Ackerley, J. R. (Joe Randolph), 1896-1967. Collection, 1924-1983.
Title:
Collection, 1924-1983.
Collection consists of materials by, to, and about J.R. Ackerley from 1924-1983. The first series consists of correspondence to Francis King (88 letters, 1954-67), Rena Clayphan (9 photocopies, 1965-66). and one letter to Lowes Dickinson (1925). Ackerley writes to King about his trip to Japan as well as other personal information including his request for King to be his literary executor. Correspondents to Ackerley include Brigid Brophy (1 item, nd), Edward Carpenter (1, 1924), Lowes Dickinson (8, ca. 1929-32), George Duthuit (1, 1949), Roy Fuller (3, 1954-56), John Gielgud (1, nd), Henry Festing Jones (1, 1927), James Kirkup (16, 1962-66), Rosamond Lehmann, (2, 1965), Desmond MacCarthy (2, 1942), James MacGibbon (1, 1963), Sean O'Faolain (1, nd), Herbert E. Read (2, 1942), Henry Reed (4, 1937-42), and Vita Sackville-West (1, nd). Topics discussed concern works by Ackerley, including My Dog Tulip, and Hindoo Holiday, works and publications of others, and some personal information. James Kirkup talks of his life in Japan, providing specific details of his work situation and sexual encounters. The second series, James Kirkup, (1948-83) was acquired at a later date and is divided in to Correspondence, 1948-1982 and Works, 1983, nd. The correspondence consists of letters from and about Ackerley. There are 32 letters from Ackerley to Kirkup from 1948 to 1966. Topics include impressions of Japan, plans for visiting, writings each was working on or that had been published, Ackerley's sister Nancy, animals, and Ackerley's dog, Queeny. Several of these letters appear in The Letters of J.R. Ackerley, edited by Neville Braybrooke (1975). There is also a typed draft of a review by Kirkup for Rock Face in 1948 with annotations by both Ackerley and Kirkup. Other correspondence includes one letter from Nancy Ackerley West after her brother's death thanking Kirkup for his friendship and support, one letter from Francis King in 1982 asking Kirkup to review My Sister and Myself: The Diaries of J.R. Ackerley, and one letter from E.M. Forster in Ackerley's hand in 1965 with a note at the bottom from Ackerley. There are photocopies of 3 letters Kirkup wrote to Neville Braybrooke in 1972 about the publication of The Letters of J.R. Ackerley. The Works series includes a typed copy and a photocopy of the review for My Sister and Myself which appeared in Gay News, Number 257, January 20-February 2, 1983. Other works include the poem "A Memory of Joe," and 1 typed page about Ackerley winning the W.H. Smith prize in 1962. Other collections at the HRC containing Ackerley materials include W.H. Auden (2 items, 1936), George Barker (1, nd), Author C. Benson (1, 1920), John Betjeman (1, 1969), Edmund C. Blunden (3, 1960), Elizabeth Bowen (4, 1936-1965), Jocelyn Brooke (2, 1965), Richard Church (5, 1936-1944), Norman Douglas (7, 1915-1942), Edward Morgan Forster (793, 1922-1966), Andre Gide (1, 1936), Robert Graves (1, 1942), Mary Huchinson (1, 1950), John Lehmann (8, 1941-1963), Wyndham Lewis (1, 1952), London Magazine (annotated copy of p. 141-154 of My Father Myself), Marie Adelaide Lowndes (1, 1946), Derek Patmore (1, 1930), Forrest Reid (1, 1930), Edith Sitwell (6, 1926-1959), Stephen Spender (3, 1961), Lytton Strachey (2, 1925), and Hugh Walpole (1, 1925). Many of the letters to and from Ackerley discuss his writings and reviews, works of others, and personal information. The extensive correspondence from Forster provides details of their relationship as well as insight into their personal lives.
ArchivalResource:
187 items.
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