Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1970-2007 (Creation)
Level of description
Fonds
Extent and medium
0.117 cubic metres (13 boxes); 19 small boxes (June 2015)
Context area
Name of creator
Administrative history
The magazine Planet was launched in 1970 and published six times a year by Ned Thomas and his wife Sara Erskine, initially from their home in Llangeithio, Carmarthenshire. The editorial team included Tudor David, Harri Webb and John Tripp. The politics of the magazine was left-wing and Nationalist, with an interest in European minorities, ecology, sociology, Anglo-Welsh literature, and translations of verse and prose from Welsh and other languages. In 1977 it took the subtitle The Welsh Internationalist. Initial publication ended in 1979, but in 1985 the magazine was relaunched, and it is now a quarterly magazine.
Name of creator
Biographical history
Mae Edward Morley (Ned) Thomas yn awdur, darlithydd, newyddiadurwr, cyhoeddwr ac ymchwilydd i ieithoedd lleiafrifol. Ganwyd yn Little Lever, Sir Gaerhirfryn, ar 11 Mehefin 1936, i rieni o Gymru, a cafodd ei fagu yn Lloegr, Cymru, yr Almaen a'r Swisdir. Astudiodd llenyddiaeth Saesneg yn Rhydychen ac aeth ymlaen i ddarlithio ar Saesneg ym Mhrifysgol Salamanca, 1960-1964, ac ym Mhrifysgol Moscow, 1966-1967. Yn y 1960au hwyr yn Llundain gweithiodd i'r Times, ac am gyfnod ef oedd golygydd Angliya, cylchgrawn Rwsieg wedi ei ariannu gan lywodraeth Prydain.
Symudodd gyda'i deulu i Lwynypiod, sir Aberteifi, yn 1969, gan sefydlu'r cylchgrawn Planet: The Welsh Internationalist yno gyda'i wraig Sara. Yn yr un cyfnod cafodd swydd darlithydd yn yr Adran Saesneg ym Mrifysgol Cymru Aberystwyth. Roedd yn un o sylfaenwyr Sefydliad Mercator ar gyfer Cyfryngau, Ieithoedd a Diwylliant yn Aberystwyth yn 1988. Symudodd i Gaerdydd yn 1990 i fod yn Gyfarwyddwr ar Wasg Prifysgol Cymru. Dychwelodd i Aberystwyth i fyw ar ôl ymddeol o'r swydd honno yn 1998.
Ei brif gyhoeddiadau yw Orwell (Caeredin, 1965), The Welsh Extremist (Llundain, 1971), Derek Walcott: Poet of the Islands (Caerdydd, 1980), Waldo (Caernarfon, 1985) a Bydoedd: Cofiant Cyfnod (Talybont, 2010).
Name of creator
Biographical history
John Tripp (1927-1986) from Bargoed, Glamorgan, journalist and poet, worked at the BBC and as Press Officer at the Indonesian Embassy and information officer at the Central Office of Information in London during the 1960s. After returning to Wales in 1969 he became a freelance journalist and was the literary editor of Planet from 1973 until 1980. He wrote poems and short stories, including The Province of Belief, The Inheritance File and Collected Poems.
Archival history
Files of contributors' manuscripts and correspondence, kept by John Tripp as literary editor from 1973 to 1980, were purchased as part of the John Tripp papers in March 1988 and have been incorporated with the Planet archive (nos 48-52).
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Deposited by E. M. (Ned) Thomas, 1975, 1977, and converted into a donation in 1991; the John Tripp papers were purchased in 1988.
Dafydd Prys; Aberystwyth; Donation; June 2015; 3844299.
John Barnie; Aberystwyth; Donation; February 2017; 99126271702419.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Papers relating to the magazine Planet, including printers' copies for numbers 1-36 of Planet, 1970-1977, including typescripts of articles, artwork and proofs; manuscripts, 1971-1977, submitted to John Tripp as literary editor, with related correspondence; correspondence, 1970-1975, to the editors, Ned Thomas and Sarah Erskine; letters, 1972-1979, received by John Tripp in his capacity as literary editor; and records of subscriptions, 1971-1974. The papers include manuscripts and letters from many important Welsh and Anglo-Welsh writers.
Additional papers, 1978-2006 (mainly 1985-2006), mostly consisting of correspondence addressed to the editor John Barnie; these remain uncatalogued.
Papers of John Barnie, including correspondence from various poets and literary figures from Wales and other countries, and his own literary and personal papers.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
All records have been retained.
Accruals
Accruals are not expected.
System of arrangement
Arranged into the following: printers' copy; manuscripts received; editor's correspondence files; John Tripp's correspondence files; and miscellanea.
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 online.
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Note
Title based on contents of fonds.
Alternative identifier(s)
Virtua system control number
Project identifier
Access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Planet -- 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
November 2004; revised August 2011.
Language(s)
- English
Script(s)
Sources
The following sources were used in the compilation of this description: NLW, Schedule of Planet Papers; The New Companion to the Literature of Wales (Cardiff 1998).
Archivist's note
Compiled by Annette Strauch for the ANW project.