Papers and correspondence of Herbert Read (1893-1968), art critic and poet Brotherton Collection MS 20c Herbert Read Herbert Read ca. 1914-1968 100+ boxes Leeds University Library
One of the highlights of the collection is the original manuscript of Read's only novel, The Green Child. Many of the 80 books Read wrote in his lifetime are represented in annotated typescripts, manuscripts, and initial drafts in notebooks. There are several autograph drafts and typescripts of Read's poetry. Annotated proofs with publishing notes and directions, with plates for illustrations, complement the manuscript and typescript material. There are first and later editions of Read's books with his notes and related correspondence attached. Hundreds of typescripts for articles, chapters in books, talks, and so forth, illustrate the range of his interests and expertise within and beyond art and literature. The correspondence in the collection is mainly from 1965 to 1968 (since in 1966 Read sold a great deal his correspondence and other valuable manuscript items to the University of Victoria, British Columbia), but also includes earlier letters. There are carbon copies of letters by Read, and thousands of in-coming letters from various important artists, writers, and other significant individuals, including W.H. Auden, Ian Bevan, Andre Breton, Basil Bunting, Edward Dahlberg, Valentine and Bonamy Dobree, T.S. Eliot, Ruth Francken, Graham Greene, Michael Hamburger, Jean Helion, Rayner Heppenstall, Barbara Hepworth, Dom Sylvester Houedard, Carl Jung, G Wilson Knight, Oskar Kokoschka, Pierre Matisse, Henry Miller, Joan Miro, Henry Moore, Victor Pasmore, Roland Penrose, Kathleen Raine, and many others.
Emerging artists would send Read photographs, slides and sometimes original work, asking for his views and endorsement and hoping that he would include their work in his publications. The collection contains a vast amount of these photographs, mostly black and white, some slides and original art, and some related correspondence between Read and the artist. Similarly, many young writers would write to Read asking for critical attention and the collection often includes the artist's letter, the essay or thesis in question, and Read's patient response. Read also received letters from publishers and editors, asking him for permission to include his essays or articles in publications, or asking him to write prefaces and introductions. Likewise, organisations often invited Read to speak at conferences and events and the collection contains this correspondence in addition to many annotated speeches and lectures, with the corresponding slide lists and some home-made illustrative posters. The collection includes a range of personalia including photographs of Read in various settings - in galleries, at home, and while travelling to China, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, and a substantial amount of domestic and financial records such as letters, bills, bank books, and passports. There are also many pocket diaries and personal letters.
Contains: 1) manuscript of Read's novel 'The Green Child'; 2) manuscript of Read's play 'The Parliament of Women: a drama in three acts', 1960; 3) manuscripts of Read's non-fiction monographs: 'Arp', 1968, 'Art and Alienation: the role of the artist in society', 1967, 'The Beautiful and the Sublime: An Introduction to the Visual Arts' (renamed afterwards?); 'Creative Humanism' (renamed afterwards?); 'The Redemption of the Robot: my encounter with education through art', 1966; 4) typescripts and manuscripts of various essays, articles, speeches, and lectures by Read; 5) manuscripts and typescripts of Read's poetry; 6) Read's correspondence (mainly from 1965 to 1968) with W.H. Auden, Ian Bevan, Andre Breton, Basil Bunting, Edward Dahlberg, Valentine and Bonamy Dobree, T.S. Eliot, Ruth Francken, Graham Greene, Michael Hamburger, Jean Helion, Rayner Heppenstall, Barbara Hepworth, Dom Sylvester Houedard, Carl Jung, G. Wilson Knight, Oskar Kokoschka, Pierre Matisse, Henry Miller, Joan Mir{226}o, Henry Moore, Victor Pasmore, Roland Penrose, Kathleen Raine, and thousands of other individuals and institutions (in many cases carbon copies of Read's part of the correspondence also survives); 7) photographs and slides of art work, sometimes accompanied by related correspondence with artists; 8) personal photographs; and 9) miscellaneous material including personal items (domestic and financial records, passports, pocket diaries) and Lady Margaret Read's material including manuscript music, plans and programmes related to the Hovingham Hall Festival.