Showing 456 results

Letters from John Cowper Powys to his son Littleton Alfred Powys.

Nine letters (one partial) and one postcard, 1908, 1912, 1925, 1948 and undated, from John Cowper Powys to his son Littleton Alfred Powys, one of which is enclosed with a letter, 1947, from Littleton Alfred to his father; together with a poem "written by my Son for my Birthday Oct 8 1948" copied out by John Cowper Powys (f. 34). The contents of the letters include John Cowper Powys's responses both to Littleton Alfred's poetry and to the latter's decision to become a priest, references to the beginnings of John Cowper Powys's novel Wolf Solent (1929), and some disparaging remarks regarding the barrister and writer Philip Guedalla.

Some sixty letters, 1918-1964, to John Cowper Powys and Phyllis Playter from various correspondents, relating mainly to personal matters and to John Cowper Powys's work, with one letter, [n.d.], from John Cowper Powys to Phyllis Playter (ff. 73-76). The correspondents include: J[ohn] D[avys] Beresford (10) 1929-1938; Theodore Dreiser (5) 1923-1939; Emma Goldman (2) 1936-1937; Marianne Moore (6) 1926-1929; Sir Osbert Sitwell (2) 1935; and Stevie Smith (2, and two illustrated poems) 1951-1952.

Some one hundred and eight letters, 1917-1965, to John Cowper Powys and Phyllis Playter from various correspondents, including Theodore Dreiser (2), 1927; George Wilson Knight (31), 1956-1965; Edgar Lee Masters (1), 1944; Henry Miller (1), 1950; John Cowper Powys's brother, Llewelyn Powys (3), 1928-1931; Dr Enid Starkie (2), 1943-1946; and Gamel Woolsey (15), 1928-1961.

Over seventy letters, 1940-1955, to John Cowper Powys from various correspondents, including W[illiam] J[ohn] Gruffydd (1) 1942; Timothy Lewis (13) 1943-1954; Iorwerth C[yfeiliog] Peate (19) 1942-1951; Keidrych Rhys (9) 1943-1946; and Sir Ifor Williams (1) 1941. The letters relate mainly to John Cowper Powys's work, the Welsh language and culture, and personal matters.

Letters to John Cowper Powys, comprising correspondence from family members, friends and acquaintances, and publishers and agents.

Five letters, 1927-[?1929], to John Cowper Powys from his brother, Llewelyn Powys, one of which includes Llewelyn's comments on a draft of the first ten chapters of the recipient's novel Wolf Solent (London, 1929). Also included are three letters, 1927-1942, from his sister-in-law, Alyse Gregory, and one letter, 1953, from Maria Vernie Pease, an admirer of his work, enclosing a pencil sketch of John Cowper Powys by her, [c. 1903].

Photocopies of forty letters, 1947-1948, 1951-1960 and undated, from John Cowper Powys to Jill Olson and one photocopied letter, 1947, to Jill Olson's father, Powys's close friend Bernard O'Neill (f. 1), together with a photocopy of an enclosed printed publication notice for Powys's literary study of Rabelais (1948) (f. 8-verso). The letters to Jill Olson contain references to the deaths in 1947 of Bernard O'Neill and of Powys's sister-in-law Elizabeth Powys (née Myers) and to the onset and progression of the neural disease which afflicted Powys's son Littleton Alfred, leading to his death in 1954, while the letter to Bernard O'Neill mentions the latter's failing health and that Powys had begun the final chapters of "my Romance of the Dark Ages" (i.e. his novel Porius, published in 1951).

Letters, 1926-1968, to John Cowper Powys and Phyllis Playter from various correspondents, including Gerald Brenan (16, including one poem), 1957-1968; Maurice Browne (20), 1930-1954; James Hanley (15), [c. 1955]-1967; Claude Houghton (5), 1955-1956; Edgar Lee Masters (9), 1928-1945; Henry Miller (7), 1957-1962; and Ralph Shirley (18), 1940-1946; together with a few miscellaneous letters, including an undated draft letter from John Cowper Powys concerning literary censorship in America.

Typed transcripts, by Jeff Kwintner, of one hundred and ninety-six letters, dated 1938-1942, from John Cowper Powys to Huw Menai. The transcripts mostly correspond to the photocopied letters in AAB2/1/1 and the beginning of AAB2/1/2. However letters Nos 1-11 (dated 8 December 1938-24 February 1939) and No 196 (17 June 1942), have photocopies of the originals appended, none of which are to be found in AAB2/1/1-2. Additionally Nos 37, 61, 68, 128, 158, 170 and 173 are transcripts of letters not in AAB2/1/1-2, while seven of the letters present there are not transcribed (see AAB2/1/1, ff. 145-6, 153-4, 160-1, 268-71, 274-9, 436-9, and AAB2/1/2, ff. 71-80).

Photocopies and transcripts of letters from John Cowper Powys to the poet Huw Menai (Huw Owen Williams), together with four manuscript poems by Huw Menai (kept in envelope with 1948-1954 letters).

Photocopies (some text faint) of twenty letters, 1944, from John Cowper Powys to the poet Huw Menai (Huw Owen Williams), mostly discussing the compilation and publishing of a volume of poetry by Huw Menai eventually titled The Simple Vision (1945), for which Powys wrote a preface, and there is brief mention also of Huw Menai's (unpublished) autobiography. Other references include the health of Huw Menai and of Elizabeth Myers, wife of Powys's brother Littleton Charles Powys. Some of the letters are illustrated with Powys's ink drawings, mostly caricatures of himself and of Huw Menai.

Photocopies (some text faint) of forty-seven letters (one apparently incomplete) and one postcard, 1945-1947, from John Cowper Powys to the poet Huw Menai (Huw Owen Williams). The letters include references to health matters, works in progress, and family news, including the death of Powys's wife Margaret and of his brother Littleton Charles Powys's wife Elizabeth Myers, both in 1947. Enclosures comprise a photocopy of a letter [?from one of Huw Menai's daughters to her mother] (f. 5), a photocopy of printed poems by Kenneth Hopkins as they appeared in 'The Grasshopper' (f. 26), and a photocopy of a letter to Huw Menai from 'Mam o Nedd', i.e. Winifred Coombe Tennant (ff. 47-50). Some of the letters are illustrated with Powys's ink drawings, which include caricatures of himself and of Huw Menai, the latter often depicted as a sea-serpent.

Photocopies of sixty letters, 1948-1952, 1954, from John Cowper Powys to the poet Huw Menai (Huw Owen Williams), including two letters, 1952, dictated by John Cowper Powys to Phyllis Playter. The letters include references to works in progress, health matters, house-hunting in Blaenau Ffestiniog, and family news, including the death of Phyllis Playter's mother in 1953 and of Powys's son Littleton Alfred in 1954. Enclosed with one letter is a photocopy of a letter of invitation to an official lunch from the Mayor of Merthyr Tydfil to Huw Menai (f. 111). Some of the letters are illustrated with Powys's ink drawings, which include caricatures of himself and of Huw Menai, the latter sometimes depicted as a sea-serpent. Together with four poems by Huw Menai, one of which (dated 23rd February 1956) is dedicated to John Cowper Powys and includes notes on the poem.

Photocopies (some text faint) of eighty letters, 1942-1943, from John Cowper Powys to the poet Huw Menai (Huw Owen Williams). The letters include references to health matters, to some of Powys's past works and works in progress, and to Huw Menai's (unpublished) autobiography. Many of the letters are illustrated with Powys's ink drawings, which include caricatures of himself and of Huw Menai. Enclosures comprise a diagram of a mechanical device entitled the 'Fuze 700' (f. 50), a photocopy of a printed excerpt from 'Month By Month, A Journal of Progressive & Revolutionary Ideas' (ff. 110-13), a photocopy of a letter to Powys from Margaret Casey, mother-in-law of Powys's niece Mary Casey (ff. 163-4), and photocopies of drawings of animals from a printed source (ff. 168-70).

Photocopies (some text faint) of one hundred and fifty-eight letters, one postcard and one telegram, 1939-1941, from John Cowper Powys to the poet Huw Menai (Huw Owen Williams). The letters include accounts of the last illness and death of John Cowper Powys's dog 'The Very Old' and the death of his brother Llewelyn Powys, both in 1939, and the death of Powys's friend Frances Gregg in 1941, together with mention of Powys's past works and works in progress, reflections on the war, health matters, and a reference to a letter of 1940 sent by Powys to his sister Marian Powys which was returned by the censor (ff. 186-7) (see 'Letters to Marian Powys from John Cowper Powys'). Many of the letters are illustrated with John Cowper Powys's ink drawings, which include self-caricatures and depictions of Huw Menai as a sea-serpent . Ff. 159, 166-7, 170-1, 207 appear to be draft prose piece(s) by Powys (crossed out). Also included are two photocopied letters, 1939, from Powys to Arfon [?son of Huw Menai]. Enclosures comprise two further photocopied letters from Powys to Arfon (enclosed with letters dated 20 August 1940 and 23 February 1941), a note to Huw Menai from Jean [--?] (f. 157), a note in Welsh to Powys from John Redwood Anderson (f. 422), and a press cutting in Welsh relating to the teaching of Welsh history (f. 503).

Photocopies of twenty-nine letters, 1937, 1944, 1949-1950, 1953-1961, from John Cowper Powys to Herbert Marks, husband of Powys's niece Isobel Powys Marks. The letters contain mostly personal and family news. One letter is illustrated with an ink drawing by Powys (f. 5).

Typescript copies of one hundred and thirty-three letters, five postcards, one letter card and one card, 1895-1896, 1902, [1910], 1914-1915[x1918], 1920-1925, 1927-1940, 1943, 1945-1948, 1950-1952 and undated, and one holograph letter, 1948, from John Cowper Powys to his sister Gertrude Powys. The letters contain mostly personal and family news, including the birth of John Cowper Powys's son Littleton Alfred in 1902 and Littleton Alfred's ordination in 1927, the death of John Cowper Powys and Gertrude's brother Llewelyn in 1939, accounts of John Cowper Powys's works in progress and the libel case brought against him in relation to his novel A Glastonbury Romance (1933), together with accounts of life in and around John Cowper Powys and Phyllis Playter's New York State home Phudd Bottom and their plans for moving to Wales. Typed notes have been added to the copied letters, presumably by the copier. Some of the letters are annotated by Powys biographer Morine Krissdottir, who has also written a brief overview of the collection (inserted in the folder). A note in the hand of Morine Krissdottir explains that the typed copies were made by Sally Powys, before the original letters were sold to The Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin.

Typescript copies of letters and cards, and one holograph letter, from John Cowper Powys to his sister Gertrude Powys. The letters contain mostly personal and family news. Typed notes have been added to the copied letters, presumably by the copier. Some of the letters are annotated by Powys biographer Morine Krissdottir, who has also written a brief overview of the collection (inserted in the folder).

Four letters, undated, to Gertrude Johnson, [?sister of Mary Cowper Powys], from Mary Cowper Powys's mother Marianne Cowper Johnson, and one letter, also undated, to Gertrude Johnson from [?Mary Cowper Powys's former nurse], the letters containing mostly family news.