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Watkins, Vernon Phillips, 1906-1967
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Poems by various authors

The file comprises typescript, manuscript and printed copies of poems by various authors (in many cases the author's name is not noted). Includes a typescript copy of a poem by Peter Levi entitled 'Thirty ways of drowning in the sea', with a letter from Alasdair Clayre at All Souls College, Oxford, dated 17 Sept. 1965, asking David Jones whether he would like 'a drawing or two drawings of yours to be used as illustrations for a limited edition of this poem?' (for drafts of a reply to this letter see A2/1), and typescript copies of poems by Charles Madge ('The Storming of the Brain', dated 2 July 1950), Dylan Thomas ('Elegy'), Saunders Lewis ('The Choice', translated by R. Wynne), Stefan George ('Come in the Park described as dead and see', translated by Vernon Watkins and signed by him), William Hayward, Herbert Read, and a translation of 'Wales' by Gwenallt Jones.

Levi, Peter

The Prose of Vernon Watkins,

  • NLW ex 2050
  • File
  • 1969.

A copy of Jane L. McCormick's MA thesis 'The Prose of Vernon Watkins' (Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada, 1969)

McCormick, Jane L.

'Wales' Papers,

Some one hundred and thirty letters, 1936-1938, to William Ronald Rees Jones (Keidrych Rhys) from over forty contributors and supporters, mostly covering issues 1-3 of 'Wales'. Some of the most notable correspondents are Roy Campbell (1), Idris Davies (6), Rhys Davies (6), Caradoc Evans (3), George Ewart Evans (5), Margiad Evans (3), Ll. Wyn Griffith (2), Nigel Heseltine (8), Richard Hughes (1), Augustus John (1), Glyn Jones (20), John Lehmann (1), Cedric Morris (2), Mervyn Peake (1), A. G. Prys-Jones (1), Goronwy Rees (2), Ernest Rhys (1), Dylan Thomas (10) and Vernon Watkins (7). Many of the letters are accompanied by manuscript and typescript drafts of poetry and prose, mostly published in 'Wales' nos 1 - 3 (1937). Also included are a few notes and press cuttings compiled by Keidrych Rhys.

David Jones letters to Valerie Wynne-Williams

  • NLW MS 24167i-iiiE.
  • File
  • 1958-1974

One hundred and twenty-four autograph letters, 1959-1974, from painter-poet David ('Dafydd') Jones, all addressed to Valerie ('Elri') Wynne-Williams (née Price), with the exception of two to her husband Michael ('Mihangel') (ff. 54, 112-113) and one to them both (ff. 55-56), discussing a variety of topics including his, and her, health and living conditions, his work, his friends, the Welsh language and Welsh history and politics. Some letters are illustrated with coloured pencil, pen and ink drawings, mainly of animals and flowers (ff. 8, 32, 33, 45 verso, 46 verso-47, 48 verso, 76, 103, 104 verso, 152), inscriptions (ff. 9, 34, 124 verso, 128, 136 verso) and sketch maps of Harrow (ff. 143, 144).
There are references throughout to friends and correspondents including Saunders Lewis (ff. 2-11 passim, 42-188 passim), Harman Grisewood (ff. 4-192 verso passim), René Hague (ff. 42 verso-187 passim), David Blamires (ff. 160, 186, 190 verso, 192), Louis Bonnerot (ff. 123, 186 verso), Tom Burns (ff. 13, 14 verso, 48, 64 verso, 68 verso, 77, 85 verso, 86 verso, 89 verso, 110, 116, 140 recto-verso, 188 verso), Douglas Cleverdon (ff. 68 verso, 160 verso, 162, 163 verso, 187), Aneirin Talfan Davies (ff. 9 verso, 11, 14 verso, 16, 33 verso, 63 verso, 71 verso, 123, 124, 128, 129 verso, 154 verso, 162), Clarissa Eden (f. 107 verso), T. S. Eliot (ff. 51 recto-verso, 62 verso, 67 verso, 69 verso, 71, 73, 74, 85), Gwynfor Evans (ff. 29 verso, 31, 131-192 verso passim), Illtud Evans (f. 6, 11 recto-verso, 37, 46 verso, 57, 61), Arthur Giardelli (ff. 150, 151 verso, 171 verso, 186), Eric Gill (ff. 45 verso, 66, 67 verso, 68 verso, 121), Stanley Honeyman (ff. 84, 140, 154 verso, 159 verso), Morag Owen (ff. 59, 98, 140), Catherine Rousseau (née Ivainer) (ff. 36 verso-127 passim), Stephen Spender (ff. 81 verso-82, 83 verso, 91), Bill Stevenson (f. 158 verso) and Helen Sutherland (ff. 68, 97 verso, 157). There are also occasional references to Desmond Chute (f. 120 verso), Idris Foster (ff. 60 verso, 63 verso), Philip Jones Griffiths (ff. 1, 131), David Lloyd George (ff. 108 verso-109, 127 verso), Megan Lloyd George (ff. 18 verso, 20, 21-22), J. D. Innes (f. 49 verso), Augustus John (f. 85 verso), Alun Oldfield-Davies (ff. 37, 77), Tristram Powell (ff. 142 recto-verso, 144), Caradog Prichard (ff. 19 verso, 77, 108), Kathleen Raine (f. 59 verso), Keidrych Rhys (ff. 6 verso, 8, 9, 16, 30 verso, 36 verso), Meic Stephens (ff. 171, 175), Vernon Watkins (ff. 47, 128 verso), D. J. Williams (f. 106 recto-verso), Kyffin Williams (ff. 49, 63, 77) and R. O. F. Wynne and his family (ff. 61, 62, 63, 64 verso, 67 verso, 81, 94 verso, 96 verso¸ 98, 130 verso), and brief reminiscences of his experiences during the First World War (ff. 70 recto-verso, 76, 79 recto-verso, 108 verso-109, 130 recto-verso, 151 verso, 164). Also included is a copy of his letter, dated 10 August 1959, to Megan Lloyd George (f. 21; for her reply see NLW, David Jones (Artist and Writer) Papers CT3/3, f. 247); cuttings of letters to the Times by David Jones, Valerie Price and others, 1958 (ff. 193-196); and a copy of a 1959 photograph of the two by Philip Jones Griffiths (f. 197). The letter of 23 September 1973 (ff. 178-179 verso) was published under the title 'Yr Iaith' in Planet, 21 (January 1974), 3-5.

Jones, David, 1895-1974

Letters,

Over a hundred letters, 1956-78, to Keidrych Rhys from various correspondents (surnames T-W), mainly in his capacity as editor of Wales and Welsh correspondent of The People, together with poems, short stories and essays submitted to him for publication. The correspondents and contributors include George Thomas (1) 1961, Ned Thomas (1) [1959], the Reverend E. Meurig Walters (1, with sixteen poems) 1955, Vernon Watkins (3) 1957-9, Harri Webb (16, with one poem and a book review) 1957-64, and Angus Wilson (1) 1968.

Letters to Ceri and Frances Richards,

Some hundred letters, 1929-80 (correspondents N-W), to Ceri and Frances Richards, many of them concerned with their work as artists. The correspondents include John Ormond (11) [?1940s]-1976 (with typescript and autograph drafts and fair copies of poems, and typescript text of a radio broadcast by him, 1954, entitled 'Rest and Unrest: the Art of Ceri Richards'), Victor Pasmore (1) 1969, Peter Pears (8) [1960s-70s], Sir John Rothenstein (2) 1958-68, Roberto Sanesi (12) 1961-76, Stephen Spender (2) 1962, Graham Sutherland (3) [?1941]-56, Vernon Watkins (10) 1960-7 (see note 544, below), with one autograph and one typescript poem.

Letters to John Davenport

  • NLW MS 14934E.
  • File
  • 1939-1966

Eighty letters, 1939-1966, to John Davenport, literary critic and friend of Dylan Thomas, much of the correspondence relating to literary matters (ff. 1-91). There are references to Thomas throughout, including detailed (and contrasting) accounts, by John Malcolm Brinnin (ff. 12-13) and George Reavey (ff. 71-72 verso), of events surrounding his death.
The correspondents include Kingsley Amis, 1955-1965 (ff. 1-6), John Malcolm Brinnin, 1952-1953 (ff. 11-13), Walford Davies, 1963-1965 (ff. 16-23), Constantine FitzGibbon, 1950-1966 (ff. 27-52), Glyn Jones, March-April 1965 (ff. 57-59), T. H. Jones, 9 November 1961 (f. 60), George Reavey, [November 1953] (ff. 71-72), Roger Roughton, 1939-1940 (ff. 73-80), Caitlin Thomas, 1947-[?1952] (ff. 81-85, including a postcard also signed by Dylan Thomas), and Vernon Watkins, 1956-1965 (ff. 86-90). Also included are further papers relating to Dylan Thomas, comprising manuscript notes by Davenport, [1956x1966] (ff. 92-100); a postcard, [?1950], to Thomas from Jack Lindsay in Prague (f. 101); a typescript, 10 November 1953, of a radio obituary to Thomas by Davenport (ff. 102-104); a typescript article, [mid-1950s], on Thomas by Davenport (ff. 105-114); and press cuttings, 1954-1965 (ff. 115-121). A typescript table of contents is ff. i-iii. Three of the Kingsley Amis letters (ff. 1, 2, 4) are published in The Letters of Kingsley Amis, ed. by Zachary Leader (London, 2000) (pp. 448-50, 464-5, 527-8).

Davenport, John, 1908-1966.

D. J. and Florence Thomas,

Holograph letter, dated 31 December 1941, by Dylan Thomas to his parents D. J. and Florence Thomas, written in black ink on lined paper (ff. 1r-3r) and sent from Chiswick, thanking them for the Christmas presents; writing from London, he refers to the time spent in Oxford with Alan and Margaret Taylor over the Christmas holiday, the urgency to find somewhere for Caitlin and Llewelyn to stay near the capital, his recent work on short information films and a radio script, a visit from Vernon Watkins, and a poem published in Lilliput. The envelope is postmarked January 1942.

General correspondence

The file includes a letter from Rhys Davies regarding the reprinting of his first novel, The Withered Root; letters form Raymond Mathias and Gwen Watkins regarding the reprint of Vernon Watkins' Unity of the Stream and from Dai Smith regarding Lewis Jones's Cwmardy and We Live.

Davies, Rhys, 1901-1978

Letters W-Z

The file comprises letters to David Jones arranged alphabetically, W including Bernard [Wall], Vernon Watkins (2, 1 incomplete), Valerie Wynne-Williams, Ethel Watts, Harri Webb, and others. There are also some incomplete and unidentified letters arranged chronologically.

Wall, Bernard, 1908-

Redfern, Tate, Arts Council

The file comprises over 160 letters to David Jones relating to his pictures, exhibitions and reproductions of his pictures from The Redfern Gallery, The Tate Gallery, The Arts Council, The British Council, the Golden Cockerel Press, CEMA and many other galleries, museums, firms and organisations. There are also letters from Frances Richards, Margaret Aeron-Thomas and others with an introduction to an exhibition of the '56 group' by Vernon Watkins.

Richards, Frances, 1901-

Draft letters

The file comprises miscellaneous manuscript drafts of letters from David Jones to friends and associates, including William Blissett, Jim and Helen Ede, Dame Edith [Sitwell], Ethel [Watts], Rachel Bromwich, Vernon [Watkins], Aneirin [Talfan Davies], [Rhydwen] Williams, [Thomas] Charles Edwards, Prof. Thomas Jones and others. Many of the drafts are incomplete, many only of the first paragraph of the letter. There is also a short note from D. Gwenallt Jones, 1957.

Gwenallt, 1899-1968

Florence Thomas,

Six autograph letters (one photocopy), [1953]-1957, from Dylan Thomas's mother, Florence ('Florrie') Thomas, to various recipients including Daniel Jones, J. Oliver Stephens and Vernon Watkins. They mainly relate to her bereavement, to Dylan, Caitlin and the grandchildren, and her health.

Thomas, Florence Hannah, 1882-1958.

Letters,

Thirty-four unpublished autograph letters and cards, together with a telegram, 1947-1984, from Caitlin Thomas; among the recipients are Paul Ferris, Daniel Jones (with a draft reply by him), Mervyn Levy, Andrew Sinclair, Stuart Thomas, Ruthven Todd, and Gwen and Vernon Watkins. Also included is a handwritten and typescript copy of a letter, dated 16 December 1953, to George Reavey and Irene Rice Pereira, with a photograph of Caitlin and baby Colm; a typescript copy of a letter, 1954, to David [Higham]; and photocopies of two letters, 1951 and 1962, sent to Helen [McAlpine], held at the University of Texas. Personal matters are mainly discussed in these letters, and Caitlin's life and relationship with Dylan Thomas; several letters are written during the months following her husband's death, and some relate to the trial concerning ownership of the manuscript of 'Under Milk Wood'.

Thomas, Caitlin

Miscellaneous letters,

Photocopies and typescript copies, produced [1955x2000], of seven letters from Dylan Thomas, dated [?1935]-1953, found loose amongst papers acquired in this group. Most were published in Paul Ferris ed., The collected letters of Dylan Thomas (London, 1985). Among the recipients are Marguerite Caetani (2), Pamela Hansford Johnson, J. Oliver Stephens, and Vernon Watkins (signed by VW).

Bill W. Murphy,

Bound typescript (photocopy), [1965x1968], of a paper by B. W. Murphy, entitled 'Creation and destruction. Notes on Dylan Thomas'; together with an offprint of an article based on this work published in the British Journal of Medical Psychology, 41, (1968), pp. 149-167; three related letters, 1964-1965, from the author to Vernon Watkins; and an undated typescript copy of an unsigned letter by Dylan Thomas to Marguerite Caetani.

Francis Dufau-Labeyrie,

Seven letters, 1979-1983, from Francis Dufau-Labeyrie to Gwen Watkins, assisting with research for her book, Portrait of a friend (Llandysul, 1983); he discusses correspondence between himself and Vernon Watkins and his recollections of Dylan Thomas. Also included are photocopies of letters, dated [1937]-1963, from Vernon Watkins to Francis Dufau-Labeyrie containing references to Dylan Thomas, and a copy of Dufau-Labeyrie's 'Notes in memory of Vernon Watkins', 1977.

Dufau-Labeyrie, Francis, 1916-1992

Letters

Includes letters, 1935-1997, from John Malcolm Brinnin (4), John Davenport (2), Nicolette Devas, George Firmage (2), Alfred Janes (2), Mary Keene, Mervyn Levy, Mably Ceredig Owen (2), John Prichard (to Dylan Thomas, enclosing typescript play, 'The centric part'), Bill Read (2), Lynette Roberts, Stephen Spender (3), Margaret Taylor (2), and Tom Warner (2). Amongst the recipients are Vernon Watkins, Daniel Jones, and Charles Fisher. Also included are press cuttings, [1949]-1999, relating to Alfred Janes, mostly tributes.

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