Mail and from 1937 to 1960 broadcast frequently on BBC radio. In 1970 he was elected President of the Welsh Academy's English-language section. He and his wife Betty had two children, David and Barbara. She died in 1976 and he spent his last years in Kingston-upon-Thames, dying there on 21 February 1987, aged 98. Collected Poems (Llandysul, 1988), edited by his friend Don Dale-Jones (b. 1935), was published after his death.

Name of creator

Name of creator

(1935-2022)

Biographical history

Archival history

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Purchased from the Taliesin Trust and from Mr Don Dale-Jones, Carmarthen, 1990.

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Papers of A. G. Prys-Jones and, to a much lesser extent, of his friend Don Dale-Jones. A. G. Prys-Jones's papers include letters from him, mainly to Don Dale-Jones, 1967-1987; letters to him from various literary figures, 1934-1987; poetry, including drafts for his published collections, [c. 1923]-[c. 1987], unpublished collections, [c. 1924]-[c. 1968], other published and unpublished poems, 1913-1969, and some poetry notebooks, [c. 1984]; prose works, including short stories, [c. 1930s]-1975, and plays, 1932-1972, many of which were either published, performed or broadcast; drafts and press cuttings of articles and reviews published in newspapers, particularly the Western Mail, 1929-1968, as well as unpublished articles, [c. 1947]-[1960s]; press cuttings of articles about and reviews of Prys-Jones' work, 1923-1987; typescript copies and drafts of The Story of Carmarthenshire and other works, 1941-1972; papers relating to Welsh history, including education in Wales and Llandovery College, 1908-1970; drafts and typescripts of talks, lectures and speeches, including radio scripts, 1937-1958; poetry, prose and lectures by other authors, 1924-1987; and other personal papers and ephemera, 1933-1986. Don Dale-Jones's papers comprise letters, mainly from Dudley G. Davies, 1975-1989.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

All records purchased by the National Library of Wales have been retained.

Accruals

Accruals are not expected.

System of arrangement

Arranged into the following: correspondence; poetry; prose; journalism; history; talks, lectures and speeches; and personal and miscellaneous.

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Readers consulting modern papers in the National Library of Wales are required to sign the 'Modern papers - data protection' form.

Conditions governing reproduction

Usual copyright laws apply.

Language of material

  • English
  • Welsh

Script of material

Language and script notes

English, Welsh.

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Finding aids

A hard copy of the catalogue is available at the National Library of Wales. The catalogue can be accessed on-line.

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Related descriptions

Publication note

Don Dale-Jones, Writers of Wales: A. G. Prys-Jones (Cardiff, 1992)

Notes area

Note

Title based on contents of fonds.

Note

Some letters to Don Dale-Jones postdate Prys-Jones' death.

Alternative identifier(s)

Virtua system control number

vtls003844220

Project identifier

ANW

Access points

Place access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru = The National Library of Wales

Rules and/or conventions used

Description follows ANW guidelines based on ISAD(G) 2nd ed.; AACR2; and LCSH

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

August 2003.

Language(s)

  • English

Script(s)

Sources

The following sources were used to compile this description: NLW, Schedule of A. G. Prys-Jones Papers; Oxford Companion to the Literature of Wales, ed. by Meic Stephens (Oxford, 1986); Don Dale-Jones, Writers of Wales: A. G. Prys-Jones (Cardiff, 1992).

Archivist's note

Compiled by Rhys Jones for the ANW project.

Accession area

Related genres

Related places

Physical storage

  • Text: A. G. Prys-Jones Papers.