Letters from Roy Campbell to William Plomer
Overview
Letters to South African-English literary figure William Plomer from South African poet Roy Campbell. These letters reflect the growing friendship between Campbell and Plomer. They discuss the South African and English intellectual scene, literary personalities, their own works, publishing and being published, daily life, neurasthenia, and bull-fighting. Campbell dated none of his letters and placed only 1 and 5. Apparently Plomer annotated them with date of probable writing or date of receipt. The post-cards carry no date but smudged post-marks. Literary figures and other individuals discussed by Campbell include Hart Crane, Sydney Halden Olivier, Lewis Reynolds, Edgell Rickward, Anna de Schubert, Maurice Webb, and Desmond Young, among others.
Dates
- Creation: 1925 - 1930
Creator
- Campbell, Roy, 1901-1957 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
No access restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Spencer Library staff may determine use restrictions dependent on the physical condition of manuscript materials.
Biography of Roy Campbell
Ignatius Royston Dunnachie Campbell was born October 2, 1901 in Durban, Colony of Natal. He left South Africa in 1918 to study at Oxford University in England but, having failed the entrance exam, left Oxford to travel other parts of the United Kingdom and Europe. In the mid-1920s he returned to South Africa to produce the literary magazine Voorslag, co-founding it with William Plomer and Laurens van der Post. Campbell served as its editor for three issues before resigning.
Campbell wrote long poems and satirical verse, frequently using rhyming couplets, as well as autobiographical works. He and his family were in Spain during some of the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s, and he sided with Francisco Franco. After converting to Catholicism, Campbell wrote spiritual verse and translated mystical poetry.
In 1922 Campbell married Mary Margaret Garman, with whom he had two daughters, Teresa (Tess) and Anna. Campbell died April 23, 1957.
Extent
1 volume (19 items in portfolio with label "Roy Campbell A Series of Early Important Autographed Letters to William Plomer 1925") : Natural linen portfolio, purple leather label with gold lettering. Collation: 17 letters, 1 memorandum, and 1 telegram; consisting of 35 leaves (40 pages total). Each leaf is mounted on a separate sheet of paper. Ornament: Item 19 includes a spirited sketch of a charging bull. Items 14, 17, 19 are picture postcards of scenes from Martigues. ; Approximately 36 cm tall.
Language of Materials
English
Physical Location
MS E64
Immediate Source of Acquisition
G.F. Sims 54: 163. November 29, 1962
Subject
- Plomer, William, 1903-1973 (Recipient, Person)
- Campbell, Roy, 1901-1957 (Person)
- Title
- Guide to the Roy Campbell Collection
- Subtitle
- Letters from Roy Campbell to William Plomer
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by alh, August 1, 1974. Finding aid encoded by mg, 2005.
- Date
- 2005
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Finding aid written in<language encodinganalog="language">English.</language>
- Finding aid permalink
- http://hdl.handle.net/10407/9215017111
- Preferred citation
-
Letters from Roy Campbell to William Plomer, MS E64, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas.
Repository Details
Part of the University of Kansas. Kenneth Spencer Research Library Repository