Dannie Abse Manuscripts,

Papers, 1962-1983, of Dannie Abse, comprising autograph and typescript drafts of poems, plays (including a dramatisation of his poem 'Funland', later titled 'Pythagoras'), essays, and television and radio scripts.

Dannie Abse was born in 1923 in Cardiff, Glamorgan. He studied at the Welsh National School of Medicine, and at King's College and Westminster Hospital in London, qualifying as a doctor in 1943. He entered clinical practice, and was a specialist at the Central Medical Establishment chest clinic, 1954-1989. He is a prolific writer and poet. He is deeply interested by 1930s politics and the Spanish Civil War, which formed the background to his schooldays. His poetry is influenced by his Jewish heritage, Welsh nationality, and his life as a family man and a London suburban dweller. He has published seven volumes of poetry and seven plays. He was Senior Fellow of the Humanities at Princeton University (1973-1974), and president of the Poetry Society (1978-1992). He became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1983, Fellow of the Welsh Academy of Letters in 1992 (President since 1995), Honorary Fellow at the University of Wales College of Medicine (1999), and awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Wales (1989) and the University of Glamorgan (1997). He was given a Cholmondeley Award (1985). Abse is married to the art historian Joan Mercer, and together they edited, Voices in the Gallery: Poems and Pictures (1986) and The Music Lover's Literary Companion (1988). They live in Glamorgan.

Poet, playwright and novelist Dannie Abse was born in Cardiff of Jewish parents and studied medicine at the University of Wales, Westminster Hospital and King's College, London, from where he qualified as a doctor in 1950. Abse's first and most popular novel was the autobiographical Ash on a Young Man's Sleeve (1954); he has also published seven volumes of verse and five volumes of plays. Most of his poetic work deals with the unusual and unexpected, while the plays are experimental in tone and relate mainly to contemporary themes and ideas.

Arranged according to NLW MSS reference numbers: NLW MSS 21973-4, 21997-8, 22425-9.

Readers consulting modern papers in the National Library of Wales are required to abide by the conditions noted on the 'Modern papers - data protection' form issued with their readers' tickets.

NLW MSS 22425-9; R. A. Gekoski; London; Purchase; 1987
NLW MSS 21973-4; Sotheby's; London; Purchased at auction, lot 318; 22 July 1983
NLW MSS 21997-8; Sotheby's; London; Purchased at auction, lot 633; 20 March 1984

Dannie Abse was born in 1923 in Cardiff, Glamorgan. He studied at the Welsh National School of Medicine, and at King's College and Westminster Hospital in London, qualifying as a doctor in 1943. He entered clinical practice, and was a specialist at the Central Medical Establishment chest clinic, 1954-1989. He is a prolific writer and poet. He is deeply interested by 1930s politics and the Spanish Civil War, which formed the background to his schooldays. His poetry is influenced by his Jewish heritage, Welsh nationality, and his life as a family man and a London suburban dweller. He has published seven volumes of poetry and seven plays. He was Senior Fellow of the Humanities at Princeton University (1973-1974), and president of the Poetry Society (1978-1992). He became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1983, Fellow of the Welsh Academy of Letters in 1992 (President since 1995), Honorary Fellow at the University of Wales College of Medicine (1999), and awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Wales (1989) and the University of Glamorgan (1997). He was given a Cholmondeley Award (1985). Abse is married to the art historian Joan Mercer, and together they edited, Voices in the Gallery: Poems and Pictures (1986) and The Music Lover's Literary Companion (1988). They live in Glamorgan.

Poet, playwright and novelist Dannie Abse was born in Cardiff of Jewish parents and studied medicine at the University of Wales, Westminster Hospital and King's College, London, from where he qualified as a doctor in 1950. Abse's first and most popular novel was the autobiographical Ash on a Young Man's Sleeve (1954); he has also published seven volumes of verse and five volumes of plays. Most of his poetic work deals with the unusual and unexpected, while the plays are experimental in tone and relate mainly to contemporary themes and ideas.

Title based on contents.

The descriptions are also available, together with a detailed list of contents, in Handlist of Manuscripts in the National Library of Wales, Volume VIII (Aberystwyth, 1999).

February 2005 and September 2009.

Description compiled by Bethan Ifans for the retrospective conversion project of NLW MSS, and revised by Bethan Ifans. The following sources were used in the compilation of this description: Handlist of Manuscripts in the National Library of Wales, Volume VIII (Aberystwyth, 1999), Cydymaith i Lenyddiaeth Cymru (Llandysul, 1986);

Usual copyright laws apply.

See also NLW, Dannie Abse Papers. Proofs, published texts and related ephemera included in the purchase are NLW ex 608.

Published

Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru = The National Library of Wales