Letters from John Cowper Powys
- AE1/1
- Sub-series
- [1921]-1957
Letters and telegrams to Phyllis Playter from her partner, John Cowper Powys.
Letters from John Cowper Powys
Letters and telegrams to Phyllis Playter from her partner, John Cowper Powys.
Part of Miscellaneous letters and papers
Three letters, September-October 1954, from John Cowper Powys, Corwen, to Mr [Henry] Evans Jones, [of Edward Jones & Son, solicitors], relating to his and Phyllis Playter's purchase of 1 Waterloo, Bethania, Blaenau Ffestiniog.
Powys, John Cowper, 1872-1963
Letters to John Cowper Powys on his ninetieth birthday
Fourteen letters and four cards, 1962, to John Cowper Powys from well-wishers on his ninetieth birthday (on 8 October 1962) (ff. 1-32), together with a letter of condolence following his death in 1963 to Phyllis Playter from Kewal Motwani, Jabalpur (f. 33).
Motwani, Kewal
John Cowper Powys letters to Ronald Hall
Some thirty letters, 1951-1960, from John Cowper Powys to Ron[ald] Hall, [?Coventry and Exeter] (ff. 1-61), three of which are incomplete (ff. 5, 11-13) and seventeen of which are in the hand of Powys's companion Phyllis Playter, as his amanuensis (ff. 14-57). The letters, some of which include line drawings by Powys, refer mainly to literary topics, including Powys's own works in progress, and to health and family matters. There are references throughout to Henry Miller. Also included are typescript transcripts of the letters, [?2000s] (ff. 62-93).
Extracts from the first two letters (ff. 1-4) were published in John Cowper Powys, Letters to Henry Miller, introduction by Ronald Hall (London: Village Press, 1975), pp. 13-14.
Powys, John Cowper, 1872-1963
Evan Roberts, Llandderfel, Papers
Papers, 1842-1955, relating to the historian Evan Roberts, Llandderfel, Merionethshire, including letters and postcards, 1921-1955, from a wide range of correspondents, including John Cowper Powys; unpublished manuscript works by various authors; lectures and articles by Evan Roberts; research notes; poor law rate book for the parish of Llandderfel, 1842-1845.
Roberts, Evan, 1877-1977
John Cowper Powys letters to C. Benson Roberts
Ninety-two letters and cards, 1938-1960, from John Cowper Powys to C. Benson Roberts and his wife Jane, most of which have been published as Letters from John Cowper Powys to C. Benson Roberts, edited by the recipient (London, 1975); together with a letter and card, 1940, from Phyllis Playter, John Cowper Powys's companion, and two letters, 1954, from Littleton C. Powys.
Roberts, C. Benson
John Cowper Powys and Llewelyn Powys letters to Margaret Moon
Fifty letters, 1937-1961, from John Cowper Powys (ff. 6-49, 51-60 verso), one letter, 1959, from his companion, Phyllis Playter (f. 50), and six letters and two postcards, 1937-1939 (ff. 62-72), together with an inscribed photograph, 1937 (f. 61), from Llewelyn Powys, to Margaret Moon (afterwards Margaret Newton). Many of the letters contain reminiscences of Montacute, Somerset, childhood home of the Powys brothers, and birthplace of Margaret Moon. Two of the letters from John Cowper Powys (ff. 30-32 verso) are in the hand of Phyllis Playter, writing as his amanuensis. Also included are three letters, 1990, from Margaret Newton to Paul Roberts, editor of the Powys Society Newsletter (ff. 1-5).
The letters contain references to Thomas Hardy (ff. 13 verso, 40 recto-verso, 48), Theodore Dreiser (f. 44), W. B. Yeats (f. 29 verso) and Theodore Francis Powys (ff. 38 verso, 39 verso).
Powys, John Cowper, 1872-1963
John Cowper Powys letters to Harlan Cozad McIntosh
Eleven letters, 1938-1940, from John Cowper Powys to the writer Harlan Cozad McIntosh (1908-1940), containing detailed comments on a draft of the recipient's novel, This Finer Shadow (New York, 1941) (ff. 8-34 verso); and twelve letters, 1938-1942, from the same to McIntosh's wife, Jane Hardy, a New York literary agent (ff. 3, 35-58 verso). Also included are a manuscript copy of Powys's foreword to the novel, and carbon copies of three letters from Jane Hardy: two, 1938, to Powys (ff. 1, 5), and one, 1966, to Powys's literary agent, Gerald Pollinger (f. 59).
The letters contain references to Edwin Muir (f. 8 verso), James Hanley (ff. 10 recto-verso, 12 verso, 13-14 verso, 15 recto-verso, 47, 48 verso, 57) and John Redwood Anderson (f. 58 verso), and to the death of Llewelyn Powys (ff. 33 verso-34).
Powys, John Cowper, 1872-1963
John Cowper Powys letters to Susanne Lane
Thirty-three letters and a card, 1958-1961, from John Cowper Powys to Susanne Lane, together with one letter, 1959, to her husband, Cyril J. Lane.
Powys, John Cowper, 1872-1963
1968-1997 Purchases and Donations (NLW MSS)
Papers, [c. 1893]-1988, of John Cowper Powys, some published posthumously, which include letters, both to John Cowper Powys and to his companion, Phyllis Playter, as well as drafts of works, both published and unpublished, diaries, lectures and essays. The correspondence includes over eight hundred love letters, 1921-1932, from John Cowper Powys to Phyllis Player; some six hundred and forty letters and cards, 1925 and 1935-1955, from Littleton Charles Powys to his brother, John Cowper Powys; some four hundred and fifty letters, 1942-1962, from John Cowper Powys and other members of his family to Gilbert Turner, and some three hundred and fifty letters, 1945-1969, from Turner to John Cowper Powys and Phyllis Player; and over two hundred letters, 1924-1967, from Alyse Gregory, widow of Llewelyn Powys, to Phyllis Playter.
Letters to John Cowper Powys, comprising correspondence from family members, friends and acquaintances, and publishers and agents.
Part of Miscellaneous letters and papers
Two letters, 1946-1947, to Gwyn Jones, the first from Dorothea Braby, London, 6 December 1946 (ff. 28-29), and the second from John Cowper Powys, Corwen, 11 November 1947 (ff. 30-32), both of which concern Gwyn and Thomas Jones's new translation of the Mabinogion, published as The Golden Cockerel Mabinogion ([London]: The Golden Cockerel Press, 1947).
Braby discusses her illustration for the title page of The Golden Cockerel Mabinogion and includes a written description of its layout (f. 29) (see Professor Gwyn Jones, 'The Golden Cockerel Mabinogion, 1944-1948', Trans. Cymm. (1989), 181-209 (pp. 197-206) for further details and for extracts of related letters from Braby). Powys congratulates Jones on the translation, requests a cheap edition and gives his thoughts on translations in general.
Powys, John Cowper, 1872-1963
Part of Miscellaneous letters and papers
An autograph letter, 9 October 1947, from J[ohn] C[owper] Powys, Corwen, to an admirer George X. Basarab, Madera, Pennsylvania, thanking him for sending birthday greetings.
The letter is illustrated with a self-portrait sketch, showing Powys reading Basarab's letter.
Powys, John Cowper, 1872-1963
Part of Augustus John Papers
Some one hundred and twenty letters, 1907-1961, to Augustus John from various correspondents (surnames Nettleton-R), including Kit Nicholson (1) 1936, Sean O'Casey (7) 1929-1960, John Cowper Powys (4) 1955-1956, John Quinn (1) 1913, Keidrych Rhys (3) 1956-1960, Sir John Rothenstein (2) 1941-1945, William Rothenstein (9) 1907-1935, and Bertrand Russell (5) 1936-1960.
John Cowper Powys letters to Laurence Pollinger
Letters from the files of Laurence Pollinger, literary agent for John Cowper Powys, including one hundred and twenty letters, 1944-1962, from John Cowper Powys, and forty-eight letters, 1945-1964, from his companion Phyllis Playter, many of which were written after Powys's death; together with carbon copies of Pollinger's replies and letters from other members of the Powys family.
Powys, John Cowper, 1872-1963
John Cowper Powys letters to Marjorie Tilden
Some fifty-six letters, 1945-1961, from John Cowper Powys to the poet Marjorie Tilden encouraging her to persevere with her writing; together with two letters from Littleton Powys to Miss Tilden, and about sixteen from Lord Dunsany and Lady ? Dunsany discussing and praising her work.
There are also copies of extracts from some of the letters presumably in the poet's own hand and two volumes of her poetry Songs and Sonnets (1942), and Star Crossed (1947 and 1966) for which J. C. Powys contributed the foreword.
Tilden, Marjorie.
John Cowper Powys and Phyllis Playter letters to Miss M. L. Gay
Eight letters, 1957-1961, from John Cowper Powys, Blaenau Ffestiniog, to Miss Marjorie L. Gay, Edinburgh, together with two letters, 1960, 1964, from Phyllis Playter, Blaenau Ffestiniog, to Miss Gay.
Playter, Phyllis
John Cowper Powys letters to Dinah White
Some one hundred and seven letters and cards, 1953-1956, from John Cowper Powys to Dinah White, whom Powys addresses as 'dear adopted daughter'. The letters, some of which are illustrated with Powys's ink drawings, mostly refer to family, health and literary matters, in particular the declining health and death of his son Littleton Alfred Powys and White's role as his carer, the deaths of his brothers T. F. Powys and Littleton C. Powys and the health of his brother William (Willie). There are also references to John Cowper Powys and Phyllis Playter's move from Corwen to Blaenau Ffestiniog in 1955, and their new neighbours Raymond Garlick and his family; and to Cowper Powys's progress with his novel The Brazen Head (published 1956).
Powys, John Cowper, 1872-1963
Letters from John Cowper Powys
Letters from John Cowper Powys to family members and friends, including the poet Huw Menai (Huw Owen Williams) and the poet and novelist Gamel Woolsey.
Three address books, [?1930s-?1940s], [1960s-1970s], of Phyllis Playter. Enclosures include name and address labels and cards (including an inscribed address card of Raymond Garlick), memoranda, press cuttings (including obituary notices), photographs, business receipts and a typescript letter, 1971, to Phyllis Playter from Sarah J. Whitfield of the Tate Gallery regarding an offer made relating to the correspondence between Augustus John and John Cowper Powys.