Baxter, James

This material is held atSenate House Library Archives, University of London

Scope and Content

Letter, 1960, from James Baxter to John Pocock, thanking him for the review of his two plays, The Wide Open Cage , and Jack Winter's Dream .

Administrative / Biographical History

Born Dunedin, New Zealand, June 1926; poet and playright, his radio play, Jack Winter's Dream (1959), made him internationally famous. Among his poetry collections was Pig Island Letters , published in 1966. In that year, he accepted the Robert Burns Fellowship at the University of Otago. He resigned to live in Jerusalem, a Maori settlement on the Wanganui river and travelled to nearby cities to work with the poor. His poems of this period often railed against society for tolerating poverty. The ascetic life he led from this period resulted in his health suffering. He moved to a commune near Auckland and died there in October 1972.

Arrangement

Catalogued as a single item with arrangement unaltered.

Access Information

Open for research.

Acquisition Information

Transferred from Senate House Library.

Other Finding Aids

Description also available on the University of London Research Library Services on-line archives catalogue.

Archivist's Note

Compiled by Richard Temple, July 2006.

Conditions Governing Use

May be copied so long as researchers fill in the appropriate copyright form.