Mixed Prose, Criticism and Reviews

Description

This file contains ms and typescript drafts of critical essays/articles, reviews and other prose by Jon Silkin. Includes ts and copy drafts of reviews of poetry collections by Patrick Galvin (ca. 1979) and Paul Celan (1980); ts and copy drafts of Silkin's essay 'What kind of language is 'that'?,' on the idea of moral language in poetry (ts marked up for printer), with ms letter from Gordon Hodgeon, editor of 'English in Education;' a review essay on works relating to the First World War (dated in ms 1979; not published); a carbon copy of a response to Patricia Beer's review of the 'Penguin Book of First World War Poetry' (ca. 1979); tss and copies of short essays on Isaac Rosenberg and Herbert Read for the St James Press Writers series, with a short letter from James Vinson (6 December 1977); an annotated ts draft of the essay 'Towards a Concept of Animals' (draft untitled); an ms draft of an essay on Wordsworth's poem 'Michael' (1979) with ts draft of the poem beginning 'A black sun
streams medicinal ...' inserted between pp. 4 and 5; ts drafts and ms notes towards a review of an exhibition of tapestries by Lynne Curran (November 1979?); ts and photocopied drafts of a review of Geoffrey Hill's 'Tenebrae;' annotated ts headed in ms 'A short note for the reading on the publication of Peng. Book of 1st War Poetry;' copy ts on Michael Hamburger's poetry; ts and copy reviews of works by Michael Hurd ('The Ordeal of Ivor Gurney') and Roy Fisher (1978); a copy of 'New Blackfriars' magazine (March 1973) with an article by Silkin on Seamus Heaney; copy of a letter to the 'Times Literary Supplement' in response to Blake Morrison (June 1978); ms and ts drafts of a review of works by R.S. Thomas, Edward Braithwaite, Peter Scupham and Michael Schmidt for 'Poetry' (Chicago) (ca. 1976; part of ms draft written on verso of a letter from Merle Brown); copy ts review of 'On Kafka,' ed. by Franz Kuma, and a press cutting of the review from the 'Jewish Chronicle' (24 September 1976); ts
and copy drafts on Gene Baro; ts on Ken Smith (1973); copy ts and press cutting of obituary of Francis Fytton ('The Times,' 28 July 1977); photocopied ts radio script for programme New Australian Poetry; photocopied script and ts review of 'New Poetry,' 21:5-6 (1974), broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Commission; copy ts essay 'The Identifiable Culture,' on Silkin's experience of and thoughts on Australia (dated Newcastle-on-Tyne, November 1974; later published in the Australian journal 'Southerly'); tss of reviews of works by A. Banerjee and Vernon Scannell, with corrected galley proof of combined review and accompanying letter from 'New Society' (April 1976); ts and copy reviews of works in translation by Anna Akhmatova, and Carmi and Dan Pagis, both accompanied by press cuttings of the reviews from the 'Jewish Chronicle' (February and June 1976 respectively); copy ts of long essay 'Edward Hicks (1780-1849): The Peaceable Kingdom;' and ms and ts drafts of a review of the Penguin
edition of D.H. Lawrence's complete poems (ca. 1977).

Access and usage

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Related material

A draft of an essay on narrative in Wordsworth's poetry, including discussion of the poem 'Michael,' is held in file Brotherton Collection MS 20c Silkin/6/6/1.Further work by Silkin on Edward Hicks, including further drafts and copies of the essay 'Towards a Concept of Animals,' and the long essay on Hicks' The Peaceable Kingdom, is held in series Brotherton Collection MS 20c Silkin/6/3.

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