Identity area
Reference code
Title
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
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
Biographical history
Name of creator
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
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
Project identifier
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Prys-Jones, A. G. (Arthur Glyn) -- Archives. (Subject)
- Dale-Jones, Don -- Archives (Subject)
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
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.