Archives and Manuscript Catalogue

Scope and Contents

Contains correspondence between George Mackay Brown, Richard Gilbertson and Norah Smallwood concerning Gilbertson's publishing of 'Lifeboat and other poems', with typescripts of several of the poems included in the collection.

Scope and Contents This archive contains literary and personal papers of George Mackay Brown, the celebrated Orcadian poet and novelist. At the heart of this collection is the vast amount of correspondence received by George Mackay Brown throughout his life from friends, fans, editors, publishers and others. These letters, postcards and greetings cards give a unique insight into the breadth of attention that his work drew, as well as the connections he made with correspondents from across the world, all from...

Scope and Contents

Correspondence of George Mackay Brown to Kenna Crawford, including enclosures of poems, cuttings and other notes. Many of the poems and acrostics were written by Brown as gifts for special occasions, including one for Crawford's wedding in 1991 to Graham McGirk.

The collection also includes the uncorrected typescript of 'The ballad of the golden bird', published as 'The golden bird' (John Murray, 1987), which Brown dedicated to Kenna Crawford.

Scope and Contents

Manuscripts and typescripts of short stories, 1958-1967 and undated, and manuscript drafts for part of the poem cycle 'Fishermen with ploughs' (Hogarth Press, 1971).

Some of the stories were published in 'A calendar of love and other stories' (Hogarth Press, 1967) and 'A time to keep and other stories' (Hogarth Press, 1969).