Collection ID: PCMS-0021

Collection context

Summary

Creator:
Seymour-Smith, Martin and The Poetry Collection
Abstract:
The Martin Seymour-Smith Collection contains letters from Robert Creeley, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Robert Graves, Donald Hall, Philip Larkin, Tom Raworth, Giles Gordon, Terence Hards, Brian Higgins, Alan Hodge, Judith Nye, James Reeves, and Charles Sisson; notebooks, manuscripts, and/or proofs for many of Seymour-Smith's creative, critical, and biographical publications; photocopies of letters and diaries by Robert Graves; and photocopies of letters by Laura Riding Jackson.
Extent:
76 Linear Feet and (88 boxes)
Language:
Collection material in English .
Preferred citation:

[Description and dates], Box/folder number, PCMS-0021, Martin Seymour-Smith Collection, 1930-1981, The Poetry Collection, State University of New York at Buffalo.

Background

Scope and Content:

The Martin Seymour-Smith Collection contains letters from Robert Creeley, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Robert Graves, Donald Hall, Philip Larkin, Tom Raworth, Giles Gordon, Terence Hards, Brian Higgins, Alan Hodge, Judith Nye, James Reeves, and Charles Sisson; notebooks, manuscripts, and/or proofs for many of Seymour-Smith's creative, critical, and biographical publications; photocopies of letters and diaries by Robert Graves; and photocopies of letters by Laura Riding Jackson.

Biographical / Historical:

Born in Highgate, London, Martin Seymour-Smith (1928-1998) was a British poet, critic, and biographer whose collections of poetry include Tea with Miss Stockport (1963), Reminiscences of Norma (1971), and Wilderness (1994). Seymour-Smith is also known for his biographies of Robert Graves, whom he befriended at a young age, Rudyard Kipling, and Thomas Hardy, as well as for his old spelling edition of Shakespeare's sonnets. He also wrote several critical works including Poets Through Their Letters (1969), Guide to Modern World Literature (1973), and Who's Who in Twentieth Century Literature (1976). His Collected Poems 1943-1993 was published in 2006.

Acquisition information:
Purchased from Martin Seymour-Smith.
Processing information:

Collection processed by Poetry Collection staff.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged in three series: I. Letters (34 boxes alphabetized), II. Manuscripts (42 boxes alphabetized), III. Auxiliary material (12 boxes).

Accruals:

No further accruals are expected to this collection.

Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using local best practices.

Access

RESTRICTIONS:

The Martin Seymour-Smith Collection, 1930-1981, is open for research.

TERMS OF ACCESS:

Copyright of papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns. Researchers must obtain the written permission of the holder(s) of copyright and the Poetry Collection before requesting photocopies and/or publishing quotations from materials in the collection. Once permission is obtained, most papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures unless otherwise specified.

PREFERRED CITATION:

[Description and dates], Box/folder number, PCMS-0021, Martin Seymour-Smith Collection, 1930-1981, The Poetry Collection, State University of New York at Buffalo.

LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
420 Capen Hall
North Campus
Buffalo, NY 14260, United States
CONTACT:
716-645-2917
lpo-poetry@buffalo.edu