GreacenStanford001Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1970 Oct 30thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford1LetterNorthern Ireland Arts Council, Roy McFaddenEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford001LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford001_0.jpgNo. 62 .
Oct.30,1970.
My dear Derek,
Tnanks for note(on beautiful card).
I'll look forward to getting your book from Elizabeth. Good
news about B and B.
I may have told you I applied for a "Bursary" xxxxx awarded by
N.Ireland Arts Council. Had a letter of regret,but the Secy said
I should apply next year. A faint gleam of hope. (They awarded 3
of these,£300 each,to local authors - all in their thirties,I’d
say.) This broadcast may be a help,in showing the boys who hand
these things out that I didn’t stop writing at the end of the
40's.
Did I tell you my old pal Roy McF has a pook of poems coming
- don't know when - from Chatto ? He wrote a poem for my 50th
(enclose a copy): a good boy.
I'm nearly healed up now in that awkward place ...What a time of
it poor Peggie has had! Sympathy to her and good wishes for
a speedy recovery.
Meeting on Nov.llth wd be fine. Shall we meet at Victoria ?
(There are plenty of little restaurants near-by .) In the Golden
Arrow bar ? Let me know when and where - anywhere in central
London will suit,of course.
I've written anotherx chapter. It deals with my meeting with
Forrest Reid. Do you know his work?- "Apostate" etc.
Love,
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091376GreacenStanford010Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1972 Dec 12thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford10LetterBritish MuseumEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford010LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford010.jpgBritish Museum Reading Room
12.12.72
(Tuesday)
Have just ordered the photocopies.
They could not tell me the exact day to call for them – probably end of the week.
Will then post them off to you.
Love to you both - Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091385GreacenStanford100Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Mar 20thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford100LetterArts CouncilEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford100LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford100.jpg
20/3/74
My dear Derek,
Here's the cutting re Arts Council anthol.
NEW POEMS
Arts Council of Great Britain intends to produce an
anthology of new verse by British poets. Poets wishing to
submit work for consideration should send typescripts (two
copes of each poem and not more than six poems in all)
to Charles Osborne, Literature Director, The Arts Council of
Great Britain, 105 Piccadilly, London W1V OAU. Closing date:
31st . May, 1974.
Give 'em six of the best!
Love to you both
Robert
Much enjoyed our lunch
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101475GreacenStanford101Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Mar 30thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford101LetterGollancz, Gallery Press, Honest UlstermanEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford101LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford101.jpg
36 H P M
My dear Derek,
Many thanks yrs 30/3.
Glad you liked the Cecil Salkeld piece. He
was a remarkable man but,as you see,fulfilled
only some of his potential. Journalists always
get it wrong. The title of the chapter from
which the extract was taken is “A Season in
Dublin"; not the title of the book which xx
remains
"The Sash My Father Wore". As it happens I've
taken on morning teaching at a school round the
corner - Davies,Laing and Dick,the tutors -
as otherwise I can't xxxx cope with the cost
of living and the xxxxxx falling off of review
books. My life-long problem: can I afford to be
a writer ? can I afford to drain my xxxx energy
in teaching which is not really my vocation
though I enjoy it in small doses ? But one just
can't depend on reviewing because of the way the
work fluctuates. I hope you have not been hit by
the decline in the output of new titles. I think
what wd solve my problem, for 1 year anyway,wd be
one of these x writer in residence jobs. But
unless I can get a creative book (i.e. poems)
published,I haven’t much chance.
No news from Gollancz,but Peter Fallon
of Gallery Press has written to ask me to let
him have a complete set of Fox mss. Which I’ve
done. I think it depends on whether he likes
them enough plus his availability of capital.
I've had that poem about George Best in the
latest H.U. though a copy hasn't yet arrived.
Roy apparently joins me there - the first time
for him. Until now,he's always been prejudiced
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121476GreacenStanford102Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Mar 30thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford102LetterHonest Ulsterman, Holland ParkEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford102LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford102.jpgagainst H.U. Prob. thought it too undergrad.
Have also had Valerie's verse “seizure”,as you
aptly put it. Not bad,but derivative. It confirms
my view that she is very clever but basically un-
creative,unoriginal; a good imitator of the styles
of others - not to be despised,but limiting. I
found the piece quite xxxx effective.
I wonder if Cis is filling yr lamp with oil.
I've had nothing since Christmas,but B.B.N. keep
sending.
Somewhat wearily— love to you both
Robert
Re future lunch meetings. I work until 1 p.m.
in Holland Park (quite literally round the corner}
so what I suggest is that we cd perhaps meet xx
somewhere near xxxxxxxxxxxx Gloucester
Rd Station about 1.30. There are a couple of
quite attractive restaurants there - xxxxxxxxxx
e.g. Dino's and Kardomah. Anyway, that's for future
reference. And of course this work may prove temporary.
R
Have you thought of selling your autobiography in pieces
rather that as a xxxxx book?
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121477GreacenStanford103Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Apr 9thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford103LetterGallery Press, Faber and Faber, The Irish Times, The Irish PressEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford103LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford103.jpg
36 H P M
9th April,'74
My dear Derek,
Thanks for yrs of 5th.
Gallery Press address is 19 Oakdown Road,
Dublin, 14. I expect P.F. will be glad to send
the Mangan.
Still haven’t had a B and B book this year.
Rather ironical,since Cis has always seemed so
very friendly. Do you think that our fussing
about payment may have had an effect ? An order
from the powers-that-be to go easy on DS and
RG?(unintentional rhyme here!)
One doesn’t expect such sloppy printing from
Faber’s. It’s symptomatic of the general decline
in standards: mis-spellings and wrong usages
even in The Times these days. Couldn’t-care-less-
ism. On an Underground poster: "Fuck of” - not
that one can expect much from Tube writers. But
some years ago they might have managed to get it
right.
Enclosing copy of letter in today's IRISH
TIMES which will,I think,be self-explanatory.
I’ve been seeing my old schoolmaster Ronnie
Marshall (the man who had the bad accident). The
Minister was also a pupil of his (at same
school x but not in my year) but Ronnie's enthusiastic
about what I say. Mclvor is a successful barrist-
er and Ronnie tells me he would look askance at
a £150 briefing. I wanted to be clear that I
wasn’t attacking the Arts Council itself Or its
officials.
The other paper,IRISH PRESS,has accepted
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121478GreacenStanford104Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Apr 9thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford104LetterThe Irish TimesEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford104LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford104.jpgthe rest of the chapter called "A Season in
Dublin", the first part of which,you'll
remember appeared in the IRISH TIMES and
dealt with the painter Cecil Salkeld. I would
have sent the rest of it to the IRISH TIMES,
too,but didn't think they would print the
Salkeld because,as I told you,I hadn't con-
tributed for many years. Anyway,it's got in
somewhere.
No Fox news.
Hope all goes well.
Love to you both -
Robert
Going to the Priestly ("Eden End")
at Old Vic this evg. It's had quite
a good press. At least Priestly knows
about construction.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121479GreacenStanford105Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Apr 11thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford105LetterH. Montgomerry HydeEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford105LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford105.jpgNo. 36
11th April, '74
My dear Derek,
A quick note to give you a wee bit of good
news. I saw Cis Amaral today (to pick up a
few copies) and she tells me yr Heath-Stubbs
will be in the next issue. She explained how
with less space and,until now,fewer books
coming in I d got nothing this year. But she
seemed as friendly as ever towards both of us.
Montgomery Hyde came while I was there and we
had a brief chat.
Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121480GreacenStanford106Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Apr 17thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford106LetterW.B. Yeats, Ian Paisley, Michael LongleyEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford106LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford106.jpg3 6 H P M
17 Apr 74
replied: 21 Apl.
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for yrs of Good Friday.
Yes, “the other hand” was W.B.Y.; It’s
“The O’Rahilly” frcm “Last Poems“, p.354 in
COLLECTED POEMS. I’ve got the 1958 edn that
belonged to Clifford D. - sometimes with
interesting notes by C.D.
Interesting news about Jack B - “where
the swift Bermudas ride“ - I quote from
memory. Also about Whittington-Egan and yr
Latvian ex-student.
Last night I met Freddy V and his new
lady friend,an Ulster Protestant, xxxxx,at
L.G.'s. Freddy has put on an appalling xxxxxxx
amount of weight. When he was out of the room
she told us he was drinking very heavily when
she met him - still is,but she has tried to cut
it a bit. She’s a typical Prod of the less
educated sort - thinks Paisley is a great man
and forthright in opinions. F could do a lot xxx
worse. They’re off to Cornwall where F’s xxxxxxx
ancestors hail from. The case cost him £2,000,
according to his friend - and he’s been at his
old game of spending money like water. A
strange character.
The Minister of Edn in N.I. has not
replied to my onslaught but there was a reply
yesterday by Michael Longley stating the facts.
I’ve forced some information out into daylight
- there's a bursary pool of £5,000 p.a. for
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121481GreacenStanford107Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Apr 17thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford107LetterThe Irish Times, Michael Longley, ArethusaEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford107LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford107.jpgwriters,musicians,painters etc. Last year they
gave 4 awards to writers. The playwright whom
the IRISH TIMES said was given £150 was in
fact given £850 (just a misprint). Now I've sent
another but less explosive missive. I take care
to say nice tnings about the Arts Council people,
esp Longley while attacking their bosses in the
Govt. And I've written to Longley. I don't want
to bore you with the various points that have
arisen but I think it will be of interest to
writers over there,North and South.
A new development in my life that I think xxx
will be important,but of this when we meet.
Arethusa writes to say she's started a job
near her heme in a posh hotel - 9 quid bed and
'full Irish breakfast' - French chefs and all
that. The proprietor xx is a man called Graves,
nephew of Robt Graves,with a Fr wife. Arethusa
says her job is "typing,typing,typing!'. Graves,
she says,"is quiet,nice at times but can be
sullen". Adds:"the pay is low (the richer people
are the meaner they seem to be)". Our xxxxxxxxx
relationship has developed wonderfully and she
writes much more interestingly these days.
Yes,I think Cis is allright and things will pick up again.
How goes the weather?
Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121482GreacenStanford108Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Apr 20thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford108LetterThe Irish Times, Books and BookmenEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford108LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford108.jpg3 6 H P M
20th Aprril,'74
My dear Derek,
I thought you might like to see what I
hope is my final blast in the xxxxxxxx I.Times
about Grants. Nobody else has entered the
lists and the most sensible course for the
Minister would be to keep quiet- He's a polit-
ician and knows when he's on a bad wicket.
As you have seen from the letter I sent
you,Yorkshire has said no,v. politely.
Unless you find this cutting of special
interest perhaps you wd return it. I don't
intend to spend much time writing letters to
Editors,but I can't see that it does any harm
now and then. I thihk you are due for xx such
a letter in B and B: “Roll up,roll up,for the
barefist fight between Colin Wilson,the
Cornish xxxxxxx champion ... and,on my right,
the Sussex champion,Derek Stanford... Take
your places,gentlemen...."
Amused to see the Wolverhampton wonder
turning into Ulster's new Carson. Ireland
has usually been a graveyard for English
politicians. One great exception was Willie
Whitelaw. But "Knocker" will be another cup
of tea
Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121483GreacenStanford109Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Apr 23rdLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford109LetterUlster, W.B. YeatsEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford109LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford109.jpg3 6 H P M
St. George's Day '74
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for yrs of 21st.
I see that epistular x
been wafted across xx the Irish Sea and have
infected you with R.G.'s disease. You say you
enclosed Armstrong's letter but I xxxxxxx cdn't
find it. Not that it causes me much pain NOT
to read Robt Armstrong's prose. Yr reply I have
read with interest and enjoyment. I agree that
lover judge “are not quite the same thing”,
though perhaps judicious lovers and loving
judges may be found (hey,Diogenes,lend me your
lamp!).I note the reference to R.G. and apprec-
iate why it's better not to name him or quote
him on the “Homeric happening”. The letter is a
masterpiece of sly hints and velvet-gloved
blows. Even yr last sentence.'
Freddy has sent me a card from Looe and he
rang last night when I wasn't here. He's re-
turning on Wednesday evg (tomorrow) and says
he will phone. I'm sure Paul A enjoyed hearing
the latest episode. We'll see what we shall see,
and I suppose I'll have to listen to Mary Hayes
on Ulsterian politics. I feel like W.B.Y. about
his/my “fool-driven land”. How goes the weather?
Yes,refrain from “The O'Rahilly”.
Yes,May 8 in V and A is fine. I finish at
x epistolary?
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121484GreacenStanford011Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1972 Dec 22ndLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford11LetterSeamus HeaneyEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford011LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford011.jpg36 H.P.M.
22.12.72
My dear Derek,
What a delightful lunch meeting today! (Again, many thanks
for the present.)
Here's the latest H.U. - A very lively journal methinks. Simmons
is quite good on the new Seamus Heany though usually I find Simmons
a bit too brash. Well, this is probably my last letter of 1972 -
so here's to Life and Letters in 1973!!
Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091386GreacenStanford110Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Apr 23rdLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford110LetterThe Irish Times, PeggieEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford110LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford110.jpgxxxxxx 1 p.m. near where I live and will get
there at earliest,i.e. the Library.
Encs (2) - an extract from a humorous xxxxxxx
article in the IRISH TIMES by a fellow callea
Foley who can be quite entertaining - and a
folder about Ballylickey House Hotel where
Arethusa is now working. Perhaps you'd return
the latter but not the Foley cutting. Why don't
you ana Pegeen - sorry,Peggie - have a holiday
over there? As for me,I want to keep clear of
the Hutchins country. I HAVE BEEN THERE BEFORE!
Tall games go walking in grass-green
Avalon
Love to you both-
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121485GreacenStanford111Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Apr 27thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford111LetterArts CouncilEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford111LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford111.jpg 36 H P M
27 Apr 74
My dear Derek,
Hope you've got rid of the cough and cold.
I know so well what this kind of thing is like
and had a xxxxxxxdreadful go of it just after
C'mas. Fortunately I've been allright since.
Here's a tip but perhaps you already know it.
Cut out MILK. I've had practically no milk
(except when I have tea/coffee x elsewhere) for
perhaps 2 months. I learned to like tea/coffee
without sugar years ago,and now I can dispense
with milk,too. Sugar is a villain and milk is
not far behind! Seriously,I've had far less
sneezing and membrane irritation since I said NO
to the Demon Milk. If you xxxxxxx disagree with
this opinion,please pardon my eccentricity.
Freddy sent me a nice card from Looe and said
he wd ring on his way through London on Wed evg.
He rang from Cornwall on Tues and said- told Mrs.
Wechsler he wd ring on Wed evg. I was at home all
that evg. Did he ring ? Not on yr nelly. Next
day I rang L.G. who told me that F had been
round at his place and said it was impossible to
get me on the phone. He and his Mary have gone xx
back to Banbrmdge. Need I comment ?!
Letter frcm Assembyman Hugh Logue (S.D.L.P.,
Derry) who asked the Arts Council question in
N.Ireland Assembly. He sent me a copy of the
exchange with the Min of Ed. and asked me to
let him have information about 'writers in
residence' xxxxxx schemes. He intends to go into
the attack again on behalf of writers and
artists,with the support of one or two colleagues
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121486GreacenStanford112Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Apr 27thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford112LetterScottish Arts Council, John Hewitt, BelfastEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford112LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford112.jpgI’ve written a Memo for Logue dealing with
schemes I know about: Scottish Arts Council,
Gregory Fellowship, Yorkshire Arts Assn and
Gr. London Arts Assn. Do you know of any others ?
Or any writers who have information ? Sent a
cutting to Brigid Brophy who has kindly replied
and said she will give a mention in WAG news-
sheet.
Bought a Laurie Lee letter,lengthy and
pre-War,for xxxx. £12 the other day. Discusses
a poem by a poet I hadn’t heard of.
Nice letter today from John Hewitt who has
retired from Coventry Art Gallery and gone back
to B’fast. I had written to congrat him on his
receiving Hon D.Litt from New Univ Ulster (Cole-
raine) .
Good luck with yr controversies -
Not drowning but waving (with apologies)
Love to you both -
Robert
to the 8th
Not a single book from B and B this year,but with
my extra teaching work it’s just as well. Feel
tired enough as it is.
Yr first guess was bang on. Cherchez la femme.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121487GreacenStanford113Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 May 7thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford113LetterStranmillisEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford113LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford113.jpgAutumn 1939
McFadden hawked "Peace News" in Royal Avenue,
Outraged the moon-faced citizens.
END THE WAR! PEACE NOW!
While I was buying stamps in the G.P.O.
For frantic letters to Irene.
END THE WAR! PEACE NOW!
McFadden showed me his singing poems.
I said : "John Keats is dead".
END THE WAR! PEACE NOW!
Leaves choked the Stranmillis gutters,
Slow fuses smouldered up the Falls.
END THE WAR! PEACE NOW!
Robert Greacen
5th May '74
My dear Derek -
This is my latest effusion.
on Wedsesday.
Love to you both - Robert
Much enjoyed yr piece on Heath - Stubbs + yr letter on
Brother Colin. He answered civilly.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121488GreacenStanford114Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 May 27thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford114LetterBritish RailEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford114LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford114.jpg 36 H.P.M.
27 xx May, '74
replied. 29 May
My dear Derek,
Yes, I got a beer at Leis station. Yesterday was
as perfect a day as one could
wish for - even British Rail
was at it's (rare) best.
Many thanks for you and Peggie's hospitality.
Enclosed "Two Poets, Two Wars". please return
as I've no other copy. Haven't
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121489GreacenStanford115Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 May 27thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford115LetterB.B.CEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford115LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford115.jpglet Roy see it - would like
him see it in print as a
surprise.
Glad to hear on B.B.C. news
that the army has gone in....
good luck to them!
Love to you and Peggie
- Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121490GreacenStanford116Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jun 1stLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford116LetterRoy McFadden, PeggieEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford116LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford116.jpg36 H P M
1st June, 1974 replied:4 June
My dear Derek,
Thanks yrs of last Wednes. and yr kind
words re "Two Poets,Two Wars". We'll see whether
HIB agrees with you.
Enc a letter and new poem frcm the indefat-
igable , indomitable Roy. Won’t attempt to explain
some of the allusions. He says "your friend
John Gibson" - Gibson was his friend,I never
met the fellow. You see that by now you have
been incorporated into the McF-G mythology.
Roy’s a mythologist,a blender of fact and
fiction. If there were an Exam in his world of
mystification and imagination,one question
might be:
Why does R.McF. sometimes refer,in letters
to R.G.,to Mrs. Peggie Stanford as "Mrs.
Jolly” ?
If you don’t know the answer, I'll tell you.
What do you think of "Bring Back the Clowns" ?
Shan!t attempt to deal with what you say
re N.I situation. I agree with some of it though
perhaps not all. Fortunately,unlike Leslie G,you
don’t fly off the handle unless there is 100 %
instant agreement! Briefly,2 new factors in
the last few years:1. growth of Protestant
Ulster nationalism Cnow recognised by Rees) and
2. assertion of power by working-class who
hitherto were led by aristos,country gentry
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121491GreacenStanford117Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jun 1stLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford117LetterProtestant, Rhodesia, BallymenaEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford117LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford117.jpgand rich manufacturing class.
After their defeats over the past few years,the
Protestants - esp the workers and lr middle class
are now in a cocky mood ,having brought down
the Executive. Forward now to independence a la
Rhodesia ?
Another,but happy,N.I. item. Had a letter
yesterday from a Solr in Ballymena saying I had
been left 200 quid by an aunt. I haven't seen this
aunt since I was a child and she was not a blood
relative - wife of my Uncle Robert (Greacen). She
ran away from him and I always understood she had
gone to Scotland and I presumed that she was xxxxx
probably dead by now. She died recently
in Belfast,it seems. Can’t understand why she
left me any money - just as I was surprised
(slightly) that Uncle R didn’t leave me some-
thing, however small,as I know he had been fond of
me when I was a small child. xx I believe they say
in Yorkshire,there's nowt as odd as fowk.(I take
it there isn’t any Income Tax on small legacies.
Do you happen to know ? )
More books from BBN and 3 vols of poetry from
David M. (one of them Gallery Press). Not a
sausage frcm B and B. Just as well,as I've as
much work as I can cope with. Feel quite tired
these days.
Love to you both - Robert
Enc. photo of Herta. Not a good one but
gives some idea of my Brunhilde! Please return
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121492GreacenStanford118Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jun 5thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford118LetterHerta, PeggieEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford118LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford118.jpg5th June, 1974
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for yrs.
Thanks for the felicitations. The sheer
unexpectedness of the legacy makes it all
the more delightful. Life is so strange: we
often get what we don't deserve and vice
versa.
That photo of Herta,I assure you,doesn’t
'do her justice' as they say. She looks a
little apprehensive. The car crash (she
was with'her husband) mu have been a xxxx
pretty awful experience: waking up injured
in hospital and being told her husband was
dead. Anyway,the photo shows she isn’t the
English conception of a busty hausfrau. You
will like her.
Thank Peggie for confirming my feeling
that one doesn't pay on legacies - the law
keeps being amended and I thought the
buggers might have changed it for the worse.
Glad you saw Jack recently and that he's
happy to be xxxxx back, strikes etc. notwith-
standing. But how disappointing that he
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121493GreacenStanford119Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jun 5thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford119LetterThe Daily Express, Hunger Strikes, KeatsEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford119LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford119.jpgdidn't enjoy the trip.
That's a hard-hitting piece in the EXPRESS
- N.I. is pretty complicated. I suppose we
have now to expect (as these hunger-strikers
die) IRA, vengeance:kidnappings,bombings etc.
Finally I've had details of the Keats
Competition,thanks tog x you and see the
closing date is mxxx now 19th June. Dad used
to say,as part of his drunken monologue:
"Competition is the life of trade." So I'll
compete. Will despatch 3 Foxes plus £3.00
to the good Australian lady.
O but that I were young again
And held her in my arms!
Love to you both -
Robert
Enclose card from Frieburg.
Frieburg is the nearset German city
to where Herta lives - Zurich is nearer
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121494GreacenStanford012Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1972 Dec 30thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford12LetterBelfastEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford012LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford012.jpg36 H P M
30 12 1972
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for the letter (inc the leaflet about your career) and the parcel of R.G. letters.
I shall write a little piece about myself, before I take the stuff to Winifred Myers.
I hope that something will come of it!
Thanks for your good wishes for my expedition to North Britain.
New Year xxx greetings and love to you both –
Robert
Encs include a poem from a school mag in Belfast – the school where my friend is xxxxxxxx
senior art master.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091387GreacenStanford120Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jun 7thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford120LetterJames Simmons, Padraic Fiacc, Michael Longley, Paul Muldoon, John HewittEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford120LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford120.jpgCOPY of letter published in
THE IRISH TIMES, 7th June,1974
Sir,-
In "Flight of the Earls Now Leaving" James
Simmons says that soon only four poets will
remain in Northern Ireland : xxxxxxx himself
Longley,Muldoon and Hewitt. That is sad. But
in my reckoning there will be six,not four.
I wonder whether Mr. Simmons has not
heard of M Roy McFadden and Padraic Fiacc,
both of whom are still living and writing
poetry in Belfast. With a little bit of
luck he might be able to find some of their
work in the Library of the New University
of Ulster at Coleraine.
Robert Greacen
Address
Simmons' poem discussed various contemporary
poets who have left/still live in N.I.
It was quite entertaining in a doggerel-ish
way,but he obvigously thinks poetry/began
with J.Simmons. Love to you both -
Robert
he lectures at N.U.U
3 Foxes sent to Lond. Lit. Edrs
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121495GreacenStanford121Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jun 12thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford121LetterPadraic FiaccEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford121LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford121.jpg12-6-74
P. P. S.
Here's the Art and Studies section from
today's I.T. to be going on with. As you see,
they carry 1 book review.
There was a follow-up to my letter by Padraic
Fiacc today. He lists various other poets
ignored by smart-alec Simmons.
Love to you both - Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121496GreacenStanford122Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jun 12thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford122LetterLatvia, I.R.AEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford122LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford122.jpg36 H P M 12 June 74
replied:14 June.
My dear Derek,
Thanks for letter with so much news.
Book review day in I.T. is Sat. though
if a book is important/topical a notice can
appear any day. Can buy the paper easily
(more often than not) at Hotting Hill. Will
send you next Sat's review page.
Viva Latvia! Is that woman,Vera Snikere
(sp ?) whom I met a few times one of the 2
poets ? Good on you,matie! Practising my
Strine as we shall prob be refugees in that
sunny land eventually,as it seems the English
are willing to let the I.R.A. take over in
London. Perhaps an independent Scotland may
take a different line if they start marching
through Glasgow or E'burgh...
Saw Gerald Clarke last night. He has
entered 3 poems for the Big Time Pome Prize
Competition under the name of Simon Waynfleet
- I didn't tell him who the judge was. He
was a bit suspicious about the fact that the
winners would be announced so soon after the
competition closed.
Enc Roy's latest blockbuster,DIRTY LINEN;
also some doggerel. A lot of local allusions.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121497GreacenStanford123Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jun 12thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford123LetterThe TroublesEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford123LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford123.jpgThe xxxxx xx xxx>/del> kids mentioned are his xx
own. Section 4 refers to the fact of his
1st wife's death from cancer about a year
after their marriage. I never met her but
she was reputed to be a beautiful girl. Roy
has had his troubles. Not to speak of what
they call/used to call "the Troubles"- A
fine statement,this poem,I think. He must
have nearly enough now for a new book.
The boughs have withered because I have
told them my dreams
Love to you both -
Robert
Russell is the name of my late Aunts solicitor
and HE was of course George William Russel
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121498GreacenStanford124Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jun 14thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford124LetterArts CouncilEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford124LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford124.jpg36 and All That
14. 6. 74
Mr. Peter Falxon,a bearded young gentleman
from Dublin,came to see me yesterday. Mr.
Fallon,as you may know,runs a select though
rather small private hotel in the Irish
capital where, from time to time,he entertains
carefully chosen guests. He admires Captain
Fox and hopes it may be possible to put the
Captain up before the end of the year. I
think the Hotel is a bit under-capitalised,
but he is hoping for a grant * towards running
costs. A serious,well informed young man,Mr
Fallon.
Love to you both - Robert
i.e. Arts council grant
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121499GreacenStanford125Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jun 14thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford125LetterCaptain FoxEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford125LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford125.jpg One of the Captain's Friends
14th June '74
I met him at Fox's party at the Savoy,
A velvety young man from Leatherhead,
Stamped indubitably as Produce of the Home Counties:
Hound's tooth jacket, fair moustache and wispy beard,
Pleasant in manner, essentially boring,
I saw the name three months later -
The xxxxxx newspaper headline had caught my eye:
NUDE GIRL DANCING AMONG COFFINS.
St. John Wilson, claiming to be a High Priest,
Had organised a ritual in a family vault.
Disturbing the dead who lay in Gothic splendour.
The jury examined the photographs
Found by the bobbies at the high priests home.
These, taken in the vault, showed the nude dancer,
A dececrated coffin,a headless corpse,a skull.
And of entering catacombs in consecrated grounds.
A witness spoke darkly of inverted xxxxxxxx triangles.
The name of Wilson's game,the prosecutor said, was xxxxxxxxx necromancy:
"The pretend art of revealing the future
By means of communication with the dead,"
The Captain,you will agree,has some odd friends.
36 etc. 15.6.74
My dear Derek
Many thanks for yrs of yesterday. Yes,how right you are:Roy's
latest is in a new class. I've already said as much in a reply.And
the title,as you put it so well,is "all-ways-apt" - e.g. Belfast is
or was the centre of the linen industry. And then a doggerel writer
likes Simmons ignores him completely.
Cheque from B and B and apparently books are on the way. Glad
the lunch went well and that an extract from yr Oscar Wilde will
appear in July.
No doubt you have had my p.c. re Fox. Peter Fallon is enthus-
iastic but not about all of them. He would rather have a very small
collection of the very best,even as few as 15. I asked him if he
disliked my non-Fox poems. No,he said,but he didn't think Fox and
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121500GreacenStanford126Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jun 14thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford126LetterArts Council, The Irish TimesEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford126LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford126.jpgnon-Fox could be mixes. He's a very serious, bearded, somewhat
unsmiling young man,very knowledgeable about poetry - he asked me
to show him my books and read some of my old poems - various of
which he commented on favourably. He had tried to get hold of my
books in Dublin but could find little in the T.C.D. Library which
is supposed to have,like the B.M.,every book published in Br Isles.
I'm very glad he has turned out to be the quiet studious type and
not one of the glib charmers. As for booze,he said no,but did accept
a cup of black coffee. Typical Irishman,what ? He and I are both
writing to Longley to see if we can get a grant for the Fox. He
has had a grant from the (Dublin) Arts Council and hopes to get
another towards general expenses. The N.I. people might do something
since I am an Ulsterman and they gave me a Bursary. I may say that
there is a very good relationship over there between North and
South culturally,and very few poets are committed to any one "ism"
or Party. So if Longley turns down our request I don't think it will
be on political grounds.
This latest Fox poem is based on a newspaper report you
may possibly have seen. I've changed the name and the accused man
didn't come from Leatherhead. I chose Leatherhead because I saw the
other day that the actor ,Macliammoir,said the most unresponsive
audience he ever played to was in Leatherhead.'
Now,something else:the matter of dedication. Are you willing
to have the Fox volume dedicated to you ? At one time I had thought
of asking you to share it with Robt Nye,but I think your encourage-
ment has been much greater than his; and you xx were in on it from
the time when the Captain was only a private joke; and you have also
helped with detailed criticism. Yes,I think this is your book -
if you are willing to agree,that is.
Am enclosing today's IRISH TIMES book page,a sort of a Terence
de Vere White number,isn't it ?
That's a' the noo -
Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121501GreacenStanford127Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jun 19thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford127LetterCaptain FoxEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford127LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford127.jpg3 6 etc.
19th June,74
My dear Derek,
Many thanks yrs 17th.
Glad to have yr comments on the latest
Fox. Peggie is right: "fuzz" it is.
Good to hear you have acquired a new
fan in the U..S. Perhaps he could start a
"Stanford Appreciation Club", the SAC ,with
a monthly newsletter. All is possible over
there.
Re dedication: 1. Roy had EVEN WITHOUT
IRENE dedicated to him. He urged me to write
it and nobody else. 2. You have consistently
encouraged me to write the Fox poems and
helped with them one way and another. The
only other writer who has been encouraging,
but to a much lesser extent , ha a been Robt N.
He suggested a book of them when I'd written
about 3 or 4. 3. The book will circulate xxxx
mainly in Ireland so the point about diplom-
acy” is less relevant, it probably won't" get
any notices in the Great Wen,in any case.
4.I don't give a fuck what the literary
boys and girls think. Pew of them know anythin;g
about writing. Sorry to sound truculent but
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121502GreacenStanford128Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jun 19thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford128LetterHibernia, Books and BookmenEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford128LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford128.jpgI can have respect for very,very few of them*.
All in all,then,I should say that D.S. is
the man. Perhaps in some way'I could xxx
mention Robt N. By dedicating one of the poems
to him-the one he published,perhaps, xxxxxxx
The main point of my enquiry was to make
sure that you were willing to be publicly
associated with the Captain. Remember it,may
put you on the police visiting list!
HIB turned down that article but sent
me the £5.50 crit biog of Keith Douglas by
way of consooation prize (for a 500 word
review). I think the xxxxxxx number of appear-
ances in Dublin is having an effect. The lit-
erary world there is small and new develop-
ments are noted.
One of the books from B and B is a
deliciously funny satire by the (late) poet
Randall Jarrell,"Pictures from an Institution".
Appallingly bright:too much so perhaps to be
a really serious novel. It came out 20 years
ago and this is a reissue,so you may have
read it.
Loye to you both -
Robert
Please excuse vile paper
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121503GreacenStanford129Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jun 21stLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford129LetterMichael Longley, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Padraic FiaccEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford129LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford129.jpg3 6 H P M
21st June,1974
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for yrs of 20th.
I had a letter from Longley saying that
the N.I. Arts Council will consider,at their
next meeting in October,a subvention towards
pubn of the Capt. Fox volume. Fallon is to
submit details of costs etc. That means (as I
thought) they are not opposed in principle to
giving a subsidy to a Dublin firm. Glad you
agree about the matter of the dedication. Not
that it is likely to be seen on this side of
the Irish Sea. The dedication of yr THREE POETS
OF THE RHYMERS' CLUB sounds fine and wd have
pleased Dr. Johnson.
It will be interesting to see how Harold
deals with the new situation. He wd be tempting
Providence to have a summer election. Mid-
September, I'd say.
Had a letter from Fiacc today. He's getting
on with compliing that anthology in which he is
kindly representing me. He’s very pleased with
one of Roy’s poems. Although they both live in
Belfast,they are only acquaintances,so far as I
know. I haven’t met him. I think he spent a few
years in the U.S.
If Jack is looking for a woman,tell him to
have a look in Germany. I was too lazy to go
there and just got hold of one who happened to
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121504GreacenStanford013Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Jan 3rdLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford13LetterLondonEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford013LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford013.jpgMr + Mrs Derek Stanford,
5, Cricketfield Court,
Cricketfield Rd.,
SEAFORD,
SUSSEX
3 Jan. 73 (Wed)
Lovely here, no fog. Sunshine and milder than London.
Better than usual I'd say... Arranged to meet Robert N,
Willis Pickard and a friend of my youth, Maurice Lindsay.
Donald Grant (ex-colleague) has been most helpful.
Love to you both - Robt
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091388GreacenStanford130Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jun 21stLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford130LetterLondon, HertaEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford130LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford130.jpgcome to London. Herta is coming here for a couple
of weeks,arriving on 12th July. You might like to
meet her x if you are in town during that fort-
night.
2 encs.
Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121505GreacenStanford131Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jun 26thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford131LetterMichael Longley, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, James Simmons, Roy McFaddenEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford131LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford131.jpg36 Holland Park Mews,W.11.
26th June,1974
replied 27th June
My dear Derek,
Many thanks yrs 24th.
The man I know at Helnemann Ednl is
John St. John. He's very affable. You
may be surprised to know that for many xxxx
years he was a member of the C.P. but left
over Hungary. Public School background.
As I say,he's a very easy person to get on
with - so good luck there....
Note that you will be back,after yr
holiday with Peggie and Jack,on 14 th July,
so then you can come up and meet H. She
phoned me from Germany last night - afraid
I might be ill as I hadn't replied as xxxxx
quickly as usual to her last letter, xxxxxxx
I still see P but not as often - don't
believe in cruel breaks.
Enclose the latest communication
from Longley* - I call him "Shortly" when I
write to Roy. It will explain itself.
Please return. I think L is moderately
in my favour. I don't think that he makes
enemies in the way that, say, Simmons does.
Good to hear Fred V has a book in the
(* An invitation to submit poems for a for a poem series
sponsored by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland - DS)
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121506GreacenStanford132Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jun 26thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford132LetterReactionariesEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford132LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford132.jpgoffing. I,too,am pro-"chuff-chuff". If I
have another book pubd perhaps it shd be
called the Reactionaries" ("All the
reactionaries,save only he,did what they
did.....")
The second best's a gay goodnight
and quickly turn away
Love to you both Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121507GreacenStanford133Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jun 28thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford133LetterBooks and Bookmen, PeggieEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford133LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford133.jpgNo. 62
Monday, 28th June
My dear Derek,
After much prodding B+B have sent a
copy of the June issue. I've cut out my review
of 2 Synge books. Here's the undilated copy - hope you
don't mind.
Half a loaf ect.
You and Peggie are in my mind today because
of your move.
Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121508GreacenStanford134Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jul 1stLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford134LetterAppointment, Keats QuarterlyEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford134LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford134.jpg36 H.P.M.
1st July, '74
My dear Derek,
Many thanks yrs 29th June.
Congrats on yr appointment as consultant
editor of "The Keats Quarterly". Presumably one of
its functions will be to publish the work of the
competition prize winners. The title sounds like
what is put out by one of those heavily subsidised
U.S academic quarterlies, but I note there's a bright idea
behind the scheme.
congrats too on your work for
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121509GreacenStanford135Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jul 1stLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford135LetterBallymena, Ian PaisleyEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford135LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford135.jpgthe Latvians. These bits + peices of literary
work all add up to something substantial.
Still waiting for my £200 from those Solrs
in Ballymena (the Paisley heartland as you probably know)
Solicitors are always dilatory.
Things keep ticking over. No real news here.
I had a poetry review in the Irish Press
xxx last Saturday, the first poetry review by me
(any where) for a long time.
Enc cutting revealing Libyan assistance in making trouble in
N.I. may interest you. Love to you both - Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121510GreacenStanford136Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jul 8thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford136LetterPeggie, R.T.E, DublinEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford136LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford136.jpg36 Holland Park Mews, L ond on, W.11.
8 xth July, 1974
My dear Derek,
I assume that Peggie,Jack and you are
disporting yourselves at Lymington. If the
weather is anything like London - and I expect
It’s better still - you have nothing to complain
about.
Had a letter a few days ago from Peter
Fallon . A friend of his is reading the Mss
and then he,ll let me know which poems he wants.
A very choosey young man is Peter. Fortunately
I have respect for his judgment which is more
than I can say for many in the publishing biz.
No biz like pub biz,what ?
A ring today from RTE,the TV and radio
people in Dublin. Could they use my "short
story" which had appeared in the DUBLIN MAG
in seme series or other ? I said yes, they
checked my address and said I’d get a contract.
Mind you,the DUB Mag paid not a penny in the
first place. Perhaps this illustrates the text:
cast thy bread upon the waters...
Not such good news is that Mrs. Wechsler
will be selling 36 and moving up to the Tibetan
Centre In the Border country (near Langholm xx
in Dumfriesshire). She’s holding out for a
stiff price (30 grand,if you’re interested ).
She proposes to buy a couple x of houses - one
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121511GreacenStanford137Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jul 8thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford137LetterBuddhist, DublinEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford137LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford137.jpglarge,one small - near the Centre, and these will
mostly be used for Buddhist activities. She
expects to enter the Order, as they put it, and
be a Buddhist nun. Now this is not exactly xxxxxxx
cheerful news for me,as you can imagine. The one
hopeful point is that,for various reasons she has
explained,it looks like being a somewhat slow
operation. The man who rents her garage for car
repairs says he thinks it will take a year. On
the other hand,it may all happen sooner than
that. Anyway,he’ s safe. I’ve told a few friends
that I’m in the market for accommodation. A bit
unsettling but I expect it will work out.
Letter from cousin Walter today. He’s looking
forward to meeting and laying on a lot of social
activities for the ed of the SHOOTING TIMES when
he goes to Dublin for the Horse Show - the biggest
event in the Dublin social calendar. Walter xxxxx
strikes me as being a shrewd boy - also as being
pretty extraverted. His letters are very chatty
and lively,and he gives me the impression he
might work up a nice journalistic line for himself
in the years to come. The Greacens come in various
shapes and sizes. Like the Stanfords?
Herta comes Fri evg. I’ve just looked up
her last letter to get this phrase:"Do you
recognise your attraction on me ?",f I find her
English sometimes more moving than if were formally
correct. Actually,it’s pretty good,esp for someone
who has only made a few short visits here. Nobody
can learn a language properly without living some
time in the country where it’s spoken.
I think that’s about all. My greetings to Jack. Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121512GreacenStanford138Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jul 11thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford138LetterGaietyEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford138LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford138.jpg
11th July, '74
Many thanks yrs.
Will probably be teaching but think I can manage
get off early so as to meet you at "Gaeity" on Wednes,
24th July.
Herta is going to Eng. classes, typical
worker.....
So will let you know nearer the time. Will be glad to
see Jack again if it goes off.
Hope your holiday has been refreshing.
Love to you both
Robert
Derek Stanford Esq,
5 Cricketfield Court,
Cricketfield Rd.
Seaford,
Sussex
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121513GreacenStanford139Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jul 15thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford139LetterRunnymedeEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford139LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford139.jpg15th July,1974
Dear Jack,
Derek tells me you would like to meet my German friend,
Herta Bohler. He has suggested the 4 of us should meet
for lunch at the "Gaeity" on Wednesday 24th July. I've
just confirmed with the place where I teach in the morning
that I can get away and suggest we make it, say, 12.30, as
it's a bit easier to get a table if one is fairly early.
But of course you may not be able to get away early, so come
whatever time is conven-ient.
Herta comes from a small town in South Germany near the Swiss
border. She is a widow - her husband was killed in a car crash
about 3 years ago - and she has 2 boys, about 10 and 13
respectively. I shan't say any more about her except that she
teaches English in a school in her town, Waldshut. Hope you can make it!
My dear Derek,
Here is a copy of a letter I'm sending to Jack. It will be
self-explanatory,I think.
Herta has been here since Friday night. She's going to English
classes morning and afternoon. Yesterday we had a river trip
from Windsor down to Runnymede. Very pleasant.
Valerie tells me her book has been delayed until the end of
August.
Love to you + Peggie
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121514GreacenStanford014Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Jan 30thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford14LetterGaietyEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford014LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford014.jpg36 H.P.M.
30-1-73
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for your letter.
I'll try to investigate at the B.M. whenever I manage to get up there,
but I know there is no leeway for this.
No news which means good (?) news.
It would be more convienent for me to meet Robt N after my class,
at NBL - I'll miss a bit of his reading. I had a note from him.
Yes Wednes.,Feb. 14th, at "Gaeity" (12.50 or so) is fine.
Love to you both - Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091389GreacenStanford140Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jul 17thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford140LetterHerta, TeachersEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford140LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford140.jpg3 6 HP M
17th July, 1974
My dear Derek,
Thanks yrs 16th.
Glad to have yr confirmation of time
and place of meeting next Wednesday. xxxxxx
So whoever gets there first can bag a table.
I like yr witty reference to "the fair
(though brunette) Herta". To my eye she doesn't
look immediately "German" the way some people
do. There was a German girl in my class last
term whom I greeted with the words: “Are you
German ?“ A very pretty one,too,with a nice
personality, I may say! (And I can tell you I
have sampled xxxxxxx unpleasant
Teutonic womanhood] The good ones are splendid,
and the others fiendish.) xxxx I am happy to
tell you that Herta and I have gradually but
seemingly inevitably deepened our relationship.
For her,the attraction to me was immediate;
but at our first meeting we didn't talk xxxxx
together for more than 5 minutes. But long
enough for her to get my address. Then when she
came in January I couldn't clearly visualise
her. You see ,when I gave her my address,I
thought perhaps she would send me a Christmas
card or something like that,and she had just
been one of a group of teachers-- and not one
who had gained my attention by comments or
questions. But as the Yanks say - that's the
way the cookie crumbles.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121515GreacenStanford141Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jul 17thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford141LetterThe Times, R.T.EEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford141LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford141.jpgI'm advertising in THE TIMES m for accomm-
odation. Mrs. Wechsler suggested I should bait
the advt with the suggestion that I'd do some
baby-sitting. Sort of POET WILL CHANGE NAPPIES,
DO IRONING etc. Have just seen a place advert-
ised in THE TIMES not far from here and have
arranged to go to see it this p.m.
You're quite right to stay your hand re
C. Wilson. Yes,indeed,he answered civilly.
Which is something.
The piece that RTE is b'casting is "Search-
ing is Finding". Had the contract and a pleas-
ant letter. *
Interested In yr news from "F.T." re Benn.
Good. A thought:the'"FT" wd be a nice place to
review for. End of thought.
Love to you both -
Robert
* The chapter about L.S.D
printed in "Dublin Magazine" in summer '71
I think the editor selected a number of pieces
for broadcasting. A very roundabout method of having ones
work xxxxx broadcast...
B.B.C. please copy.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121516GreacenStanford142Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jul 18thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford142LetterDublin, The TimesEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford142LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford142.jpg36 Holland Park Mews,
W.ll.
18th July, 1974
replied 19 July
My dear Derek,
I enclose a long letter received this
morning from Peter Fallon. I’d be most grateful
for your comments. I’ve answered his letter
briefly but haven’t dealt with his detailed
points. I think x he basically likes the
sequence and I most certainly want him to go
ahead. Sorry to land this in your lap but
your reactions would be greatly appreciated.
Another unspeakable outrage in London.
The swine have managed to injure a lot of
tourists who have nothing whatever to do with
Ireland - including two people from Dublin
called O’Shea! Hanging would be too good for
them. Bad as it is,it may help people here to
understand what has been going on in Ulster
for nearly 5 years — this kind of thing and
worse happening every bloody day.
London life - I posted an advt plus
cheque to THE TIMES on 11th July. No reaction
of any kind. Three phone calls have failed to
establish whether or not it has been received.
They blame it on the posts but can’t even tell
me xxx if they got it or not. The last girl said
: ’’You see,the enquiry has to go through three
departments.” Damn! damn! damn!
Love to you both,
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121517GreacenStanford143Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jul 21stLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford143LetterThe Irish Times, Patrick KavanaghEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford143LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford143.jpg36 H P M
21 July 74
My dear Derek,
Many thanks yrs.
You have confirmed my own feelings about
Peter Fallon - he gets a mention in a ''gossip
col" in today's IRISH TIMES as publisher of 2
Patrick Kavanagh Award winners - date of entry
(for at least 20 poems) is in Sept. I may
possibly xxxx enter. Yes,we must fix an after-
noon to go through the poems. Fine.
I've had a bloody week x due to mistakes made
by others,notably THE TIMES - 4 phone calls,
a long visit,promise to get the advt in next
Monday. An hour ago I had a phone call from
someone who said it appeared yesterday!- in the
Sits. Vac. col. It begins "Professional
gentleman require roon..." I ask you! Muddle
at Herta's hotel. Letter from Roy saying he'd
been in London,posted in good time,and received
days after his arrival - and he hadn't my phone
number. Taxis to try to keep appointments. Bloody!
Anyway,I did see Roy yesterday and we had
a good chat - his wife and 2 or 3 kids are here
too. Hope to see him tomorrow, though perhaps
briefly. He leaves Monday. The bombs haven't
changed him,but he tells me that his income has
for third award
They had lost text and cheque.
gone down by 50% in the last xx 4 years. With
5 children it must have been a real blow,but he
seems to accept it philosophically.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121518GreacenStanford144Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jul 21stLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford144LetterAnglo-GermanEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford144LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford144.jpgWhat you say about Roy Jenkins and the
death penalty links up with what is fundament-
ally wrong in this country. IT NO LONGER MATTERS
WHETHER ONE IS VIOLENT,LAZY,RUDE OR INEFFICIENT.
A sentimentally paternal and permissive society
says:"Oh well,the poor dears can’t help it,that’s
the way they’re made" As you remark pseudo-
psycholology. Naturally,the thinking then goes like
this "strike down your friends as they’ll xxxxxxx
probably try to remain friendly, anyway; and
grovel to your enemies." I’ve been reading a very
good book:John Hander’s OUR GERMAN COUSINS and
I’d like to quote what he says about Appeasement
in the 30* s:
....the roots of Appeasement lie deep: they lie
in the English penchant for wishful-thinking,
they lie in English easy-goingness and toler-
ance, they lie in that insularity which for
the greatest part of our history has been our
greatest boon,but which over the past century
has proved,arguably,our greatest curse.
That’s only one of dozens of brilliant observat-
ion on Anglo-German relations, xxx attitudes and
history. I bought the book for Herta but have
read it avidly myself.
Well,that a’ the noo. See you Wednes. at
"Gaiety".
Love to you both -
Robert
Nice p.c. from Jack
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121519GreacenStanford145Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jul 27thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford145LetterArethusa, PaddingtonEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford145LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford145.jpg3 6 H P M
27 July 1974
My dear Derek,
What an enjoyable lunch! Herta has been
singing your praises. I had a letter from
Jack explaining why he couldn't come and
xxxxxxxxx apologising
The ram-in-the-thicket syndrome again at
work. "Abraham looked up,and there he saw a
ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he went
and took the ram and offered it as a sacrifice
instead of his son." (Genesis,13-14,New Eng
Bible). Mrs. Wechsler has decided not to go
ahead with selling the house, on the strong advice
of her son who xxx consulted a friend in the
property business. She is now thinking in terms
of next spring. Her resolve to go to the Tibetan
Centre in Scotland remains of course— but she
won't go at any price,as I had feared. Now you
know I was moving heaven and earth to get that
advt into THE TIMES xxx xx xxx xxx xx xx xx and
it was due to go in next Monday. Yesterday I
cancelled it and arranged for a refund. I.think
the man behind the TIMES fiasco was my friend
Sherap,the monk,with his 5hrs daily meditation.
I told Herta this and she fears that I may be
drawn into Buddhist monkhood. I told her I wpuld
willingly be a monk if my zzzzzz Abbot/Lama
allowed me to have a woman,preferably German.
Arethusa arrives at midnight at Paddington.
Have you had Joyce Cary's COCK JARVIS,an
uncompleted novel ? What an enjoyable writer he
was. An Ulsterman in origin
Advice from WBY
over
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121520GreacenStanford146Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jul 27thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford146LetterPassionateEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford146LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford146.jpgNever give all the heart,for love
Will hardly seem worth thinking of
To passionate women if it seem xxxxxx
Certain.....
Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121521GreacenStanford147Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jul 31stLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford147LetterArethusa, HiberniaEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford147LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford147.jpg3 6 H P M
31 xxx July, 74
My dear Derek,
Thanks yrs 30th.
I enclose another cutting of yr "I.T." xxxxxx
review - Arethasa brought a copy over with her
last Saturday. She seems in good form but
rather thin,not much of an advertisement for
Patricia’s health theories. But we get on
splendidly. Her meeting with Berta was a
success.
I agree with what you say about my
reprieve re 36. Just as well THE TIMES advt
didn’t appear/despite all my efforts. The
best-laid plans o’ mice.......and later we’re
glad they went wrong.
Yes,I hope you follow up your I.T. debut.
It and HIBERNIA are the papers in Ireland.
More books from 'B and B',thankfully not
novels.
The first week of Herta’s visit was
very trying. Her hotel, suggested by the
Linguists’ Club where she was having 5 hrs
classes daily,was scruffy and depressing. And
people made all kinds of mistakes. But from
the time I managed to get her into a really
good hotel near Queensway (the Post House)
everything improved. Our relationship has
deepened. Well,we shall see what the future
holds xxxx xxxxx after my visit to xxxx
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121522GreacenStanford148Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jul 31stLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford148LetterParnell, ByronEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford148LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford148.jpgWaldshut. She’s a little frightened of what
Daddy will say... that gentleman has still to
hear of one R.G. And R.G.’s retort to awkward
Germans is simply: “Ulster will fight and Ulster
will he right!”
I love that Parnell quotation and can but
reply
The Colonel went out sailing
"Colonel Martin"
Love to you both - -
Robert
Yes, till 12.30 at the V+A. Aug. 7th.
Going to the Byron Exibition there this afternoon.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121523GreacenStanford149Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Aug 3rdLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford149LetterArethusa, PeggyEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford149LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford149.jpg\
36 H P M
3rd August,'74
My dear Derek,
Many thanks yrs Friday.
Arethusa and I have had a wonderful time
together. Today I went with her to her Aunt
Peggy's near Caterham.
Peggy is a very nice woman. I think I
married the wrong sister,incidentally,but that’s
by the way. I enclose some details of her
cottage in Ireland,near Patricia’s house,which
is available for letting. Would you and Peggie
be interested ? It’s a really beautiful area -
a lot of retired English people have settled
there. Or you might know someone who would be
interested. Would you mind returning details
and photos, as I want to show them around ? (I
can assure you that Peggy Hutchins is absolutely
reliable in business dealings.)
Re Cis and Gareth,and lunch on Fri,9th -
yes,I think that’s a distinct possibility. Will
tell you definitely when we meet at V and A
Library next Wednes.,7th.
Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121524GreacenStanford015Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Jan 31stLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford15LetterBuried CaesarsEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford015LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford015.jpg36 H P M
31. 1. 73
My dear Derek,
Had to go into town today, so I thought I'd pop into the B.M.
Results: "Etcetera" not listed in the catalogue.
Got out "Buried Caesars" (Chicago:Covici-McGee,1923)
but found the only relevant essay is the one of which you have a
photocopy - i.e. "Two Suicides:Hubert Crackanthorpe and Richard
Middleton". The other essays deal with Machen,Crane,J.3.Cabell
etc.
Incidentally, xxxxxx
WHO'S WHD.(b. Toronto,1886 - long list of books and mags for which
he has written. His last book,"Born in a Bookshop",appeared in
1965.) Would you consider writing to the old boy ? If so,here's
the address:
3749 N. Fremont St.,
CHICAGO,
60613
I did a little job for myself, xxxx i.e. looking up my own
surname in the A. Who's Who,as I knew that 2 members of the family
had been in it. This time only one - presumably the older member is
now dead. Anyway,Nan Greacen,a painter about 65 years old,gets
quite an amount of space - lives in New York.
Love to you both -
Robert
Have been corresponding with John Stewart Collis.
Do you know his work? Perhaps "FOLLOWING THE PLOUGH"?
'f'L-tnJCH
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091390GreacenStanford150Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Aug 9thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford150LetterThe Irish Press, The Irish TimesEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford150LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford150.jpg36 Holland Park Mews, W. 11
9th August,1974
My dear Derek,
What a delightful lunch meeting
today! You stage-managed it to perfection
Many thanks,too,for xxx your advice
later. It chimes with my own feelings
and I shall act on it.
If you should wish to write to me
in Germany,where I shall be until 26th,
the address is :
Pension Garni,
789 Waldshut,
Bergstr. 45.
Herta has decided,in the end,that it
would be more tactful for me not to stay
at her house which is apparently 5
minutes walk away.
If you are in touch with Valerie,
tell her I'd like to notice your new
volume. Don't forget to make sure that
IRISH PRESS and IRISH TIMES get review
copies.
Love to you both -
Robert
How did things go at the Jeremy Robson meeting?
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:121525GreacenStanford151Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Aug 31stLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford151LetterHonest Ulsterman, Denis Ireland, Frank Simmons, Frank OrmsbyEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford151LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford151.jpg36 H P M
31 August 1974
My dear Derek,
The Dublin papers didn't arrive
yesterday. The newsagents muttered
something about 'a strike.'. As one might
expect. So I cdn't get an I.T.
I did pick up the latest HIB. They
print my Keith Doyglas piece on their
first review page and include me in their
notes on contributors: "Ulster poet
living in London." Fair enough.
Latest H.U. arrived yesterday,a
big 'double' issue. It contained a
vicious attack on my friend Denis xxxxxx
Ireland's "From the Belfast Jungle" by
none other than J. Simmons - he founded
the H.U., as you know. Poor old Denis,
who was 80 recently,will be upset. He had
a hell of a job getting the book pub-
lished and I for one think it's really
good - parts of it,esp his boyhood
memories of Belfast upper-class society,
brilliant. Simmons takes Hewitt and
Ormsby (H.U. editor) to task for praising
the book elsewhere and tells them they
shouldn't review every book that comes
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131526GreacenStanford152Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Aug 31stLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford152LetterJames Simmons, Michael Longley, Ian Paisley, Edward CarsonEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford152LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford152.jpgtheir way. Cheeky bugger. I've already
mildly rebuked Master Simmons in the I.T.
Now I've despatched a letter-bomb which,if
pubd,will make an enemy of him -- but I
cdn't let his nasty review pass. (I notice
that he butters up Longley. I wonder why...)
Enc review from HIB of de Vere White's
latest novel.
So South Down has adopted "Knocker" as
prospective M.P. Whatever one may say about
the man,he's brilliant and has consistently
supported the Ulster Prods. Like Carson,our
greatest and most loved leader,he's a
"foreigner" - Carson you'll recall,was a
Dublin Protestant,not an Ulsterman. But I
doubt whether Big Ian will like this move
although he must approve it in public.
No news yet from General Walker. I see
that Col Stirling is also recruiting a force
not to use weapons but to man the power
stations etc. Military men today realise the
importance of technology. At last the English
are beginning to wake up.
Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131527GreacenStanford153Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Sep 3rdLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford153LetterGermany, SwitzerlandEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford153LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford153.jpg36 Holland Park Mews,W. 11.
3rd. September, 1974
Dear Peggie,
Many thanks for your kind letter.
I'm glad you liked the scarf.
Derek told me about your days at
Selborne and the househunting. Sorry to
hear of your fall and subsequent m bruises
which I hope have cleared up by now. I
fell off a bicycfe in Waldshut - xxxxxx
because the saddle was too high. So I had
a bruised side but was lucky not to end
up in the "krankenhaus". Apart from that,
everything xxxx went well and I saw a lot
of S.Germany and Switzerland.
It looks as if we are both in the
market for new accommodation. Mrs. Wechs-
ler is entering a Buddhist Order (taking
full ordination in November) so I have to
be out by the end of Nov. She will
probably stay on here,though of course as
a nun she can be sent anywhere - to
Samye Ling in the Border country or
to mdia or literally anywhere - but if
she stays here she will have another nun
staying with her. She will make over the
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131528GreacenStanford154Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Sep 3rdLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford154LetterPollen, SummerEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford154LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford154.jpghouse to the Order (and her otherproperty + money. A
very different life for a woman who was
the wife of 2 rich men!
Hope Derek's 'summer cold' is over.
Nasty. I think there wasn't as much pollen
around this year as a year ago,all the
same - how I suffered from sneezing in
July 1973,with discomfort every day!
Not looking forward to room-hunting but
it must be done... Hope you find that
dream-house...
Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131529GreacenStanford155Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Sep 5thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford155LetterCharacters, FloodedEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford155LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford155.jpg36 Holland. Park Mews,London, W.ll.
5th September, 1974
My dear Derek,
I think I told you I wrote a children's
story while in Waldshut.
Heres a carbon of it. Would you be
so kind as to make any comments or
criticisms that occur to you ? It's my
first effort in this genre but please
don't be kind (or too cruel).
Any similarity between the 2 main
characters and living persons are is purely
coincidental. Ahem!
Love to you both -
Robert
Hope you aren't flooded in Seaford!
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131530GreacenStanford156Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Sep 7thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford156LetterTrade Union, Hibernia, StrikeEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford156LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford156.jpg36 Holland Park Mews,W.ll.
7th Sept.,74
My dear xxxx Derek,
Here's today's book page from I.T.
Perhaps yr review appeared last Sat -
that issue didn't reach the shops thanks
to our Trade Union friends' activities.
I got a 3 pound cheque for x my
HIBERNIA review (only 400 words) but I
knew from Many Manning's remarks that
contributors were not exactly over-paid.
Still,I despise nothing that comes in the
form of a cheque.
Printed letter and xxxxxx xxxx
leaflet from General Walker. Quote:
"I would like to emphasise straight away
that... Civil Assistance is in no way
whatsoever anything remotely resembling
a private army,militia or a Para-military
body... Any form of weapon,uniform,head-
gear or armband is strictly taboo.” The
aim is to keep the country going in case
of a politically-motivated general strike.
The General refutes the smear that he is
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131531GreacenStanford157Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Sep 7thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford157LetterFascist, HitlerEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford157LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford157.jpgFascist:"Fascism is of Socialist origin
and its psychology is typically Socialists
Hitler's Party was the National Socialist
Party,you will recall,and Mussolini - to
whom the word Fascism really applied as
it didn't to Hitler - was at first a xxxxx
notable Socialist leader.
People are being 'screened' as CA
doesn’t want to be infiltrated by
enemies.
If you haven’t done so already perhaps
you would write to :
Gen. Walter Walker,
£ast Lambrook Farm,
South Petherton,
Somerset.
Love to you both -
Robert
Apologies for the APPALLING typing. There's a gremlin (from the Kremlin)
in the Reading too
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131532GreacenStanford158Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Sep 9thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford158LetterNotting HillEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford158LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford158.jpg36 H P M
9th Sept 74
My dear Derek,
Many thanks yrs 6th.
No hurry for comments on story. I
have taken yr aavice and sent a copy off
to Shirley, asking for comments. Perhaps
I cd collate yrs and hers (if she is
willing to play) as am aware of amateur-
ism.
Glad, to hear yr piece on "Y. Book"
appeared in I.T. the day it was strike-
stricken.
Have been looking at a flat near
Nott Hill Gate. A colleague at West bond
Coll told me about it - she lives in the
house. Don’t have to decide for a few
days.
Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131533GreacenStanford159Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Sep 12thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford159LetterCaptain Fox, Padraic Fiacc, The Wearing of the BlackEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford159LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford159.jpg36 Holland Park Mews, London, W.11.
12th Sept,'74
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for yrs of 7th and Ms
with percilled suggestions - I'm willing
to accept most of these and thanks for
taking the trouble. Very much appreciated
as I know you are so busy.
Hope those bloody x gales have
abated.
Room-hunting, a far from enjoyable xxxxxxx
activity.
Roy has OK'ed Captain Fox in his
own ironic manner: "FOX. Extremely well-
written about the inedible consumed by
the ineffable...As with IRENE you have the
guts to work at something xxxxxx longer
than my xxxx bus-ticket poems.. .Clutey
Gibson is the stopped gaps in my non-
vegetarian teeth." (He has written a few
poems about a boy he calls Clutey Gibson.)
Padraic Fiacc writes to say his
anthology of Ulster poems, "The Wearing of
the Black",is on the way and will I and
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131534GreacenStanford016Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Feb 9thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford16LetterBook, ReviewsEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford016LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford016.jpg36 H.P.M.
9-2-73
My dear Derek,
Your letter of 29 Jan arrived today. Was it in fact returned to you?
Yes, we both get plenty of space in Feb "B+B". Would Frank let us write
an entire issue? I have various possible pseudonyms: Jock Mac Strap
("our Scottish correspondent."), Sean o'Hooligan, Phillipa Butch (Womens Lib),
Harry Horseley etc.
Good that Crackanthorpe Ms. in being terribly typed....
Glad you like those "bright" reviews. Many new books are so xxxxxxxxxxx
confoundedly dull/ trivial /ill-written that ones sanity can only be retained
if they are delt with "brightly".
I spent some time with Fred +
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091391GreacenStanford160Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Sep 12thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford160LetterCatholicEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford160LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford160.jpgyou (he mentions you by name) try to pub-
licise. I suggested he should write to you
and give you details,and perhaps a proof
copy. He seems a reasonable sort of fellow:
an Ulster Catholic; won the AE Prize a few
years ago.
Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131535GreacenStanford161Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Sep 13thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford161LetterCaptain FoxEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford161LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford161.jpgNo. 36 13/Sept/74
replied:14 Sept
I keep forgetting to ask you but
how would you like the dedication to be phrased. What about:
"For Derek Stanford who believed in Captain Fox from the very start".
There's plenty of time, so we don't need to hurry it. Think it over.
Love to you both - Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131536GreacenStanford162Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Sep 17thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford162LetterNotting HillEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford162LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford162.jpg36 H P M
17 Sept. 74
replied: 18 Sept 74
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for yrs of last Sat.
Good suggestion of yrs for inscription
and I’ll keep it in mind. You/I might think
of something even brighter.
Newsflash : It is reprted by usually
reliable sources that H.G. will be moving to
27 Pembridge Crescent,Notting Hill Gate,W.11.
In fact he has already made a number of taxi
trips there with secret files and documents.
Rumour has it that the house in which he will
have a 2 roomed furnished flat is owned by
Captain Fox. The phone number Is :
229 4898
End of newsflash.
Letters may now be sent to the new
address. Will tell you later how I came to
take this flat.
Interested in your various bits of lit-
erary news:Brooke article and Rhymers’ Club
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131537GreacenStanford163Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Sep 17thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford163LetterThe Irish Times, Honest Ulsterman, Frank Ormsby, James SimmonsEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford163LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford163.jpgNo.36
"book. Yes, must think of somewhere for
"Derek Stanford's Nineties" by R.G.
Very pleased to accept yr invitation
to stay a Sat night late in October,
That letter I sent to I.T. about the
Denis Ireland review in H.U. (by Simmons)
didn't appear,the first one not to be
printed. Expect they didn!t want to give
free publicity to H.U. Anyway,I sent it
to H.U. and have had a letter from editor
(Ormsby) saying he will be very pleased
to print it plus a reply from Simmons.
Book yr ringside seat now for the fight
between "Battling Bob” and "Jim the xxx
Joker".
You probably saw/heard/read of the
murder yesterday of a Belfast judge and
a magistrate. The latter,Martin McBirney,
was a friend of a man I used to know very
well. In fact I met McBirney a few times
during the War - he was a young barrister
then. They are incredibly vicious,these
murderous swine.(The Judge,incidentally,
was a Catholic.)
Hope Jack got his sugar in Boulogne.
And now,to more packing...
Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131538GreacenStanford164Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Sep 20thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford164LetterRhymers ClubEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford164LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford164.jpg27 Pembridge Crescent,
Nottinghill Gate,
W.11.
20th Sept,'74
replied: 21 Sept
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for yrs of 18th.
Will ask B+B for "3 poets of the rhyming club".
Hope all goes well at Selborne - xxxxxx
sounds very jolly.
Could you possibly xxx let me have some
notes on W.B. Yeats? My class starts next Friday 29th.
I'd be glad to have
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131539GreacenStanford165Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Sep 20thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford165LetterSorryEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford165LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford165.jpgbits. Shall I ask them to buy and read Jeffares
xxxxxxx selection.
Sorry this letter is such a mess. My hand is
rather tired from packing and moving stuff.
Also looking forward to a meeting in late Oct.
Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131540GreacenStanford166Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Sep 23rdLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford166LetterW.B. YeatsEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford166LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford166.jpg27 Pembridge Crescent
London W.11
replied: 27 SEPT
23-9-74
My dear Derek,
xxxxxx xxx xxx xx xx xx xxx
Many thanks for the letter + 2 notebooks,
on early + late W.B.Y. respectively, with my own notes,
this will, I think, be sufficient. I always like to be
over prepared when I start a new venture...
Asked B+B for yr book + Cis said "yes"
Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131541GreacenStanford167Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Sep 27thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford167LetterW.B. YeatsEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford167LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford167.jpg27 PEMBRIDGE CRESCENT,
LONDON,
W.11
27th Sept,'74
My dear Derek,
Your Yeats notes were a great help.
I spoke for 2Hrs without a stop + even
silenced the Southern Irish in my
audience at Ealing this morning. Loghorrehoea
spelling ? indeed! And have only
started on W.B.Y.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131542GreacenStanford168Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Sep 27thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford168LetterBooks and Bookmen, Roy McFadden, Faber and FaberEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford168LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford168.jpg2
I am beginning to think I wrote the stuff myself!
Horseman, pass by! "3 Poets of the Rhymers Club"
has arrived from "B+B" - Jolly nice - looking!
Good lunch with it.
More today from Robt Harb-inson ("HARPINGSONG", R. McF
calles him)
His new book is called "SONGS FROM ORIEL". His action
against Faber's has probably destroyed him. This book
comes from an unknown publisher (in London). Prose poems.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131543GreacenStanford169Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Sep 27thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford169LetterHonest Ulsterman, BelfastEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford169LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford169.jpg3
Ormsby of "H.U." has written to xxxx
say he wants to print "Knowing + Not Knowing".
I think Ireland, North and South, has said "Yes"
to the gallant Captain. Will England follow suit?
One can only hope....And Germany?....
Love to you both,
Robert
Did I tell you my old friend Denis Ireland
died (aged 80) in Belfast last MONDAY?
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131544GreacenStanford017Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Feb 9thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford17LetterEnvy, PoliticiansEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford017LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford017.jpgJohn in N.B.L. bar, but refused to be drawn into Grubbian controversy.
Don't take either of them seriously.
Read with envy, in Pulson case, of gifts to politicians. Why don't
publishers send us cases of whisky, coffee pots etc.!?
See you Wednesday (14th), usual place & time.
Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091392GreacenStanford170Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Sep 30thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford170LetterBooks and Bookmen, Peggie, DublinerEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford170LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford170.jpg27 Pembridge Crescent, W.11
30.9.74
My dear Derek
Thanks letter 27th and Harbinson
documents. Some publisher called
Hart (in London) is publishing his
book of prose poems,due shortly.
I enclose the B and B slip that
came with your "3 Poets..." selection.
Thought you might like to see Gareth's
comment. Have read yr introduction with
great pleasure and some of the poems,
but have yet to write the piece. Yes,
Cis has promised Valerie's Drabble.
You and Peggie seem to have enjoyed
yourselves at Tony Rye's birthday party.
I don't think I know or have met any of
the people you mention. Those foaming
bottles sound attractive even to one xxxx
whose mother (but not father) was a xxxxx
member of the Band of Hope.
The first class at Ealing went well
though it was the most miserably wet day
for a long time. I've got a very lively
retired Dubliner called Walter Mahon-
Smith rooting for me - he got me the
job,in fact,though I only knew him
through correspondence. He has run xxxxx
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131545GreacenStanford171Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Sep 30thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford171LetterThe Irish Times, Denis Ireland, Protestant NationalistEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford171LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford171.jpgclasses himself at Ealing and at one time was
president x of the Dublin Historical
Society;the sort of man who knows
everybody of note in Dublin. Don't know
how or why he has ended up in Ealing.
Yr notes are/will be helpful.
Did I tell you that my old friend
Denis Ireland died (in Belfast) a week
ago ? He celebrated his 80th birthday
not long ago and he lived to read and
approve my defence of his book against
Simmons' attack - his last letter to me
thanked me for x defending it- The IRISH
TIMES gave him a long obit,with photos,
and a 3rd leaderer. Don't know if he made
it into THE TIMES. As a Protestant Nationalist,
Denis swam against the stream in
N.I. ever since he was demobbed (as
Captain in Royal Irish Fusiliers,"the
Skins") at the end of World War I. x
H.U. have taken another Fox - the
Chinese one.
Love to you both
- Robert
x He was in the Senate (in Dublin) for a few years.
In middle age, with his white hair, he looked a bit like
SENATOR W.B. Yeats!
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131546GreacenStanford172Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Oct 6thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford172LetterCaptain Fox, Ian PaisleyEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford172LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford172.jpgThe latest Fox. Love to you both - Robert 6th October '74
Written on the Back of a Used Envelope Found in
Captain Fox's Dustbin
Longanimity - must cultivate it.
Meniscus - a crescent-shaped figure.
Paisley pattern:ornamented by cone rather like tree cone.
Pornocracy - undue influence of whores
As, e.g., in early 10th century Papacy.
(unacceptable concept in North Antrim.)
Quandong - nice sound! A small Austrailian tree.
Siskin - a yellow greenish xxx finch
Sirop instead of syrup - Yankee usage.
Vine-rod - a Roman centurion's badge
Whample - a sudden blow (Scots dialect.Ulster too? Ballymena?)
Yoicks - cry of unspeakable fox-hunters
Zen. Tear up your scriptures Holy books
Meditate,master yourself,spew up truth.
x Ian Paisley's constituency
Zynthum - ancient Egyption beer. The last bloody word.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131547GreacenStanford173Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Oct 10thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford173LetterNorthern Ireland Arts Council, Margaret Drabble, Franks OrmsbyEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford173LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford173.jpg27 Pembridge Crescent,x W.ll.
10th October,1974
My dear Derek,
Thanks for yrs of 8th.
Yes,indeed,I'd very much like to cane
on Sat 26th and stay the night. Is there a xx
good train arriving about mid-afternoon
(pref one that comes direct) ? This visitcan be
my birthday celebration.
The Captain's dustbin and w.p.b. have
some nice little items/ I'd like if poss to
do a second Captain Fox book. We'll see how
A GARLAND is received. There should be news
any day now about N.I. Arts Council decision:
to grant or not x to grant. I think Longley
seems fairly well disposed and I take it that
the committee look to him,as a poet,for a
lead. But if Big Ian hears they are dishing
out money to a Dublin publisher,well!!
Still haven't had the Drabble book from
"B and B" but I wrote a notice and sent it to
Cis. Valerie has kindly asked me to lunch
on 24th (Peggie knows the signifance of that
date - United Nations Day ?)
Thanks for yr writing to the Petersfield
xxxxxx bookshop. Ormsby asked me to write a
piece on Denis and I've done about 1,200. I
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131548GreacenStanford174Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Oct 10thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford174LetterR.T.E, Denis IrelandEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford174LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford174.jpgsent it to him with reluctance as prob
the I.P. or I.T. would have taken it. Then
I thought I’d send it to RTE('Irish Televis-
ion and Radio').xxxxx I sent it to the
"Here + Now" programme that used a piece of mine in the
summer. So something might come of xx that,
as Denis had a national reputation. Had a
letter today from his widow,Mary Ireland,
and her account of his last months is very
moving. He married at over 50 and very
happily. He was very attractive to women :
powerfully built,dignified,humorous,with
one or two touches of Captain Fox. (But
Fox is not based on him - composite,as you
know.) Politics nearly destroyed him.
Do you know the work of one of my
colleagues,Jenny Joseph (we know her as
Mrs. Coles)? She has a book (of poems) xxxx
coming from Dent’s shortly - publishes in
ENCOUNTER etc. She’s pretty good. Perhaps
you would look out for this and tell me
what you make of it. A very bright Jewish
woman but such a high-speed,compulsive
talker that it's impossible to have a
conversation! Oddly enough,Mrs.Wechsler is
an old friend of her mother - and that's
how I know that "Mrs. Coles" is in fact
Jenny Joseph.
Election ? No comment.
Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131549GreacenStanford175Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Oct 18thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford175LetterJudgeEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford175LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford175.jpg27 Pembridge Crescent,
W.11
18 October,1974
My dear Derek,
Many thanks yrs of 17th,
I accept yr emendations for "Uncle"
which was based on a newspaper report.
Enclose latest letter from Roy and
a group of his poems about a character
he x calls Clutey Gibson. Very good
indeed,I think,and I'd like to have yr
opinion. Perhaps when we meet. (Re his
letter:McBirney was the magistrate who,
along with a Judge,was recently assassin-
ated in Belfast. I met him a few times.
"Harpingsong" is of course Robt Harbinson,
one of whose books was "Song of Erne".
That Robt is not exactly Roy's cup x of
xx char.)
I think the 1.45 train next Sat
wd be fine,so I should arr about 3.30.
Looking forward to seeing you both.
Love to you both -
Robert
Also enc.printed letter from Walker
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131550GreacenStanford176Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Oct 28thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford176LetterPeggie, DublinerEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford176LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford176.jpgNo. 27 P C
Monday. Oct. 28,1974
My dear Derek,
Many,many thanks to xx Peggie and yr
good self for such a pleasant w/e.
Conversation,food,drink,walks just what
a Doctor who knew me would prescribe - not
to speak of the anthology you gave me.
Much appreciated.
Enclose the latest epistle from R.
Harbinson. You will observe the usual
name-dropping. Perhaps I shd suggest that
he writes another volume of autobiog
called "I KNEW THEM ALL" or,alternatively,
"They All Knew ME". Notice in the last
par that if I know a Dubliner called
Fallon, he knows a bigger,better and
richer Fallon! Very amusing. I think he
can't forget the days of poverty when he
and his mother had to hide from the rent
collector.
Five nice reprints of novels this
morning from B.B.N. inc xxxxxxxxx Masefields
Masefield's "Captain Margaret" - in a xxxx
series called the Bow Street Library
(Bodley Head) ed by Hugh Greene. Let's see
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131551GreacenStanford177Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Oct 28thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford177LetterGraham GreeneEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford177LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford177.jpghow Harbinson would handle this,if he
were writing to you.
"Hugh Greene - Graham's brother -
suggested that I should review ... When
I was in Brazil I met Graham's cousin
Billy Greene who,as you know,owns an
enormous ranch...."
Enc a list of my publications up to
'54.
Valerie has sent me a photo-copy of
her Drabble letter. I'm mischievously
sending it to R.H. to see what It will
stimulate him to come up with.
Love to Peggie + yourself -
Robert
the funniest "R" I ever did see!
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131552GreacenStanford178Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Nov 3rdLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford178LetterW.B. YeatsEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford178LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford178.jpg3rd Nov.'74
Rune and Blade
Soldiers take pride in saluting their Captain;
Where are the captains that govern mankind?
Fox stamps on our undemanding age
Preferring whats ordained, exact
Shaped to its mould by ancient use.
He argues for the rule of captaincy
That must remain though kings depart;
Not least affirms the magic art
That comes from maker's stoic trade
And blesses custom, ritual, ceremony.
Upheld by rune and lustrous blade.
My dear Derek,
This is the revised version, headed by a quotation W.B.Y's
"A Full Moon in March". I've changed "permissive age" to
"undemanding age" - the former is a cliche really, don't you think?
Seems to me this poem should lead off the book. Do you agree?
Love too you both -
Robert
Herta has sent me 2 splendid Parker pens for my birthday.
I think she realises that "the maker's stoic trade" is my obsession!
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131553GreacenStanford179Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Nov 4thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford179LetterKeats Poetry Prize, Ian PaisleyEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford179LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford179.jpg27 P C
4 Nov 74
My dear Derek,
Many thanks yrs yestre’en.
I note the Keats Poetry Prize awards
will he announced on 4 December. In the
principal newspapers ? Apart from myself,
Gerald Clarke I’m sure wd like to be on
the look-out. A pity the go-slow has
delayed xx
is.
One of the Gillespie girls,Sonia,is
living in Lewes - going to a teacher
training college. A suitably xxxxx anti-
Papist atmosphere for the granddaughter
of a keen Paisleyite. I saw the Gillespies
yesterday - the years have rather tamed
Leslie - four children and all the problems
attached to them, we don’t argue now. He’s
a very good fellow when it comes to practical
help - same goes for Veronica.
They have given me quite a bit of bed-
linen for the flat.
Now this may surprise you. Freddy Vine
is heading for London and I’ve agreed to
let me have one of my rooms. I’ll keep the
nicer one. This will ease the situation
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131554GreacenStanford018Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Feb 10thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford18LetterNew Statesman, Vita Sackville-WestEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford018LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford018.jpg36 Holland Park Mews, W. 11.
10th February,'73
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for p.c.
Right,let's meet then 28 Feb instead
of next Wednesday. (28)
I've a couple of advts re Group 36
coming in NEW STATESMAN Personal col. Not
a paper I care for,as you know,but it
might rope in a few people. Mrs. Wechsler
is quite agreeable about holding meetings
in her sitting room,as she is usually out
on Wed evenings. We shall see what happens.
I'll be gratefulfli if you can publicise.
The first meeting will depend on how soon
I can assemble a few bods,as at the moment
I'm a shepherd without sheep.
Have providentially been sent a crit.
study of V.Sackville-West which gives me
the opportunity to air the Dyment-V.S.-W.
affair of the almost identical poem.
Love to you both
- Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091393GreacenStanford180Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Nov 4thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford180LetterHarold MacmillanEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford180LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford180.jpgfinancially. I discussed it with Leslie and
V who have experience of F as a guest. They
agreed that he’s very quiet and that his
eccentricities are fairly tolerable and
harmless. Anyway,we’ll see how it works out.
He’s written me a couple of very practical
letters. One thing F is not - and that’s a
sponger, his tendency in fact is towards a
somewhat silly extravagance.
Glad you have fixed the S and J
contract.
Enjoy yourselves at Cowes - thanks for
letting me have the address.
Love to you both
- Robert
I saw xxxxxxx Harold Macmillan
being interviewed on TV last night. What a
cunning old fox - and how civilised compared with Heath
+ Wilson!
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131555GreacenStanford181Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Nov 5thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford181LetterRobert HarbinsonEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford181LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford181.jpg2 7 P C
5th Nov 74
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for your very helpful
letter. I took your point right away :
that this poem is not consonant with the
others. There is too much of me in it and
not enough of Fox (the simplistic think
that I am Fox,but you know I'm not and
indeed am attracted to characteristics in
him precisely because I haven't them).
I'll think your points over carefully. The
final arbiter will of course be Peter
Fallon in whose judgment I have a good
deal of faith. I am very glad you made
these criticisms. But of course the poem
is not intended to be integral to the body
of the sequence. Might be better to scrap
it. We'll see.
Robt Harbinson (Roy's "Harpingsong"
- he wrote "Song of Erne") writes infatig-
ably,entertainingly and as egotistically as
he knows how. Quote:"When you go to stay
with Derek Stanford again,be sure to let
me know so that you can come over here for
a meal.... As a bribe (not,I hope,as a
deterrent!) I can assure you that I still
make homemade wine - 'it sounds good
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131556GreacenStanford182Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Nov 5thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford182LetterI.T.V, Faber and Faber, Home-brewing, BreakdownEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford182LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford182.jpg2
stuff' Mr. Justice Swanwick remarked when
Charles Monteith was explaining in the
High Court that after lunch with me he still
had a hangover two days later... I have
actually appeared on ITV complete with
airlocks and syphons though my greatest
compliment was when.....I have a large
cellar maturing quietly away,I have not
seriously been drunk since a Faber party
ten years ago when Peter Crawley,the Sales
Director,had to call an ambulance to take
me to University College x Hospital. Not that
I wish to inflict such inebriation on you
when you call... A large part of the
attraction xxxxxxxxx for me in home-
brewing besides the all-important economics:
are the countryside roamings collecting the
ingredients." On fiction-writing:"... the
great xxxxxxxx technical problem is not
to invent characters or situations but how
the devil to deal with and finally dispose
of them." How to make money as a writer:
"...if you were to succeed to some obscure
Irish earldom and cause xx a scandal with
little girl x (or little boys even better)
the fees would rocket well ahead of current
inflation rates,as witness Montagu and
Lambton inter alia." I must say these
letters of his would make entertaining
reading so full are they of quips,and
gymnastic leaps from one subject to another,
The Faber confrontation must have been due
to a breakdown,an unconscious desire to
destroy the reputation he had built up
with such effort. I can't believe it was
rationally motivated.
Your and Don Roberto's letters have
cheered me up. I slept badly because of
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131557GreacenStanford183Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Nov 5thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford183LetterSons and Lovers, The Irish TimesEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford183LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford183.jpg3
toothache. Not normally troubled by this
affliction I've had quite a bit of trouble
in the past 2 months as a result of various
fillings. Hitherto the dentist I go to,a
very nice New Zealander, has been
splendid. I don't blame him in the
slightest - I think like all ageing things
the teeth are the worse for wear. Anyway,
back again to him this a.m. though the
pain has subsided.
Despite some pain last night I
ploughed on in SONS AND LOVERS which I'm
rereading for my Ealing boys and girls -
one is nearly 70! Again and again I found
tears coming into my eyes. What a man!
And how,unlike Yeats, sad that he went on
to write those later diffuse novels not
quite grounded in reality. Yet at the same
time what a xxxx heroic struggle - a man
dying yet travelling,writing and quarreling
with intensity. The marital situation in
SONS AND LOVERS in some respects xx was
is
like that of my parents. Makes it easy to
identify. And I love the sparse - and all
the more effective - use of dialect,almost
all of which is understandable in the
context.
Last Sat's IRISH TIMES had 2 letters
dealing with mine of Oct.26 (which I
showed you). Ewart Milne's didn't say very
much and his reference to me was polite:
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131558GreacenStanford184Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Nov 5thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford184LetterW.B. Yeats, PoliticsEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford184LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford184.jpgxx 4
he said that at least I had taken the trouble
to outline a position,even though he was agin
it. The other boy,who said he was writing a
thesis,devoted his very long letter to Yeats'
political views and maintained that W.B.Y. xxx
was a Fascist. He quoted other parts of the
Yeats' letter to Ethel Mannin from which I
had drawn. Fortunately I had the volume by me,
so I quoted still more from the Yeats-Mannin
correspondence to show that even if Yeats had
Fascistic tendencies he could not properly
be described as a Fascist. The whole thing
has escalated into quite a controversy.
Breaking off here for a visit to Mr.
Tim Rishworth,B.D.S. (N.Z.)... Back from
dentist who explained the position very well.
He gave me the choice of a nasty business to
get all of the nerve out or to stick it in
the hope teat it will settle down. Chose the
latter.
xxxxxxxxx re politics
Take even today with its
rash of strikes... The aim is not to improve
the "intolerable lot" of the workers but to
use that excuse to create confusion,bring
about collapse and then have a Left-wing
takeover. God knows,I would like to see
"democracy" work - i.e. a reasonable life
for everyone,regardless of class - but
unfortunately it doesn’t seem to be working.
Support for the Right in my case is largely
a matter of approving the bad to avoid the
worse. And I work on the premise that man
(including R.G.) is sinful:culpable pride etc.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131559GreacenStanford185Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Nov 5thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford185LetterJudith Ward, I.R.A, HiberniaEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford185LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford185.jpg5
Ideologists will of course do anything
to further their ideal. Pious and worthy
declarations end in killing the innocent
in the streets.
Have you read about the incredible
case of Judith Ward,an English girl who
went to work in a riding stables in
Ireland,met IRA men and became a killer.
Became a Catholic,began x to adopt an
Irish accent etc. And now has been given
30 yrs. How there's idealism for you...
Apologies for the unconscionable
length of this epistle to the Seafordians,
Love to you both
Robert
Have just had a welcome parcel from
HIBERNIA: Stallworthy's biography of
Wilfred Owen. You have prob had this
from B and B. Also a nice note saying
they will use "Written on the Back of
A Used Envelope etc." They have been
good friends to the Captain, A funny
thing happened on the way down to
collect the parcel. I hurried but
found my 84 yr old landlord holding it
and was surprised to hear him say:"It's
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131560GreacenStanford186Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Nov 5thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford186LetterCaptain FoxEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford186LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford186.jpgall right. I've got it,Captain." And he
again addressed me as "Captain". xxxx Is
the man psychic ?
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131561GreacenStanford187Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Nov 21stLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford187LetterPeggie, BookEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford187LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford187.jpg27 P. C.
21st Nov 74
My dear Derek,
I hope Peggie and you have settled in
again at home after your Wight wanderings.
I enclose a xx cutting of a review of
yours from today's I.T. This was perhaps the
one you wanted me to be on the lookout for.
Very interesting,too. I had expected it to
be on the 90’s or perhaps Victorian art/lit-
erature,but of course you can write on any-
thing at the drop of an editorial hat!
What is Cis playing at ? They announced
R.G. on D.S in the Nov issue. Now I see my
name on the Dec cover but they have printed my
piece on Edward Blishen and a.n. other. Now
Blishen is a contributor like yourself,so I
wonder if he pressed to have his piece in
first. You might try to find out discreetly...
I’m as disappointed as you will be.
In today’s post I found a copy of “Songs
Out of Oriel” signed by the author. i xx
didn’t make any effort to get it for review
as I didn’t like the fact that he resumed
correspondence (after several years'silence)
shortly before pubn of the book. Not good
enough,that sort of behaviour. What’s your
opinion of it? the book The local references are
K *
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131562GreacenStanford188Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Nov 21stLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford188LetterUlster, FermanaghEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford188LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford188.jpginteresting for me,especially since he
writes on aspects of Ulster that are xxxxxxx
sometimes unfamiliar to me - I don’t know
Fermanagh at all,the county to which he
was evacuated- I know respectable working-
class B'fast but not the slumdom he came xxx
from- He’s a very bright boy but just a
wee bit more opportunistic than I can
readily stomach.
Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131563GreacenStanford189Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Nov 23rdLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford189LetterThe Irish Times, PoetryEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford189LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford189.jpg2 7 P. C.
23rd November,'74
replied:2nd Dec
My dear Derek,
Thanks letter (22nd) and cutting.
It’s always rather pleasant to see
something one wrote a long time ago popping
up in print - I say this in reference to yr
recent appearance in I.T.
I’ve sent Harbinson a somewhat tongue-in-
cheek paen but I wouldn't care to commit xxxxx
myself to praise in public. It doesn’t seem to
me to xxx be either poetry or prose and it isn’t
dramatic. Like many good writers of descriptive
prose (which he is at his best) he is a poet
manque. I can see that he had a very hard time
as child and boy,and I’m sorry about that. We
must xxx descend on him some time to sample
his home-made wine which I expect is pretty good,
judging by his efforts as a cook (these I’ve
sampled).
What you say about Gascoyne is interesting.
Do you think that he will write again ? Seems
to me to be a forgotten man - I've been surprised
that one or two reasonably informed people had
hardly heard of him. Such a pity to see so much
talent wasted. That one talent etc.,
Peter Fallon and I are weary of waiting for
a decision from the Longley mob up on the North-
ern ranch. Pistol-packin’ Pete has been in touch
with the Southern ranchers. It would be a kick up
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131564GreacenStanford019Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Feb 13thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford19LetterJohn HordenEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford019LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford019.jpg36 H.P.M
13.2.73
My dear Derek,
Thanks yrs.
I think our letters have crossed (have noted Feb. 28)
Yes, John Horden seems to have improved.
Wasn't as scruffy as a couple of years ago. Glad to hear ORBIS
keeps appearing and improving....
Love to you both - Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091394GreacenStanford190Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Nov 23rdLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford190LetterSons and Lovers, Robert LowellEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford190LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford190.jpgthe arse for Longley if we could get a subsidy from
Dublin -- you see how important it is in dealings
with Ireland not to be too committed one way orwthe
other! Meanwhile Pete has brought out 3 books,
inc 1 of his own,and has been giving readings at
T.C.D. and xx on TV. He’s written to assure me
that he will do everything possible to get the
book out. But when ?!
My class at Ealing goes happily. Have been
doing DHL,with a very detailed look at SONS AND
LOVERS. Apart from about 3 young women,the rest
are elderly - and there are only 2 men in the
class. There’s a high percentage of proiessional
people so one doesn't have to say F-r-e-u-d - a
Hungarian woman doctor knows more about F-r-e-u-d
xxxx than I do.
This week I was offered some temporary work
by those people I worked for in Holland Park last
spring and summer - the Tutors,Davies,Laing and
Dick who have gone into the Eng for Foreigners
business. I’ve a good pal there,a bearded Right-
wing Lancastrian who swallows beer on a Chesterton-
ian scale, x I very much like the Northern English:
hard workers yet good fun.
I see the Govt are at last to take some anti-
IRA measures...Now the English are beginning to
see what my people have been enduring for the last
5 years and at various times before '69.
Robert Lowell has been reading from his work
in Belfast (possibly because he has an Ulster wife>
Courageous of him to go there... Latest HU out (no
spare copy at the moment) with a lot of stuff by xx
me,but ,alas,none of it paid for...
Love to you both -
Robert
x 3 pints at lunchtime!
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131565GreacenStanford191Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Dec 4thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford191LetterRobert Lowell, Holborn StationEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford191LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford191.jpg27 Pembridge Crescent,
W. 11.
4.12.74
replied:6 Dec
My dear Derek,
Many thanks tor yours of 2nd. '
There seem to he as many delays with your
Aussie lady's prize awards as with Capt. xxx Fox.
Glad you have interested S and J in Gascoyne's
Journal. So Lowell is trying,too - his wife comes
from Ulster,by the way (Caroline Blackwood) and
has published a book of what seem to be extremely
nasty stories. (Perhaps there’s a connection
between Ulster and nastiness------I wouldn’t
know!)
Good to hear you are working on INSIDE THE
FORTIES. Perhaps you will find a phrase in one of
the poets of the time to sum it up succinctly.
Here’s to your pyrotechnic displays!
I finish these days near Holland Park Station
at 1 p.m. Strand is awkward to get to but Holbornn
on the Central line is straightforward. If we ,
could meet at Holborn Station and eat nearby, I
expect I’d get there by about 1.30. West London
College finished on 13th but the private school
I work at in the mornings goes on until xxx 20th.
The other thing to remember is that I’m in
Ealing on Friday mornings (but term there ends
on 13th). As you see,I now have 3 teaching jobs
I’d suggest 23rd or 24th,unless that’s too near
the great day for you - could be anywhere any
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131566GreacenStanford192Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Dec 4thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford192LetterMichael Longley, The Irish Times, Frank Ormsby, Padraic FiaccEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford192LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford192.jpgtime on those days. Another thing -- I may be
coming,to Brighton to see Robt H and perhaps you
could come over' (not necessarily to meet him,unless you
wanted to). Hope all this doesn’t sound a muddle.
Still no news from Peter F about a NI decision
but he feels aggrieved" at Longley’s offhandedness.
So do I. Longley has a well-paid job and is right
at the heart of the stablishment,so he doesn’t give
a damn. His wife lectures at Queen’s Univ,,Belfast,
and writes poetry reviews for the IRISH TIMES. So
It would be dangerous for Fallon to offend him.
The usual poetry politics,as you see. Still,I
seem to be gaining allies over there - Ormsby
always writes in a friendly way (he’s just accepted
a non-Fox poem which I enclose). I also enclose
the latest H.U.
Love to you both -
Robert
Valerie has agreed to send you Fiacc’s anthology,
due shortly. I’ve written to Fiacc asking him to
make sure a copy is sent to THE TEACHER. Fiacc
is another fellow 'who seems friendly and,like
Ormsby,answers letters.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131567GreacenStanford193Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Dec 7thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford193LetterMall TavernEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford193LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford193.jpg27 P C
Sat. 7.12.74
My dear Derek,
First. Yes,I can meet you in the x Mall
Tavern next Wed (11th) at, say, 1.15. I'll make a
point of breaking-off mid-sentence at 1 p.m.
in Holland Park and xx dashing off.... Good
idea of yrs to link the Rammage visit with a
meeting.
Didn’t expect you’d want to meet Harbinson.
I’m willing to meet him in Brighton as Brighton
is a place I like very much and I love a few
hours there. I’ve sometimes gone to Brighton
alone and it never fails to do me good. Perhaps
this tonic effect wears off for people who
actaully live there. Had another epistle from
the boy today. He would 'be delighted to see me'
etc. Actually,I think he’s got the law more on
his mind than the new book, whether this is a xxx
of paranoia and folie de grandeur ,or has a
basis in fact,I’ll try to decide when we meet.
He’s got a thing about Hailsham,that sounds a wee
bit like Freddy’s persecution mania in years
past. Claims that Hailsham rigs the courts. Yet
says that the judges "didn’t like Hailsham or me
since we both xxxx know some squalid aspects of
the majesty" (Ref back to 'majesty of the law').
The letters,incidentally,are strikingly phrased.
Quite a character.
I’ll chew over yr kind comments on the
C.D. poem. What I was trying to suggest was
what might have been in his mind near his death.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131568GreacenStanford194Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Dec 7thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford194LetterHonest Ulsterman, Padraic Fiacc, Wilfred OwenEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford194LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford194.jpgTrue,there are the other possibilities - mother,
wife,mates. That would change the poem xx from a
more generalised "A Poet Dying" into "Clifford
Dynent Dying". Which might well be better. I may
say that the poem was written soon after his
death and revised several times since. I've even
made a revision since I sent xxx the text to you.
It looks like being one that will need endless
work -- though what poem doesn't ? I am becoming
more and more perfectionist as an antidote to
fluency, the poem-while-U-wait syndrome. For some
years what I was writing was too obvious,too
literary,too easily done. And I am being increas-
inly captivated by the 'fascination of what's
difficult'.
HU isn't bad for a provincial town half in xxxx
ruins. But I wonder whether the violence and
uncertainty of life there isn't a stimulus to
writers,even though it creates problems for them
in ordinary living. Fiacc's article in HIB may
interest you in this connection - please let me
have it back. They also use this week my piece on
Wilfred Owen ,with a large illustration. (Without
a 14-18 War what kind of poet wd Owen have been ?)
See you next Wed.
Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131569GreacenStanford195Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Dec 23rdLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford195LetterPacifist, Maud Gonne, Orangemen, The Twelfth of JulyEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford195LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford195.jpg
No. 27
23. 12. 1974
My dear Derek,
Many thanks yrs 22nd.
I was very interested to have yr reminiscence
about the start of the last War. Roy was more
active than I was in similar ways,but I was in
complete agreement on the pacifist issue. But I
was having a semi-breakdown over Irene (my Maud
Gonne). As a result I messed up my university
career which has plagued me since as top-level
work goes to those with good paper qualifications.
Ah well...
Valerie told me she would send you WEARING OF
THE BLACK. Much more chance of a review there
getting in fairly soon,though B and B is worth
doing. Padraic is very keen to have a reasonable
coverage in England.
There’s a lot of symbolism in the W.O.T.B.
cover - orange,white and green are the colours of
the Irish Republican tricolour. Ironic of course
since the Orangemen will fight to the death not
to be in their Republic! presumably the title is a
kind of pun on a popular Irish ballad (again
Republican) xxxxxxxxxx "The Wearing o' the Green"
with lines such as "They're hangin' men and women
for the waerin' of the green" in which "they"
refers to the English. Had the vote in the House
gone differently it might have been:"They're hangin'
men and women for a-placin’ o' the bomb".
THE GLORIOUS TWELFTH was written in 1943. The parenthesis under
the title doesn't make this
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131570GreacenStanford196Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Dec 23rdLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford196LetterRoy McFadden, FinaghyEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford196LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford196.jpgclear - I should have asked him to place that at the.
end of the poem. It was included in THE UNDYING DAY
and elsewhere. The poem is in my early poem "public"
style,as you say. It is,I hope,obvious from the text
that 12 July processions we re not held during the
war years. The last word of the poem is "Finaghy" -
this is the place just outside Belfast to which
marchers go,listen to speeches and have refreshments
before starting the trek back.
I hope my poem about Roy won’t embarrass him
with some of his clients. Business has been declining
and I’d hate to think that he lost fees through my
scribbling. But poetry is no more read there by the
populace than it is here.
You cover a wide poetic field - from Finaghy to
Riga,as one might say. Good for you.
Enclose Braybooke's HIB article. Read it with
enjoyment. I note that the research was done by
Peggie.
Glad that Jack didn’t have to drive through x a
storm to get to you this year.
All being well,you’ll see Herta and me on 2nd
Jan.
Love to you both -
Robert
Sad that T.R. Hew is dead...
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131571GreacenStanford197Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Jan 2ndLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford197LetterLouis MacNeice, HiberniaEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford197LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford197.jpgNo. 27 2/1/75
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for your letter of 30th Jan.
The postman woke me up at 8am to deliver a
book (on Mac Neice) from Hibernia.
I dashed out for THE TIMES to xxxx
read the list of prizewinners with considerable
pleasure.....not least because Gerald Clarke figured in it.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131572GreacenStanford198Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Jan 2ndLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford198LetterArethusaEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford198LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford198.jpgwill look forward to discussing this +
other matters next Wednesday.
Love to you both
Robert
By the same post I'm sending off a £10 cheque
to Arethusa. Poor child - she's been having
medical tests. Her health just isn't what it ought to be.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131573GreacenStanford199Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Jan 19thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford199LetterBooks and Bookmen, Samuel BeckettEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford199LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford199.jpg27 P.C.
19th January'75
My dear Derek,
Hello! Have just finished what (I hope) is an
entertaining review for B +B, of
Beckett's "MERCIER AND CAMIER". I expect it will outrage
John Calder.
Still no news from N.I. Arts Council. Peter
Fallon has written, as nice as ever, and says he hopes
to do the book with or without their grant.
Freddy gives me some extra work, but does try to co-operate.
Herta went back a week ago.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131574GreacenStanford002Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1970 Oct 30thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford2LetterRoy McFaddenEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford002LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford002.jpgCOPY
BIRTHDAY POEM
For Robert Greacen
At fifty,I suppose,you'll count the change,
Number your debtors and your creditors,
Adjust accounts,write off lost loves,and put
The reckoning in your diary. But,or yet,
You'll also scatter starling glances over
A set shrugged shoulder soldiering through time
Back to a tenser time when,unbereft,
Life was right and politics were left.
Roy McFadden
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091377GreacenStanford020Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Feb 24thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford20LetterCatholics, United IrelandEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford020LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford020.jpg36 H.P.M
24 Feb 73
replied 27 Feb
My dear Derek,
I take it that you won't be coming to
town next Wed. Anyway,they are threatening
a London Transport close-down to. So it
looks as if our meeting is off. What about
7 March,Ash Wednesday ?
Enclose my TRIB notice of that book
about Belfast which I thought so good. I
wd like to write a booklet on Ulster,giving
the facts for English readers - fairly non-
commital. Can't think of who wd finance it.
What I had in mind was a series of quest-
ions e.g. "Why do most Catholics xxxxx want
a united Ireland ?" , "Why do most Protest-
ants want to remain in the U.K. ?" etc. But
I don't want to write a book.,as I'm not
primarily interested enough in politics/
history. Suggestions welcomed.
Have had 7 replies to my 1st advt re
Group 36 and one man is definite. But next
Wednesday !! Have sent out the leaflet to a
lot of people and am advertising,under my
own name,in TRIB - as some of their readers
shd have heard of me. Geo Licence is a
founder member,so to speak,and one or two
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091395GreacenStanford200Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Jan 19thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford200LetterPeggie, Holland ParkEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford200LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford200.jpgShe has phoned and written since then. She
was very pleased to meet you and Peggie at
Seaford - a most enjoyable visit for us both.
Hard at work - 4 hours teaching a day
(plus preparation at home) takes it out of me.
But we need the xxxx money.
Wrote a new Fox poem which I'll let you see later.
Love to you both -
Robert.
Finishing each day at 1pm. at Holland Park.
I say this in case we try to arrange a lunch meeting.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:131575GreacenStanford201Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Jan 21stLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford201LetterBooks and Bookmen, Padraic Fiacc, Michael LongleyEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford201LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford201.jpg27.P C.
21.1.75
replied 23.1.75
My dear Derek ,
Many thanks yrs 20 th.
Good to hear auotosnap (Roy’s word) is
progressing.
B and B appearing as usual,so it must
be because of bad distribution that it
isn’t in the Worthing Library.
Also good to hear about yr lecture at
Morley and the one planned for March.
Yes,I too had PEEPSHOW! No doubt she
wants to peruse Fiacc anthol before sending
it to you.
By the same post as yr letter,xxxx I
had a long letter from Peter Fallon. Longley
has written civilly, saying that he is in
favour of a grant and that the committee
will decide on 28 January. Peter gives me
details of production and lay-out plans:
400 in paper,100 cloth. Will bring out books
by Kennelly ana Michael Hartnett along with
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141576GreacenStanford202Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Jan 21stLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford202LetterFrancis Stuart, DublinerEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford202LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford202.jpgmine. Hopes later to bring out a Pearse K
and a Francis Stuart. That boy (Peter) is
about the most organised Dubliner I’ve met.
Haven’t time to detail all the points he
makes. He never misses a trick and I’m
delighted to have such a publisher -
friendly,efficient,enthusiastic.
I’ll prob nip over to Dublin to sign the
cloth copies.
Love to you both - Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141577GreacenStanford203Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Jan 27thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford203LetterChancery Lane, Faber and FaberEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford203LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford203.jpgNo. 27 P.C.
27. 1. 75
My dear Derek,
Many thanks yrs 23rd.
I note that competition results will be
pubd next Sat., 1 Feb.
Yes I can manage Wed.,5 Feb in that
Europa cafe nr Chancery Lane Stn, 2.30 to
2.45.
I spent most of yesterday with Robt
Harbinson/Robin Bryans at Rottingdean
where he lives in a friend's cottage. What
tales he had to tell of F and F , and
Charlie Monteith (who was a classmate of
Freddy’s). It’s a fantastic story. Some
of the events he proved,as he showed me
documents. It’s much too detailed to go
into here. He’s now writing a book about
‘the affair’. He intends to tone it down
as otherwise no publisher wd dare to bring
it out. You will recall his famous couplets
Conmen and crocks
Run Faber books.
This got him 6 days in Pentonville - but
he claims that it cost F and F £100,000
to shut him up.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141578GreacenStanford204Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Jan 27thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford204LetterNorthern Ireland Arts Council, Francis Stuart, I.R.A, BerlinEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford204LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford204.jpgN.I Arts Council meeting tomorrow
to decide whether to grant or not to grant
re Capt. Fox.
We had a splendid walk in and around
Rottingdean,saw the local museum with its
marvellous collection of Kipling books and
letters. Wish I had had a glass-cutter
in my pocket! R.H. chuckled at my
predicament. Ate locally caught
pigeon at evening meal. He's a damn good
cook,mad or not.
Francis Stuart was supposed to have
collaborated with the Nazis. A'liberal'
and socialist lie,of course,though he was
an IRA man in his youth. The fact is that
he was teaching in Berlin when the War xxxx
broke cut. A interesting case of a
forgotten man making a come-back. Like
Basil Bunting.
Love to you both - Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141579GreacenStanford205Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Feb 6thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford205LetterThe Irish TimesEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford205LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford205.jpgNo. 29 6-2-75
My dear Derek,
How nice to see you again!
The enclosed may interest you.
Please return some time.
Love to you both.
Robert
(with a copy of IRISH TIMES FEB 6
'75 giving details of RG's forthcoming
A Garland for Captain Fox
in a )
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141580GreacenStanford206Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Feb 12thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford206LetterIrish Arts Council, HiberniaEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford206LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford206.jpgNo. 2 7
12. 2. 75
My dear Derek,
Thanks yrs 8th.
Letter this morning from Peter saying
the Dublin-based Arts Council will make
up the difference. Which means that they
must be giving more than the North. He
hasn't said what the printing bill is but
I would expect that the Belfast £100 will
only be a fraction. He told me that costs
have very much increased in the last year.
So the Captain is xxxxxxxx under way at
last... (I'll tell him about yr letter
being written with his pen!)
My THREE POETS review hasn't
appeared nor has my review of xxxxx
Valerie's book although the latter was
billed to appear. I had B and B stuff not
long ago but no idea what is happening
there. I suppose they have too many Mss
lying around.
HIBERNIA does pay me. I think what xxxx
you have in mind is that about a year ago I
thought they had stopped paying. What
actually happened was that they sent payment
to Inverness Terrace and the letter was
lost in the post. All was straightened
out. Thanks to Mary Manning whom I met
in London following my attack on her in
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141581GreacenStanford207Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Feb 12thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford207LetterThe Irish Times, The Scotsman, Faber and FaberEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford207LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford207.jpgthe IRISH TIMES! Aggression will get one
anywhere ?
I sent a complete set of Fox poems to
Robert Nye a couple of months ago. Not a
word,despite a letter reminding him... The
idea was that he might pick one or two for
THE SCOTSMAN. Is he ill/abroad ?
Robt H has asked me to contact Charlie
Monteith of Faber's . He says his friend
Lord Shackleton suggested this. I wrote to
Charlie,enclosing R.H.'s projected preface
to a book on the Harbinson v. Faber affair.
Hmm!
Love to you both
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141582GreacenStanford208Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Feb 20thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford208LetterMichael McLaverty, Call My Brother BackEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford208LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford208.jpg 27 P.C.
20-2-75
My dear Derek,
I thought the enclosed letter might interest
you. As you see, Michael McLaverty's "Call My
Brother Back" (his first novel & his best, published
-1939) sold nearly 6,000 in the Figgis reprint.
Please return his letter. (The "Academy",is the Irish
Academy of Letters, founded by Yeats.)
Herta and Mathias are coming on March 22nd.
Charlie Monteith of Faber's
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141583GreacenStanford209Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Feb 20thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford209LetterRobert HarbinsonEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford209LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford209.jpg
has replied very quickly to my letter re Harbinson,
but o'Brians wont't play ball (balls?) with R.H.
Not surprised, having seen R.H.'s scurrilous "open letter"
on Charlie : "He inveigles boys into his flat for criminal purposes"
etc., etc. "Charlies sex life is expensive", R.H.
said to me. No comment.
Love to you both,
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141584GreacenStanford021Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Feb 24thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford21LetterEarls CourtEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford021LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford021.jpgother frienas are due to come. So we shall see
how it develops.
I saw Gerard Werson (now Gerard van
Seteren Werson) the other day. He told me
you had been in touch with him. He is living
in an extremely xxxx grand house in one of
the better parts of Earls Court - towards xxxx
Chelsea. Is keen to be my agent.
Head yr piece on Father Hopkins with
interest.
Love to you both -
Bought a SANYO cassette recorder the other day.
Useful for work with foreign students + for recording
poems, stories etc. Portable, so one xxx can
take it around easily.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091396GreacenStanford210Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Feb 22ndLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford210LetterHarry Truman, Hibernia, Padraic FiaccEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford210LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford210.jpg
22xx2.75
From today's IRISH TIMES:
CLERGYMEN IN N.I. POLITICS
Sir,-
I read with sympathetic interest Dr. xxxxxx
Hanson's suggestion (February 18th) that all
Northern clergymen should be barred from xxxxxx
contesting seats for the new Convention. Yet I
could not but recall,so far as one partic-
ularly famous (or notorious) xxxxxx man of
God is concerned,the alleged remark of
President Harry Truman about J.Edgar Hoover:
“I'd rather have him inside the tent peeing out
than outside xxx xxxx peeing in." - Yours,etc.
Robert Greacen
27 etc.,
I've also a letter,rather longer,protesting
against a HIBERNIA review xxxx - letter in HIB
of course - of the Fiacc anthology. x was a
xxxxxxxxx thoroughly nasty piece xx tof work.
Seems to be my letters-to-the-Ed week. Managed
to give Roy a sort of back-handed xxx puff
in the HIB letter.
Love to you both
Robert
The review
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141585GreacenStanford211Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Feb 26thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford211LetterHerta, DublinEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford211LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford211.jpgNo. 27 P. C.
26. 2. 75
replied:27.2.75
My dear Derek,
Many thanks yrs 22nd. I think it was a
bit delayed because you wrote xxx “29”.
Herta has injured her back in a fall on
a polished floor in her house but I hope it
won’t upset plans. xxx She has had a lot of
pain.
I think Peter skilfully/xxxxx played the South
up against the North. What the Yanks call
“working both sides of the street”. He’s clever
and efficient.
No news about the Keats party. I’m afraid
her delays do not inspire confidence,but perhaps
the latest is also due to illness. If we don’t meet
there (my class time is 4.45 - 6.45 p.m.), yes,
the Wed. Why not come to my flat for coffee,as
it is, only 5 minutes' walk from N.H.G. ? I
could meet you somewhere at N.H.G. and conduct
you here.
I’ve never heard of A.B.(?) O’Connor. What
has he written ?
Goldsmith Press seem to be very active. I
don’t really know the Dublin scene today,only,
bits of it. Thanks for encs. But what l really
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141586GreacenStanford212Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Feb 26thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford212LetterTimes Literary Supplement, Faber and FaberEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford212LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford212.jpgwant is to get some poems published in
England. Can't find an opening anywhere - I
mean,anywhere worthwhile like T.L.S. and am
always annoyed to see so much shit published
by the in-boys.
I enclose a document that may amuse you.
Please reurn after perusal. I think R.H. has
let xx the case become obsessive.
He won't get anywhere
in Harbinson V. Faber and Hailsham.
Love to you both
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141587GreacenStanford213Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Feb 28thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford213LetterRobert Harbinson, Faber and Faber, Books and BookmenEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford213LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford213.jpgNo. 2 7 P.C.
28. 2. 75
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for yrs of 27th.
Yes,Harbinson's letter was fascinating. I have
a thick file of Harbinsoniana since he resumed
correspondence. I would spill no tears on F and F's
behalf but I don't think he has a chance in hell.
On his own admission,he goes in for sharp practice,
as I shall tell you when we meet.
Various agonised letters frcm Valerie about the
non-appearance of my review of her book in B and B.
I phoned Cis yesterday who explained about less
space,topical reviews etc., and xxxxx was as pleasant
as always. She says she hopes to get your R. Brooke,
into the issue dated April.
Haven't seem the Marcus anthol. David has always
been generous to me as a critic but right from the
start was reluctant to publish my poems. I never send
him any now but when I last wrote couldn't help but
point out that I had a book coming from Gallery. You
can’t please all of the editors all of the time.
X-rays show that Herta has suffered no serious
injury. My eagle will live to fly here as arranged,
together with her eaglet. She says I am her "golden
lion". The Germans and Swiss are mad keen on highly
polished floors. Visitors beware! Is their idea to
trip up prowling 'golden lions'?
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141588GreacenStanford214Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Feb 28thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford214LetterFrancis Stuart, GermanyEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford214LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford214.jpgYr 0'Connor has had quite a military career. But
what about his novels ? Ask him if he knows/knew:
Francis xxxxxxxx Stuart who has been coning to the
fore (2nd time round) recently ? Stuart is an odd
bod. An Ulster Prod who joined the IRA,was in Germany
during the last War and then went back to Ireland, and
seems to be at odds with every group and Party there
is. But an interesting writer.both as novelist and
poet.
Heavy cold developed yestre'en but I've been
working as usual. Lucky in this respect as my last
one - a cold to end all colds - was around New xxxx
Year 74.
Right,as you suggest,let's wait for a meeting
until March 10 (assuming this is really on).
The enclosed may interest you. Would you mind
returning it ?
Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141589GreacenStanford215Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Mar 3rdLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford215LetterRobert HarbinsonEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford215LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford215.jpg2 7 P. C
3. 3. 75
My dear Derek,
xxxxxxx Here’s a photocopy of the latest Harbinson.
It speaks for itself. Please return. I know you will
keep this information to yourself. If it leaked out,I
wouldn't get any more!
Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141590GreacenStanford216Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Mar 6thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford216LetterCentaur Books, PublisherEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford216LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford216.jpgNo. 2 7 P.C.
6th March, 1976
replied:8 Mar.
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for yrs of 4th.
I am glad Peggie and you had a good
holiday w/e in Chichester. Interested to
have yr hews of Jon W-T. Yes, I've been
wondering why we don't see Centaur Books
these days. I suppose he has private means
he can live on.
I've sent the article on the Greacens
to Nan G (Mrs. Faure) in the U.S. and a
copy to Walter. If the Yankee cousins want
it extended I'll be happy to oblige but I'll
do mo more work on it unless there is a
proposal to print or something of the kind,
as I can't spare the time. If nothing like that
is suggested, I'll get a few copies made and
distrubute to known relatives.
R.H. v. F and F. The trouble with R.H.
is that he neither puts all the cards on the
table or wholly conceals them. Bits of the
jigsaw,to change the metaphor,are missing. He
changes the emphasis from one point to another.
My impression is that he is partially round the
bend. We shall see what we shall see,but it
seems to me that his career as a writer may be
over. What publisher would touch him now ?
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141591GreacenStanford217Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Mar 6thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford217LetterHerta, B.B.C, New StatesmanEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford217LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford217.jpgYr Mrs. Cash hasn't ccme up with the cash.
Gerald Clarke xxxxxxx keeps asking me if she has
got it and I can only answer "don't know". Again,
we shall see what we shall see.
A more immediate problem is Freddie - "Vine
by name and vine by nature" as he once called
himself in our early acquaintance 35 years ago.
He is a medical/psychiatric case,I think. Drunk
most evenings,on the dole,making practically no
effort to find work and walking around London
doing nothing day after day. He honours financial
obligations and causes me no positive trouble,But
there's always the possibility of his causing
mischief to himself or my flat when in his cups.
I don't want him to go and I don't want him to
stay unless he does something about it. Waiting
for an opportunity for a bit of plain speaking...
Herta writes that she still has back pains
but they have eased a bit. She had a bad cold at
the time of the fall so that didn't help. But she
is a woman who can endure much and has endured
much. She's due here on Sat., 22nd.
My cold cleared up fairly quickly - just 2
days' real nastiness.
look after yourself.Love to both - Robert
Pleased to hear on B.B.C. news just now of 20 yr
sentence on killer of policeman. These thugs only
understand tough punishment. Our Judges obviously
don't read the NEW STATESMAN.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141592GreacenStanford218Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Mar 7thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford218LetterMacNeiceEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford218LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford218.jpg7/3/75 My dear Derek, The inc.
may interest you, not least for the
note on R.G. Please return
Love to you both Robert
Mr. Brown, in this useful
critical study, rightly insists
that “'in political as well as in
metaphysical and religious
matters, his scepticism was
fundamental.” This unwilling-
ness to commit himself to an
ideology, religion or indeed
country, is the theme with
which Mr. Brown concerns
himself.
Insofar as he made a stand,
it was for the humanities.
“An impresario of the ancient
Greeks" — as MacNeice de-
scribed himself — the poet
argued the case for a certain
minimum of human decency
which, disillusioned and some-
times cynical as he was, he be-
lieved could yet be salvaged
from the coming disintegra-
tion of Western Europe. In
one of his best lyrics, “The
Sunlight on the Garden", he
spoke of the disastrous imme-
diate future:
“Autumn Journal”. This poem
also illustrates his mastery of
the poetic Higher Journaiom:
yet the operative word is
“poetic", for in spite of its
slanginess and inverted cliches
—remember his “Homage to
Cliches"?—the journal must be
read essentially as the work of
a highly civilised man under-
going great personal stress It
reveals, too, his accent on form
which came presumably from
the influence of neo-Drydenism
and Graeco-Roman classicism,
though sometimes behind the
elegant facade one glimpses the
romantic, spontaneous on the
highest level and slapdash on
the lowest. This stylistic un-
evenness led a war-time critic,
Francis Scarfe, to conclude
that MacNeice was "not single-
minded, and for that reason
will provide a successor neither
to Eliot nor Dryden.”
Mr. Brown discusses at some
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141593GreacenStanford219Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Mar 10thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford219LetterPeggie, Presbyterian, The TimesEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford219LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford219.jpg10.3.75
My dear Derek,
Delighted to see you and Peggie this evening. Many thanks
for your letter; otherwise I wouldn't have known. Why I didn't
hear about the meeting is mysterious (1) she has already written
to me here and (2) letters to the old address are being forwarded,
though these are rare (one came the other day - the Income Tax
said they would sue me for non-payment and I replied to the effect
that I would pay as soon as I was informed how much I had to pay!)
Getting back to this evening - at the end yr Mrs. Cash said
she would be sending out cheques soon,so it wasn't necessary for
me to raise the topic. She's a bit of a xxxxx prima domna-ish,
Covent Garden (music not fruit) type,solidly manufactured in the
Antipodes where women are women and not scarecrows. I had a few
cheery words with that scatty Eddie Linden. Fred Vanson and wife
seem nice people,but I can't honestly say I was impressed by Fred's
poem. Only heard a few poems at the end - the one I DID like was by
Tony Bowers whom I chatted to and liked personally. He said he had
written better ones but didn't know- where to send 'em. Another
mystery is why Gerald Clarke wasn't there as I can't imagine his
refusing. He will be very disappointed as he gets few chances to
"mingle with the mighty".
How dxd the lunch with Fraser Harrison go ?
Freddy had a very sober weekend but I've a hunch that he's out
hitting the high spots in N.H.G. this evening. I think he is a
little afraid of my Presbyterian self-righteousness. His own xxxxxx
background - non-conformist parents from South Shields - was also
rather sober. I don't think his old man ever touched the stuff: a
sherry at Christmas kind of thing. Perhaps the Cornish grandfather
was another cup of mead or whatevr they x swill down in the Duchy.
Since I came back had a phone call from Herta who says her
back is much,much better. The advt in THE TIMES didn't draw a xxxx
single reply. £9 down the drain.
Jack looked well and I was sorry he had to rush off.
a rather nice hand-coloured engraving the other day,
in Ealing (where I go every Friday morning). It was engraved for
P.T.O
in Ealing (where I go every Friday morning)•
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141594GreacenStanford022Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Mar 1stLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford22LetterTribuneEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford022LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford022.jpg36 Holland Park Mews,W.11.
March 1, 1973
My dear Derek,
Thanks for yr letter and confirming
March 7.
Group 36 got off the ground yesterday
despite strikes,Uncle Tom Gasman and all.
I assembled 6 very different bods,none
of whcm was either shy or too talkative.
The cassette recorder came in useful -
I recorded some stuff in advance. Enquir-
ies are still coming in,and there are the
TRIB adverts still to appear. One of
them remarked what a pleasant atmosphere
there was - very different from a class-
room. Mrs. Wechsler not only agrees to
the use of her sitting room but is int-
erested in the success of the venture.
Other news when we meet.
Love to you both-
Robert
Another leaflet enc. incase other students are interested.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091397GreacenStanford220Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Mar 10thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford220LetterActon, ArethusaEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford220LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford220.jpg"Harrison’s History of London" and is called xxxxxx "View of
Acton from the South West" ,showing a rather sombre line of
bushes and trees,and but, a pleasing skyscape. I saw it week after
week in an art shop and at last went in an bought it,for just
under £20.
Had a jubilant letter from Arethusa a few days ago. She has
passed her driving test after several attempts. This will be
very useful to her as they are about 5 miles from the nearest
small town,Bantry,and need to go xxx shopping frequently. Alex
Comfort told me that his wife Ruth got a tremendous lift out of
getting her driving licence in middle-age and it meant a lot to
her subsequent life sans Alex. xxx And you know how exact xxxx xx
and matter-of-fact Alex-is.
Love to you both
Robert
Wrote a new Fox the other day, but have to revise it.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141595GreacenStanford221Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Mar 13thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford221LetterCaptain FoxEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford221LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford221.jpg27 P. C.
13th March, ' 75
replied:15th Mar
My dear Derek.
Many thanks yrs 12th.
I'm glad you liked my reading of the Pox poem. I feel that
the least a public speaker can do is to be heard. Mumblers waste
everybody's time.
Gerald Clarke,whom I saw last night,is bitterly disappointed
not to have been invited... I said "Cheer up,you'll soon'be
getting your £25."
F has a job interview next Tuesday. L. Gillespie prophesies
that F will never work again. I'm not sure,as he was in a worse
state years ago in London,then went to Geneva and held down good
jobs for several years. I think his schizoid tendencies go in
cycles,so that after a 2 year holiday he may be ready for another
work spell.
2 more Foxes - copies enc.
Have just had a strange book present from my friend in San F
- "The Life and Death of Yukio Mishima"by an Englishman called
Scott-Stokes. Seems interesting'.' *
Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141596GreacenStanford222Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Mar 18thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford222LetterL.S. Lowry, JapanEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford222LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford222.jpgNo. 27
18. 3. 75
replied: 20. Mar
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for yrs of 15th.
No cheque from Mrs. Cash as yet.
Glad to hear your lecture in Bedford went off
well.
The reason the Captain is my age is that it
saves calculations and the possibility of
mistakes with dates. I established his age in a
poem written some time ago (“Notes Towards the
Fox Biography"):“Born in Cologne,1920,father a
Sergeant-Maj or/Serving in the British Army of
Occupation". xxxx I hope to document his life
as fully as any character in English poetry - not
that there are many "characters".
I think "laughingly" should be changed,as you
suggest,and I'll think about the other emendations.
As you say,framing is expensive - the last
picture I had framed cost about £5 (Sherap's
Buddha). The print was already framed,and the
£19 was for the print and frame - really an
engraving which had been hand-coloured. Now I have
a flat I've more space for pictures and I'd like to
acquire a few really good ones. I very much like some
of L.S.Lowry. Sometimes one can pick up a
signed print of his.
Yes,the Mishima tells an odd story. Japan I
find an oddly fascinating country xxxxxxxxxx
both in its gentleness and barbarity. I hope they
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141597GreacenStanford223Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Mar 18thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford223LetterLeftist, Japan, GenevaEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford223LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford223.jpgwon’t become too Westernised. A letter from a
former Japanese student of mine tells me
the economic crisis is biting deeply - as ours
probably will witin the next year. He writes:
"We have radical Leftist movements (generally
it is called .'Red Army' movements in Japan. Last
year,the headquarters of our company had been
damaged by the bomb attack by leftists. The
attack was for the headquarters of Mitsubishi
Heavy Industries,but our headquarters which was
situated opposite side to the MHI headquarters
had serious damage. Many acquaintances of mine
had been injured with the broken glass ...
Our order awarded is unexpectedly low and the
factories in Itami works are very quiet. We may
have a kind of lay-off in the near future."
F applied for a job as a telephonist,as he
found it impossible to get a translator-
interpreter's job (he didn’t try very hard). Had
an interview and tests this a.m. The French
tests were laughably easy - he x said the
examiner was smiling as he answered various
questions and translated from and into French.
So he’s been accepted for training,though that
won’t start for some time. Better than nothing
but not the job for an Honours graduate with
long experience of high-level work involving
4 or 5 languages. He’s staying in London rather
than going back to Geneva as he hopes his woman
friend will eventually join him here - she's a
small-town girl with little education and
wouldn't take to the idea of living on the Con-
tinent. x>/del> He says he intends to give up
drinking and has been on the wagon for a few
days.
Herta and Mathias due on Sat evg. Are you
likely to be in town next week ? If so,perhaps
we could meet. Mall Tavern wd be a good meeting
place if you are selling books at Miss R's.
Love to you both- Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141598GreacenStanford224Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate19 JanLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford224LetterIrish Arts Council, Modernist, AbstractEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford224LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford224.jpgSat. No. 27 P.C.
My dear Derek,
Thanks for yrs of Thurs.
I can meet you in the Mall Tavern next Wed (26th) at
about l.10 - I finish at 1 p.m. at the private school
in Holland Park where I work in the mornings. If you care to
and have time you can cone back and see my flat,and have
a snack.
No cheque from Mrs. Cash. I think Fred Vanson said
something that suggested she was a bit short of the ready.
Can’t remember exactly what he said.
F has been off the booze lately except for last night.
Work is what he needs,not merely for the money but simply
to occupy his time and keep him out of mischief. The
Puritans were right.
The Irish Arts Council (i.e. Dublin-based) have
decided to give Literary Bursaries,x - 3 will be awarded each
year and an annual sum of £6,000 - £8,000 has been set
aside for the purpose. One will go to a writer in the
Irish language. I’m sending for details but won't apply
this year. "Writer" in this context means "creative
writer" and the money can be used for travel/research etc.
I also hear there are Fellowships at the Univs of Glasgow
Dundee and E'burgh that may be vacant in the summer
and I've written to the respective Profs of Eng for
information on the advice of the Scottish Arts Council.
Peter has written tc tell me about arrangements for
design of the book. This will be done by a well-known
Dublin artist (also a writer - has published poetry and
art criticism) called Michael Kane, a man in his xxxxx
40's. I've seen some of his work - modernist and abstract
with a touch of naturalism. Peter says he wants the book
to be as striking as possible.
Hope to see you next xxxx Wed. Love to you both -Robert
x in the past they have given subventions to publishers for specific
books.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141599GreacenStanford225Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Apr 3rdLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford225LetterScottish Poetry: Irish Arts Council, Belfast Art Gallery, John HewittEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford225LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford225.jpgNo. 2 7 P. C.
3rd April,1975
My dear Derek,
Many thanks yrs of lst. SCOTTISH POETRY 7 is just
what I want. Will return it later.
Mrs. Cash writes to say payment will he delayed.
Sent off my application for Southern Irish Arts
Council Bursary. I enclose a leaflet xgiving some details.
There was a lengthy questionnaire that covered 7 foolscap
pages and I sent 3 photocopied texts of "A Garland..."
One Bursary is earmarked for an Irish language writer
so that means strong competition for 2 from poets/
novelists/dramatists. I don't think I've much of a
chance but might as well try. They might keep me in mind
for a future occasion. I buttered them up in various ways
- pointing out how there was Northern-Southern
co-operation in subsidising "A Garland..." etc. What
sort of literary politicking goes on over this I
wouldn't know about,but I know that in Belfast jobs
sometimes went to an English applicant because a
committee couldn't agree on a local candidate. John
Hewitt was assistant curator of the Belfast Art Gallery
but was turned down for the job of Curator (given to an
Englishman). Hewitt turned the tables on them by being
appointed Curator of the Coventry Art Gallery. This was
particularly ironical since Hewitt is a keen local
patriot! (Now retired,he's back in Belfast.)
A very cold Easter but I take it you had snow (none
here). Bloody nuisance.
Frederic Vanson has sent me his Welsh-published
booklet. Much better work in it than in otner publicat-
ions he has sent me. For me,his work is a bit spoiled by
xxxxxxxxxx an occasional poeticism and Georgianism.
But he's obviously got talent. He also strikes me as
x please return
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141600GreacenStanford226Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Apr 3rdLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford226LetterDublinEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford226LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford226.jpgbeing both amiable and sincere.
I’ve given yr name and Peter Fallon's as referees
for Dublin,but don't expect they will bother you with
an inquiry. They explain that they want 2 people who can
testify to the candidate's literary ability and
achievement, and say something about his projected work.
Love to both
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141601GreacenStanford227Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Apr 4thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford227LetterMichael LongleyEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford227LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford227.jpgco-operating with your artistic partner.
I have pleasure in enclosing a cheque for
£50 in payment for your services.
Yours sincerely,
Michael Longley
Assistant director/Literature & Traditional Arts
No.27 P.C. 4th April, '75.
My dear Derek,
The above will be self-explanatory. I sent
some poems, on invitation, last June. they are all on Fox,
but he dosen't say which one he has chosen or who the artist is
or if it has been printed yet. I expected £20, say, not £50.
Love to you both - Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141602GreacenStanford228Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Apr 14thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford228LetterCaptain FoxEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford228LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford228.jpgNo. 27 P.C.
14 April 75
replied 19 Apr
My dear Derek,
Many thanks yrs 6th. I note the letter
has taken 8 days. I suppose the postmen would
say we are lucky that it has arrived at all.
A letter from Dundee took 10 days to arrive.
Perhaps the policy is deliberate - hold
back second class mail so much that in
desperation people will turn to 1st class.
Glad to hear xxxx about your NBL talk.
Good.
Yes,I note yr idea about Capt x.Fox-
Orlan Fox. Perhaps. I think I’d like to keep
the Fox poems fictitious and not linked with
real persons. But your idea is well worth
thinking over.
Bad news this a.m. My landlady writes
that owing to the large increase in rates and
overheads she wants £9 more monthly. I’llxxxxxx
consult with the tenant in the flat below (who
told me about the house). I expect there's
nothing I can do about it. The Rent Tribunal
would probably uphold her decision and,if I
went to them she would apply 'the rules' pretty
ridgidly xin future
Herta can’t find accommodation. Rents
for furnished flats run from £30 upwards,and
she's as well-off in the Hotel near me as
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141603GreacenStanford229Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Apr 14thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford229LetterPsychiatricEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford229LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford229.jpgpaying an exorbitant rent and probably living
further away. Now that F has gone, she can use
my kitchen and bring Mathias here for meals.
Convenient for us all. So Freddy's fall (from
grace ?) down the stairs has been providential.
Mathias goes today to what school ? - the FOX
School of course. God knows how he will fare.
No lover of school,he's optimistic enough to
think that different will be better...
Have had dreadful back trouble. Ironically
this has,I think,been caused by Herta's over-
vigorous massage when I complained of backache.
No end to one’s troubles,is there ? Please
excuse note of self-pity but I’ve had a lot of
pain and am walking with some difficulty.
What I’m not complaining about is Herta.
A really wonderful woman. The best ever.
Re John Horder and Kay Dick. Sorry to hear
of their difficulties but am not surprised. A
pity they can’t have really good psychiatric
treatment ,though perhaps even that wouldn’t
help. I think more and more that people like
this are what they are because of their
unwillingness/inability xx to see that others
also suffer. They are prisoners n their own
self-centered world-- crying to be let out but
afraid to come out.
I wonder if you feel that the present
crisis is the worst the country has faced since
1940. But where is the will to conquer ? Where
is the man who encapsulates the spirit of
indomitability ? Enoch Powell ?
Love to you both - Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141604GreacenStanford023Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Mar 2ndLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford23LetterGunman, Maria MaguireEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford023LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford023.jpg36 H P M
March 2,1973
My dear Derek,
Many thanks letter and yr comments on the idea of an Ulster pamphlet. I don’t think I would want to be associated with any place that was politically committed such as those you mention. This may seem strange as I write for TRIB – and have just received another book from them (by that treacherous little bitch Maria Maguire – turning on your friends, even if they are gunmen, is hardly admirable, especially when one makes a packet out of it). No, what I am hoping to do is just to set down the FACTS,as I do not identify with any group in the struggle. The only group is unreservedly support is – GROUP 36.
Anyway,always glad to have yr suggestions.
My school master friend who was recuperating in Yorkshire is spending a week in London. Had dinner with him last night
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091398GreacenStanford230Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Apr 22ndLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford230LetterFaber and FaberEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford230LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford230.jpg2 7 P. C.
22 nd April,
replied : 25th Apl,
My dear Derek,
Yr very interesting letter of 19th has
just arrived - 3 days in post.
Dr. G.K. seems as strange as they come,
one of the surviving'Characters'. Has he
ever had a job or is he of independent
means ?
Fready went quietly. He isn’t a fighter.
Too passive,in fact. He was getting drunk
regularly,a fact noticed by the landlady.
The last time he was drunk he fell down a
flight of stairs and cut his head. I got
him up to bed with some difficulty,not to
say danger to life and limb. Next day the
landlady wrote to say he had to go and I
didn’t exactly try hard to get her to give
him another chance. Actually,I did get her
to let him stay one more night. He’s now
with the Gillespies. He took my advice and
went to AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) for help.
When I saw him a few days ago he had been
off the booze for about 10 days and already
looked a lot better. It all depends on
whether he wants to destroy himself - or
not.
Charles Monteith of Faber’s (vice
chairman - or "chairman of vice" has Terence
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141605GreacenStanford231Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Apr 22ndLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford231LetterDundee, Herta, GermanyEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford231LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford231.jpg
would have said) gave me a splendid
lunch in a Greek restaurant. He's always
been very nice to me though not partic-
ularly helpful. He was a classmate of
Freddy's - shook his head at the news.
As for Robt H , he would only say that
RK had given him years of trouble. I made
it plain that I was in no position to
judge as between them. Charles M is an
ultra-respectable ,establishment figure.
Belfast boy makes it into the establish-
ment and determined not to put a foot
wrong. A Snow figure.
Up to Dundee on 8th May and giving a
talk the next xxx day. Prof Craik and a
lecturer called Dr. Spear have been very
pleasant on paper. Should be a pleasant
experience even if there's no issue.
You should see the prices Herta is
being asked for the most awful holes in
W.11. and area. As for good flats,they
come at about £30 upwards per week. One
agent asked her to pay £100 deposit against
damage,£35 agency,fee,and of course a month
in advance at £35 p.w. and to agree to stay for
3 months. If she hadn't a bit of money this
London trip would be out of the question
of course,though she isn't a person who
likes throwing money away (she remembers
the years in Germany just after '45).
Relations between us could not be better.
She quickly abandoned the back rubbing
and is always very concerned to do what
is best for me. Mathias loves his school-
I thoughtxxxx that school would be THE PROBLEM!
Love to you both - Robert
P.S. Sorry to be pessimistic but I think the country
is set on a disaster course. The left are determined to smash
the system as we know it. Who will stop them?
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141606GreacenStanford232Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Apr 29thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford232LetterPadraic Fiacc, Roy McFadden, HertaEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford232LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford232.jpg27 Pembridge Crescent,
W.ll.
29 April 75
replied:2 May
My dear Derek,
I’ve seldom had a more dreadful letter x
than the enclosed (from Padraic Fiacc). He
sounds hysterical. I’ve advised him to get
out and stay out. His wife left him not so
long ago,but I know nothing of his
circumstances or character. Anyway,I
thought you might be interested in seeing
what he has to say. Roy McF could give a
more objective view.
Herta has found accommodation in
Kensington - Phillimore Gdns. This is
more satisfactory than staying in a Hotel.
Things are well for her,myself and my
'son' Mathias.
Love to you both - Robert
x"H.V." enclosed x please return Fiacc letter
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141607GreacenStanford233Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Apr 30thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford233LetterDundee, GoetheEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford233LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford233.jpg2 7 P C
30 Apr 75
replied:2nd May
My bear Derek,
Thanks yrs of 28 Apr. Quick
delivery.
I'm calling my Dundee talk - "The
Evolution of a Writer"- my literary
influences and examples of my own work.
I'm leading in with a poem by Goethe
trans by Hamburger and ending with a
tiny poem by Macdiarmid — not that
these were 'influences' but because they
are apt.(Goethe is disputing the idea
that a writer can be 'self-made'.)
Dear old Harold Brooks,one of the
nicest men I've met,and all the better
for his eccentricities! I've only seen
him a few times in London. I've the
impression his wife didn't want his old
pals around. He was a lecturer at
Queen's,by the way,not a Prof. -- and
I don't think he ever got a chair. x The
actual Prof at Queens was a man far his
inferior in every way - but not eccent-
ric. That's the way it goes. Harold is
absolutely right about LG. Even over F
this has been exemplified,but it's
tiresome to go into detail about. Right
at Birkbeck
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141608GreacenStanford234Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Apr 30thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford234LetterChristian, British, HertaEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford234LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford234.jpgabout Gallen,too.
You seem to have had a jolly time. I've
heard you talk at various times about Rob
Inglis. Triumph of hope over experience,
what:
I shall say nothing about politics.
It's all too sickening,but everything that
happens reaffirms my belief in the Christian
analysis. The British deserve catastrophe,
and,even if that proposition is questioned,
disaster is what we are heading for.
And on that cheerful note I must end...
Despite the national/international situation
I hope you and Peggie are as well as I am.
Love to you both - Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141609GreacenStanford235Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 May 6thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford235LetterFrancis Stuart, Dundee, The TempestEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford235LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford235.jpgNo. 2 7 P. C.
6 May 75
My dear Derek,
This is just to thank you for yrs of
2nd and to wish you and Peggie godspeed
xx for your journeys.
I read Francis Stuart’s last novel
which seemed to me brilliant and awful
in turn. He is fascinating - an Ulster
Protestant who did all the wrong things
according to received wisdom of the tribe'.
Touch of genius there,but as mad as they
come. Peter Fallon may be publishing his
poems. No word from that boy, by the way.
Hope Dundee won’t be as cold as
London which is appalling for early May.
Or perhaps I grow old and need to unroll
my trouser bottoms. . .
H and I went to see Paul Schofield in
THE TEMPEST. He’s good but not good enough
for that terribly demanding part. An actor
of great presence but I thought his voice
was a bit muffled. The minor parts,some of
them,splendidly played. I was feeling a bit
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141610GreacenStanford236Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 May 6thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford236LetterBoozeEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford236LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford236.jpg
under the weather that daybut came out (figurat-
ively) leaping through the air. Have always,
loved that play.
Here endeth the 1st lesson of 6
(cruellest month) May.
Love to you both - Robert
Freddie still off the booze
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141611GreacenStanford237Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 May 11thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford237LetterDundeeEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford237LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford237.jpg27 Pembridge Crescent
W11 3DS
11th Mat 1975
replied: 14 May
My dear Derek,
Just back from Dundee.
This is to tell you the proofs of "A garland" were
waiting for me. Very clear proofs, I must say.
The edition will be listed for 700 copies of which
180 will be clothbound and signed by me. Paperback
copies will selll at 60p and clothbound at £1.50.
Thought you might like to have
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141612GreacenStanford238Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 May 11thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford238LetterLoveEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford238LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford238.jpgthese details.
Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141613GreacenStanford239Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 May 22ndLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford239LetterCompetitionEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford239LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford239.jpg27 P. C.
22 May 1975
My dear Derek,
I must tell you that Gerald Clarke
and I have sent an ultimatum to Mrs. Cash.
We want the cash or we shall be forced etc.
Gerald has been suspicious for some time,
especially since his letters have not been
answered nor was he invited to the party.
I feel responsible for his having entered
the competition in the first place. Mrs.
Cash's last letter to me was somewhat
disingenuous. "Some of the £25 prize xxxx
winners have received their cheques..."
Then,in the next sentence,I am told that I
may have to wait "a few weeks or even
months". But on what basis have some been
paid ? Because they made a fuss ? Because
they have blue eyes ? Surely it would have
been a better idea to have sent everyone
a payment on A/C ,if only to show goodwill.
Or,more honest still,to have x returned
Mss and fees if she xx knew that she
hadN't enough money in hand to pay prize-
winners. I am sure you will agree that this
kind of behaviour isn't good enough, I
expect that insistence on payment for work
x cancelled the competition
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141614GreacenStanford024Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Mar 2ndLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford24LetterBelfast College of EducationEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford024LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford024.jpgand he’s pressed me to have a repeat performance this evening,as he has invited someone I know. He’s a delightful man – former head of the History dept at Belfast Coll of Education – an intellecual in the best sense.
See you next Wed (7th) –
Love to both –
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091399GreacenStanford240Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 May 22ndLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford240LetterArethusa, PeggieEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford240LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford240.jpgdone has meant virtually an end to my xxxx
writing in B and B. So be it. Now Peter
Fallen hasn't offered to pay me anything,
except in copies. That's quite different,
as I know the position from the start. xxx
Anyway, I hope Mrs. Cash will pay
Gerald ana me, and end this unpleasant
business. Needless to say,I didn't mention
your name and of course you have nothing
whatever to do with the business side.
Arethusa has gone to take up a job
in a nature cure clinic run by an Indian
in Frinton-on-Sea. Or at least she hopes
she will be sort of person wanted and that
on her side she will find her employer
satisfactory. It doesn't seem much of a job
for an intelligent girl but It seems
better to do even that than hang round
Bantry Bay with a crowd of old people.
Hope all is well with Peggie and
you. I've been most impressed by the
Stuart novel. He obviously brought a lot of
his troubles on his own head, but what a
superb piece of work he's made of it all.
Love to you both - Robert
Herta flourishing
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141615GreacenStanford241Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 May 26thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford241LetterCaptain Fox, DublinEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford241LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford241.jpgNo. 27
26 May 75
My dear Derek,
Have just had a long phone call from Peter
Fallon. Sunday,8th June is publication date of
A GARLAND FOR CAPTAIN FOX and he wants me to read xxx
from it (along with Kennelly and Hartnett) at
T.C.D. I’ve agreed to this. I had expected that,
like most publishers,there would be delay after xxxxx
delay.
I’ll sign copies when I’m over there and we'll
go through the review list.
I wish you and Peggie could be at the reading.
Perhaps at some other one a bit nearer the Sussex
Downs.
So,you see,what began as a private joke between
us has changed, changed utterly into something quite
different. I vowed when I left Dublin,in 1948,after
a vicious attack,that I wouldn't return until they
asked me to go back. Now I shall go - willingly.
Love to you both.
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141616GreacenStanford242Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 May 28thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford242LetterMall TavernEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford242LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford242.jpg
27 P.C.
28 May 75
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for yrs 25th.
I note all the various points.
All interesting.
First - Wednesday, 4 June in Mall tavern is O.K.
See you about 1.10 (I finish at 1.00 at Holland Park
where I teach from 11.00)
Yes, let me have the xxxxx 90's leaflet.
As you say an awkward time xx for me....
hard luck about Robt N's dealings with the Trotsky xx
accountant.
Went to Frinton-on-Sea last Sat
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141617GreacenStanford243Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 May 28thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford243LetterFrancis StuartEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford243LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford243.jpgto see A, on a bleak, dark, cold, wet day.
Frinton is just as you say. The Indian "doctor"
had gone off for a week to Texas to lecture.
He has a large well furnished home. xxx
with a fine garden. He believes in fasting and is agin
curry, flesh, alcohol, smoking, tea and coffee.
Must rush. Will look forward to hearing more next Wednesday.
Love to you both -
Robert
Going with Ealing class on Sat to Ayot St. Lawrence.
Delightful letter from Francis Stuart to whom I wrote
about his new novel! He asked me to look him up in Dublin.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141618GreacenStanford244Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Jun 9thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford244LetterGallery PressEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford244LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford244.jpgthe Gallery Press
Peter Fallon, 19, Oakdown Road, Dublin, 14
Telephone 985161
9/6.75
replied 12 June '75
My dear Derek,
The reading last night went well.
Here's a 1st copy. I'll let you have a signed
BOUND copy later. Excuse
haste
Love to you both
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141619GreacenStanford245Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Jun 13thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford245LetterCaptain FoxEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford245LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford245.jpgNo. 27
13. 6. 75
My dear Derek,
Thanks yrs Thurs.
Glad you like the appearance of
the Captain. I think it's better to hold
your / copy until we meet - the bound vol
looks even better - -as the Post Office xxx
might dent or crease it. I xxxxxx hardly
xxxx ever get a book , however well
packed,that hasn't been slightly damaged
in some way or other.
I took to Francis xxxxx Stuart
on sight - saw him before we met,as I
recognised him among the audience, A
delightful man; obviously resolute x under
a very quiet,gentle manner. Humorous,too.
Met the designer of the jacket,Michael
Kane,and liked him,but he didn't attempt
to explain the design,so yr guess is as
good as mine!
I may say I did NOT like Kennelly. A fat bellied,
too-clever-by-half Irish peasant.
/bound
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141620GreacenStanford246Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Jun 13thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford246LetterFrank O'Connor, ArethusaEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford246LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford246.jpgGlad to hear of your champagne
quaffing at C.C. The name is Connor?
I thought I heard you say O’Connor? My
mistake. It wouldn't he at all helpful
for a novelist to be called O’Connor
because of Frank O’Connor (a short story
genius and mediocre novelist,as you know).
Have heard from Shirley and answered
some of her questions re poetry.
Sorry to hear that yr house-hunting in
Arundel hasn’t worked out. It will, one day.
Arethusa came here a couple of days
ago. Don’t know her plans as yet.
Working in the heat no joke. Never
like hot weather in London. Quite a
different matter at the seside.
Love to you both - Robert
sent a 2nd letter to Madame Cash.
Not a whisper of a reply......
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141621GreacenStanford247Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Jun 16thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford247LetterW.B. YeatsEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford247LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford247.jpg27 P.C.
16-6-75
replied:19th June
My dear Derek,
Thanks yrs 15th. Quick delivery!
Yes, fine - "Mall Tavern" as near 1.15 p.m. as I can
manage on Wed. week, 25 June.
Sorry to hear of June Braybrookes' illness +
subsequent cancellation of your cat-sitting visit.
Interested to hear "TIME WINDS DOWN" is being used as
an academic excercise. I hadn't the xxx
WBY refrain in mind at all when I wrote "Time Winds Down"
despite the fact that I like Yeat's refrains. Unconcious
??????? I think
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141622GreacenStanford248Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Jun 16thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford248LetterRobert NyeEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford248LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford248.jpgeveryone should grasp the idea of time running out
and the possibility of Fox's assassisnation. I dont
mind an occasional echo of WBY (in TSE say)
but I try to keep clear of too - obvious literariness.
Delightful if brief congrats on Fox from Robert Nye.
Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141623GreacenStanford249Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Jun 21stLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford249LetterCatholics, FamineEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford249LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford249.jpg27 Pembridge Cres.,W.ll
21.6.75
My dear Derek,
Thanks yrs 19th.
Eight,let1s say 2.45 to xxxx 3.00 at
Europa Cafe near C.Lane. 1 cd leave
shortly after 4.00 for my class.
O'Connor an unusual name for a
Protestant but there are exceptions of
course. Sometimes these are what the
Irish call "Soupers" i.e. descendants of
Catholics who changed their religion
because they were given food during the
Famine years. A derisive term of course.
So,next Wednes(25th),all be ing well,
at Europa.
Love to you both
Robert
Will bring you Fox
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141624GreacenStanford025Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Mar 14thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford25LetterCommunist, GreeceEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford025LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford025.jpg36 h p m
14.3.73
My dear Derek,
Thanks for picture card of Damas.
Sorry to hear gas dispute has hit City Lit. Fotunately my activities have not been affected – so far. I feel very sorry for people affected by the train strike cum go-slow. It’s sort of a war of nerves, neither a strike nor normal working. You can guess what elements are behind it. There’s a Commie at my branch who keeps handing out leaflets, organising meetings etc. – ostensibly to help his fellow-teachers. I wonder…It would be interesting to know what Brigadier Kitson and similar military men are planning. If the Commies don’t bring it off eventually , the Army will probably be forced to take over as in Greece. Looks as if ‘democracy’ is on the way out. But that is in the long-term.
Group 36 is flourishing. People who are interested in doing something do it, despite the obstacles. I am hoping that some of the
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091400GreacenStanford250Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Jun 30thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford250LetterCaptain Fox, HiberniaEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford250LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford250.jpgNo. 2 7 P. C.
30th June,1975
replied: 3 July
My dear Derek,
Much enjoyed our meeting.
I enclose a non-Fox poem which I wrote
for reasons I'll tell you about later.
What do you think ? ("Dandered" is Scots
and Ulster dialect for "strolled".)
I've also written a new Fox called xxxx
"Beside the Shalimar" and will send you a
copy when revised. The Captain in India,as
you might suppose. He gets around,doesn't
he ?
Hope all goes well.
Love to you both -
Robert
Just recieved a good book from "Hibernia"
- Philip Callow: "Son and Lover - The young Lawrence"
(Bodley Head)
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:141625GreacenStanford251Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Jul 1stLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford251LetterParanoia, UlsterEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford251LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford251.jpgNo. 2 7 P. C.
1 July 75
My dear Derek,
Many thanks yrs 27 June (arrived
this morning) •
Sorry to hear about death of Jack's
mother. I expect there will he some relief
(as well as grief) in it for him. And
perhaps he will take up with one of the
musical ladies. It seems that so long as a
man can stand on his xxxxxx feet (and I
mean it literally) some woman will make a
play for him. You see,I think poor Freddy's
woman has got xxxxxx alarmed that he
sometimes can’t stand on his feet and
falls down flights of stairs.
Yes,Robert xx II has all the signs of
classical paranoia. A pity he wants to
destroy himself as a writer,as he has a
lot of talent. He wrote a couple of
splendid hooks about growing up in Ulster.
I wonder if Valerie will say yes.
Hope the Cowes plan works out.
Love to you both - Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161626GreacenStanford252Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Jul 5thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford252LetterFrancis Stuart, Irish Arts CouncilEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford252LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford252.jpg27 P. C.
5th July, 1975
replied 11th July.
My dear Derek,
Thanks for your letter,news and close
criticism of "A Child in Hospital". I'll keep
Peggy's suggestion in mind.
Enc the latest xx
in which you will read of Francis Stuart's
award by the Arts Council of the Republic.
(Conor Farrington is Brian F’s brother.) You will
remember that I entered this Bursary contest,
but I suppose practice makes perfect.
IPC lunch seems interesting - also that
you have had renewal of this contact after so
many xxxxx years.
Have seen a very healthy-looking and sober
Freddy today. He’s doing a second translation job
(from Italian) and it looks as if he might
build up something for himself in this line.
He’s had buckets of experience in Geneva and
elsewhere.
Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161627GreacenStanford253Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Jul 12thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford253LetterCaptain FoxEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford253LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford253.jpg12 Sunray Avenue
Surbiton, Surrey
KT5 9RB
12th July 1975
My dear Derek,
I had a very good meeting with robert last
week and he gave me 'A Garland for Captain fox'
I think it a remarkably generous and friendly work.
Fox is a vivid character and his friendship with
Robert is as genuine as all Robert's real-life
friendships. I must
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161628GreacenStanford254Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Jul 12thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford254LetterPeggieEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford254LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford254.jpg2
Write a eulogy here and now about my old friend,
so warm and friendly and not as mysterious as
the captain.
If I ask for Derek he says triumphanty that he
has just seen you in person here in London. Why,
you must be Captain Fox or he is a part of you.
Robert had you in mind. I hear it is still possible
that you and Peggy may move to Petersfield, a lovely
place AND only a few miles (about 30) from
our new house:
18 Firgrove Crescent
Hilsea, Portsmouth
We are moving in on August
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161629GreacenStanford255Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Jul 12thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford255LetterPortsmouthEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford255LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford255.jpg3
4th. It is quite a large house with typical Portsmouth
bow windows and the garden backs on to the old ramparts
of Portsea Island, looking towards Cosham and the cliffs
of Portsdown Hill.
Everyday the boys and I will cross the city to Southsea
where I am the new Head of English at St.Johns College.
It is a splendid job all to do with literature and on
the staff of the English department are Mrs Jean Evans,
Mrs Daphne Plumstead, Miss Elizabeth Amphlett and a
Mr. Hamilton. I went to a farewell dinner last night
for my predecessor, a deeply emotional and kindly Welshman
Ralph Lewis. He and his
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161630GreacenStanford256Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Jul 12thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford256LetterPeggie, Saint John'sEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford256LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford256.jpg
4
wife have done everything they can to make Tina
and I welcome
So I am returning to the poets with great joy
and thanksgiving for so much good fortune.
I shall often think of you when I look out at the
Isle of Wight as I know you and Peggy are often
there.
I now have exactly 3 weeks more in London. Will
you be up during that time and may we have a meeting
- perhaps at TEMPLE station as before?
Let me know a day and time as we must discuss our
future strategies for meeting by the sea or on the island
in the domains of Alfred and neville or at St.Johns where
I hope to invite you to speak.
Regards to Peggy, Paul
Yours
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161631GreacenStanford257Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Jul 13thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford257LetterMoghuls, FitzroviaEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford257LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford257.jpg27 P. C.
13th July, '75
My dear Derek,
Thanks for yrs of last Friday.
I appreciate yr comments on the
latest Fox. It was written as a result of
something i read and then garnished x
own observations. "Over-stated gardens"
means that the gardens of the Moghuls
were,by English standards,over-elaborate
and extravagant in design. Will also
bear in mind Peggie's comment.
Good to hear of your regal Greek
repast in Fitzrovia. Stuffed VINE leaves,
Turkish coffee and brandy are just the
kind of food and drink that appeal x to
Capt. Fox.
I have the impression that these days
you are living the High Life (Cafe Loyal
next) whereas I live a life of near-
monastic austerity. W'ell,sort of.
I wrote very nicely to Valerie. Ho
reply. So something is going wrong some-
where. Editor of BBN enclosed note with
the last parcel to say she was having
Fox reviewed and that the had found the
poems "very interesting."
Love to you both - Robert
F.Vine continues to give me trouble>/sup>
,L CL ' '/Co 1 c^r
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161632GreacenStanford258Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Jul 16thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford258LetterHolland ParkEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford258LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford258.jpg27 P. Cres.
16th July 75
replied 17 July
My dear Derek
Thanks letter of 14th.
Yr students obviously appreciate
yr efforts.
Have noted news from Valerie. I
think it would be better for you not to
ask editors for it as it places you in an
embarrassing position.
Sorry to hear of yr visits to the
doctor. Hope all is well. I have quite
a let of aches,pains, xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
and minor (?) complaints from time
to time. When one finishes another starts
- I don't count morning catarrh,a life-
long friend. Age,I suppose.
Term at ILEA finished 27 June,but
I carry on at Park School (private) which
doesn't close. I finish there at 1 p.m.
daily
- near Holland Park Station,as you .know.
Last week and this some afternoons have
been taken up with lectures to Ger
teachers for Educ Interchange,but next
week( 21 - 25 ) is quite free in after-
noons. Would you like to come here,to
Ho. 27 ? Or I can meet you where you
like. Europa or elsewhere.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161633GreacenStanford259Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Jul 16thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford259LetterCamden Town, PsychiatristEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford259LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford259.jpg2
i expect, xx I'll be going to
Waldshut (via Zurich) 1st or 2nd Sept
for a short time.
Freddie now lives in a hostel in
Camden Town. It seems to me that he will n
gradually deteriorate and end up in a
"Home" or something of the sort. I doubt
if a psychiatrist could do anything with
him,partly because of his age. F's
brother,a consultant,will probably be
able to arrange something when the time
comes. You will be amused to know; that
Leslie G seems to have banned me from
his household - F goes there to eat
occasionally and says L is in a filthy
temper much of the time,not least because
his latest novel has been rejected a
number of times. Such is life.
Let me know when/where we can
meet.
My cousin Walter is coming to
London next week.
Love to you and Peggie
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161634GreacenStanford026Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Mar 14thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford26LetterThe Magician of LublinEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford026LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford026.jpgpresent members will rope in their friends, as advertising costs bar profit.
Have been enjoying Isaac Bashevis Singer’s THE MAGICIAN OF LUBLIN, trans from the Yiddish. Full of verve,Jewish humour and pathos. Do you know anything about Singer ? Don’t see his name in any reference book I have. (Apparently an Isaac Merritt Singer patented the sewing machine that bears his name. )
Avoid Br Rail like the plague…
Love to you both –
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091401GreacenStanford260Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Jul 18thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford260LetterUlstermanEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford260LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford260.jpg27 P C
18 July 75
My dear Derek,
Many thanks ys yesterday. I see
that it arrived in 1 day being 1st
class. (I think the P.C. don't give
a damn about 2nd class stuff and I
read that most people send letters
2nd now. When we write about dates it
may be safer to give in to the buggers
and send by 1st xxxxx class.)
YES. Wednes., 23 July at Europa,
from 3 onwards. Fine.
Note what you x say about FV. Yes,
you may be right about a recovery. Of
course he's 15 yrs older,rather over-
weight now and shows xxxxx years -
walks like quite an elderly man - has
very slow physical and mental reactions.
Very sad.
As for LG, I think he’s a case of
sheer disappointment. He's a hard
tryer,a real Ulsterman in that respect,
but he always seems to aim at
unrealisable goals. And he won't take
advice which he construes as one-up-
manship and malice. Sad in a different
kind of way. You’re right - he can’t
take middle-age and just keeps cursing
it. Which doesn’t help.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161635GreacenStanford261Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Jul 18thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford261LetterReadingEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford261LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford261.jpg2
H and I are going to see Shirley Toulson
tomorrow - she's to meet us at Reading.
Various other topics - but they can
wait till next Wednesday.
Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161636GreacenStanford262Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Oct 4thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford262LetterDenis Ireland, NationalismEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford262LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford262.jpg
27 Pembridge Crescent, W.11
Fri
4 Oct 75
replied:8th oct
My dear Derek,
Deny thanks yrs of yesterday. I'm glad
you think the review seems suitable. The
book is well produced and I hope it sells
well. I was particularly interested in
reading Davidson, He could have been a
great poet IF. . .
Yes,it’s hard to believe Denis I has
gone. He was the sort whom one believed
would always be there. And what a pity he
spent his energies on politics in that
"fool-driven land". Yeats was so right
basically to eschew politics. (Writing about
it in a distanced way is another cup of
Irish coffee.) Do you know which book of
Denis Ireland's you saw FROM THE IRISH
SHORE perhaps ? Let me know what it is,as
I may already have it. The only difficulty
I had with Denis is that I rated him highly
as a literary man and as the literary man
he could have been. His politicking didn’t
really interest me - some sort of mish-mash
of nationalism and Social Credit. As you
say, I must write something about him some
time. (He's mentioned briefly in IRENE)
I knew you wd hit it off with the
affable Johnny St. J. The results of yr
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161637GreacenStanford263Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1975 Oct 4thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford263LetterW.H. Auden, John Betjeman, Alex Comfort, Laurence Durrell, Margaret DrabbleEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford263LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford263.jpgmeeting seem promising. Tell me when we
meet, So he found Patricia 'formidable' .
I can only echo yr own comment:"Who indeed
has not!"
I am awaiting the names of the 43
fortunate poets with some interest. The
golden hoys.
Auden,W.K. (disqualified)
xxxxxx
Betjeman,John (l.b.w.)*
Comfort,A. (entered "The Sexiad")
Durrell,L ("Alexandrine Quartet")
Etc. etc.
Copy of the Drabble from Valeriex,
inscribed :"To Robert,with love and thanks
for much encouragement." Haven't had it yet
from B and B despite promises.
hill post this tomorrow after looking at
I.T. to see if you have a piece there.
(5th Oct-nothing by you) Glad to see us both
in B+B.
Love to you both - Robert
*lately bloody wet
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161638GreacenStanford264Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1976 Jun 23rdLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford264LetterTexas, Poetry DimensionEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford264LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford264.jpgNo. 2 7 P. C.
23. 6. 76
replied: 25/6/76
My dear Derek,
Many thanks yrs 19y th.
Glad to hear of yr sale via Mr "Finkelstein"
of the ms of "Inside the 40's" to Texas.
Nice work. Another Jewish bookseller gent,
to wit, Bernard Stone,seems to have run into
difficulties and (a wee bird tells me) may be
closing down. The slump is truly upon us.
I'll be glad to have the reaction of the BRUM
POST to yr suggestion re R.G. I could do with
more reviewing.
Good,too,about the 2 lectures at Dorking.
I was at Cassell's party last Monday given to launch
Allan Prior's latest novel, "Affair". Allan is
now plump and prosperous,not the thin,hopeful
aircraftman of the War years. I'm very amused
to find little bits of sophistication in his
recent novels - cigars,foreign food,expert-
ise about expensive cars etc. But I'll say
this for him - he's worked damn hard for his
success.
Dannie Abse has sent me a proof of a Fox he's
taken for his next POETRY DIMENSION ("Capt.
Fox on J. Edgar Hoover" from A Garland). I
think this is issue No. 4 (I remember
reviewing No. 2 about 18 months ago.) Again,
I'm pleased to see Capt. Fox making same
headway in England or,as the Yanks say,
London,England.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161639GreacenStanford265Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Feb 14thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford265LetterLondon Blitz, BardicEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford265LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford265.jpgI sent Wrey a copy of "A Garland" ana a photo-
copy of "Writing Through the London Blitz". Not a
word,hut that's hardly surprising. I also gave
him the address of an old friend of mine in S.F.
who will certainly give him hospitality.
The bardic evening went well and we're having
another on 1st July. The group I assembled
hit it off well together,and made criticisms of
each other's poems that were sensible but lacking
in any sort of umpleasantness. (I told each one
in advance I wouldn't stand for any bitchiness,
though they cd be as critical as they liked.)
If it continues like this,we might do a ILucie-
Smith. I've thought of a group name: Poetry
Showcase. We shall see.
aboot
And that seems to be about xxx a' the noo...
except to say that I'll be sweating it out this
summer in Lunnon and going to Krautland near
the end of August. Herta is due to arrive here
on 8th August,for a fortnight.
Live to you both - Robert
During the summer I'll be doing a 10 a.m.-l p.m.
xxxxxx stint,Monday to Friday,at the Park School
in Holland Park. I get slightly less than half
ILEA rates,but the atmosphere is pleasant and
the work lighter. No lectures to Fr-German
teachers this year,as a new lot have taken over
at the Educational Interchange and they know not
R.G. although he has xxxxx lectured for that
outfit for about 12 yrs. Still,when one door
closes, another opens. And without the Ed Int
I wouldn't have met Frau Bohler.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161640GreacenStanford266Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Feb 14thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford266LetterGeorge BarkerEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford266LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford266.jpgNo. 27 P.C
14 2 77
My dear Derek,
Thanks for yrs of 10th.
Interested to hear there may be a Pernod party to launch
your book. I need hardly say how much I'm looking forward to
it. I hope it won't be delayed. March 3l would be a very good
pubn date. Interested too in the 1890''s Society meeting and glad
to hear you were speechifying at it.
I wonder what Time O'Keefe wants to see you about. Something-
in your interest, I hope.
Good that the novella is steadily growing.
Nothing much is happening to me. "Null midwinter" as I say
in a poem. Much work and little play make R a dull boy...
Love to you both,
Robert
My young friend Matthew Sweeney is organising a poetry reading-
on Wednesday at North London Polytechnic. One is of the readers
is Sebastian Barker, son of George Barker. Sons of the fathers
or is it sins of the fathers ?
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161641GreacenStanford267Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Mar 2ndLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford267LetterSloane SquareEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford267LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford267.jpgPEMBRIDGE POETRY GROUP
Come & hear:
JOHN HEATH-STUBBS
JENNY JOSEPH
ROBERT GRGACEN
MATTHEW SWEENY
READING FROM THEIR POETRY
in
The King's Arms Wine Bar
Sloane Square S.W.l
8pm
Sunday 27 March 77
admission:50p
This event has been organised in conjunction with the London
Poetry Secretairiat (Poets in Public plus the Greater London
Arts Association).
appallingly produced but these were done free for me by Matthew
Sweeney. I think I'll have to destroy them as they look
awful!
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161642GreacenStanford268Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Mar 2ndLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford268LetterInvitationEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford268LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford268.jpgNo. 27 P.C.
2-3-77
replied 8.3
Very pleased to have
invitation for 29th March
which I have accepted.
Useful publicity card - I
like the jacket illustration!
Am asking "BBN" for the
book. Every success with it!
Love to you both.
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161643GreacenStanford269Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Mar 9thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford269LetterSloane Square, Gallery PressEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford269LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford269.jpgNo. 27 P. C.
9. 3. 77
My dear Derek,
Thanks for yrs of 8th.
You have a lot of interesting news in it. xxxxxxxxxxx
Good to hear that the novella pro-
gresses. Yes,difficult to see a piece of
work at all objectively just after complet-
ion. Note also the point about the xxxxxx
threatened libel action. Not Lady Muriel,I
am relieved to hear.
Good that you can come to the 27 March
"do" in Sloane Square. I am holding a
council of war this evening to finalise -
what a word! - arrangements. Heath-Stubbs is
coming - I find him agreeable and co-
operative. London Poetry Secretariat has
given £40 for H-S and Jenny Joseph (i.e. for
both,not each). Jenny wants to hand over some
of her share to Matthew and me, and intends to
suggest this to H.S. I am not really
concerned about the money as I want to get
the evening going and draw attention to the
Pembridge Poetry Group. The idea is to
celebrate the 21st reading,but of course I
want to continue with private readings mainly.
Each of these means I'm a bit out of pocket
but I feel they are worthwhile.
Re my 2nd autobiog and O'Keefe, I don’t
think I like it so much now as to want to send
it out before extensive revision. Now if he
were interested in a Fox book,that wd be xxxxx
another matter. I’ve got a 2nd Fox book with
Dolmen at the moment (it was turned down by
Peter Fallon of Gallery). Yes,I got some
excellent Fox reviews,not least in AQUARIUS,
but it hasN't helped in finding a publisher.
Love to you both - Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161644GreacenStanford027Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Mar 22ndLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford27LetterLondon Library, Blackstaff PressEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford027LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford027.jpg36 H P M
22nd March 1973
replied: 24 Mar
My dear Derek,
Thanks for p.c.
I was interested to hear of your encounter in the London Library. Senility beckons!
Blackstaff Press have turned down my Ms without comment. Have sent it to Gerard van Seteren Werson, but am inclined to resign myself to not finding a publisher. At least it provided material for several pieces that did get into print.
Group 36 carries on, average attendance of 5, so am still recruiting.
No books from Valerie since before Xmas. She wrote to ask for name of B and B editor. Have you been getting books from her ? Anyway,they have been flooding in from Frank G B.
I think that spate of strikes didn’t achieve much and may have disappointed the militants.
Love to you both –
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091402GreacenStanford270Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Mar 22ndLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford270LetterThe Irish Times, John Hewitt, Michael Longley, Seamus HeaneyEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford270LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford270.jpg27 P. C.
22 March 77
My dear Derek,
Thanks for yr note of 19th.
I've already been promised yr book by
B.B.N. I've witten articles ixx,but.have not
reviewed, in IRISH TIMES. As for David Marcus,he
is very down on friends reviewing each others
books. (He wd not allow Roy McF to review my
IRENE for that reason.)
Was getting over a heavy cold but the
virus has struck again. Dreadful cough plus
other unpleasant features. All very depressing.
Espec since Hidden is coming tomorrow evg and
there's the Sunday event. Still,one carries
on somehow.
All the best of luck for INSIDE THE 40's.
Love to you both,
Robert
Was at Shirley's on Sunday despite xxxxxxxxxxxx
aforementioned all-conquering virus. Talked
about Hewitt,Heaney,Longley and self for
about l 1/2 hrs. Tiring but pleasant.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161645GreacenStanford271Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Mar 29thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford271LetterPeggie, Publisher, StuttgartEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford271LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford271.jpgNo. 27 P.G
29. 3. 77
replied: 3 Apl.77
My dear Derek
I'm sorry I couldn't get along to the
party until fairly late because of work.
What a big crowd! I couldn't find you or
Peggie when I was leaving. You were obviously
like I was last Sunday - trying to have a
word with everybody.
Poor old Wrey fell over a table. I had a
good chat with him and he seemed to have
recovered allright.
I stuck to bitter lemon,xxxxx so I got
home safely. Pernod est pour les autres.
Sorry to hear that Bernard Stone had been so
ill. No doubt worry over losing his Church
Walk premises made things worse.
I notice that ycur publisher,x unlike
Allan Prior's wasn't handing out copies right xx
and left. I'd be grateful if you would jog
their memory about sending me a copy although
I hope to get it from B.B.N. (Gillian is
good about sending me books but not those I
ask for.)
Very much appreciated your presence
last Sunday evening. Love to you both -
Robert
P.S. To Stuttgart on Friday. I'll be back the
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161646GreacenStanford272Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Mar 29thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford272LetterGerman, HertaEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford272LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford272.jpgfollowing Monday. A German teacher is putting
me up and Herta will come to see me - she lives
about 100 miles south, but in the same "Land",
Baden-Wurrtemberg. This man wanted me to stay
longer but I don't know him very well. After
all,I haven't met his wife and family,and they
might be less willing to have me!
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161647GreacenStanford273Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Apr 6thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford273LetterInside the FortiesEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford273LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford273.jpg27 P. C.
6 April 77
My dear Derek,
When I came back yesterday I found a copy
of INSIDE THE FORTIES awaiting me (from xxxx
BBN). I have devoured it eagerly and,even I
didn't know the author,I'd give it a very
favourable review. How excellently you have
recreated the atmosphere of the period! I like
especialty the way you combine personal memory
with critical comment. I congratulate you on
this fine piece of work. I may say that what
you write about me has my full approval: as
Catholic Bishops say in the front of books on
religion of which they approve:Nihil obstat.
I thank you for telling the world that I like
pork chops,useful information for any lady who
hopes to woo me from my darling Herta. But
before I leave the topic of your new volume,
I want to express the wish that it will receive
the critical attention it deserves.(I also
hope - this is a minor matter - that one day
when you visit me at No. 27, you will sign my copy
and also,perhaps,THE FREEDOM OF POETRY (or is
it FROM?!).
I'm sure you realise that you have made an
enemy of Leslie Gillespie because of what you
say about him. He will be in a rage if/when he
sees it. You know,I think,that^I haven't seen
Leslie (or any of his family for almost 2 years.
I just couldn't stand him any longer -- his
bitter envy,and his obsessive frustration
because nobody will publish his work. What a
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161648GreacenStanford274Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Apr 6thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford274LetterCaptain FoxEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford274LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford274.jpgpity he can’t understand that I like him in a
number of ways and my liking is not determined
by whether he’s a good writer or not. My closest
friend (the art teacher in Belfast) has no
interest whatever in writing -- I gave him a
signed copy of the Fox book but he probably
looked at it for 5 minutes and never opened it
again.
I had a very interesting though short time
in Germany — a stay lengthened by nearly a day
because of our splendid fellows at Heathrow.
My German friend drove me to Stuttgart from his
town (Bietigheim),nearly an hour(s journey,only
to find that the flight had been cancelled
because of the strike. Fortunately,there was a
cancellation on a Lufthansa flight the next
morning and I got it without any extra payment.
Helmut drove me back in the pouring rain to his
house,plied me with more food,beer and wine,
conversation and music; and then we were up at
5 a.m. to have a good breakfast before returning
to Stuttgart Airport, (“it’ll be allright this
time”,xxxxx he said, "you can rely on Lufthansa."
The implication being that you can’t rely on
anything Britiish. I felt ashamed,knowing he was
right.) Herta came and he put her up. We had a
very xxxxxxxxxx good time,as Helmut loves driving
round and pointing out the sights -- interesting
for Herta too as she doesn’t know that part of
Baden-Wurrtemberg. The xxxx highlight for me was
a visit to the Schiller Museum in Marbach. xx I
was very lucky in that a Hermann Hesse exhibition
had opened a few days earlier. Oddly enough,I’d
read a Hesse novel a few months ago.
Still feeling a bit tired after my Teutonic
adventures and the attempt by British Airways to
keep me in Germany,bless their kind hearts.
Once again,lots and lots of success with
INSIDE THE FORTIES.
Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161649GreacenStanford275Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Apr 14thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford275LetterDaily Telegraph, The GuardianEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford275LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford275.jpgNo. 2 7 P. C.
14 Apr 77
replied:16 Apl
My dear Derek,
Your nice letter of 12th arrivedthis a.m. I saw
reviews of INSIDE THE 40's in D.T. and Guardian
today - what a lot of space.’ The book will be
bought,I’m sure,by every library in the country.
And there must be plenty of reviews to come.
The BBN review,though short, will probably do a
bit of good overseas. I certainly hope so. It
seems to me that bits of the book might be sold
in the U.S. And have you thought of BBC radio
possibilities?- Radio 3 or Radio 4: A number of
40’s poems,introduced by you,for instance ?
I‘ve revised my 40’s piece - it comes to
about 9,000 words with about a third on my
memories of London,Dublin,Belfast respectively.
You will remember that originally thex essay
formed 3 articles in the Irish Times. But who
the hell wants 9,000 words ?
Re: STONY THURSDAY. If you cd mention it
somewhere (not my poems so much as the mag
itself) I’d be grateful. I’ve only corresponded
with John Liady but he seems a nice and capable
young fellow (only 20, I hear). It seems to me x
very creditable for a young chap in a provincial
Irish town to bring out, something of the kind -
this is the 4th issue; and he did a nice
illustrated broadsheet. He doesn’t pay but I like
his enterprise. Let Longley subsidise Liddy.
The Fox dream poem really is based on a dream
- I didn’t change a thing. "No prizes for inter-
pretations” is intended to fox the reader.
Rent up £4 a month as from next May, due to
big increase in rates. Ugh!
hope you enjoyed Ventnor.
Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161650GreacenStanford276Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Apr 19thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford276LetterThe Guardian, The Observer, Robert NyeEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford276LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford276.jpgNo. 27 P.C.
19 April 77
My dear Derek,
Thanks for yrs of 16th.
Yes, Potter in the GUARDIAN souned odd
with that business of 2nd thoughts. I doubt
if your letter will appear. I’ve often seen
really vicious reviews there and no letter
published subsequently. I don’t think you
need worry about such reviews (e.g. OBSERVER-
as they say, a bad review is better than no
review. Librarians and readers think that if
space is given at all then the book may be
worth looking at.xxx Also,some xx reviewers
are so notable (notorious ?) for attacks that
a good review would raise doubts in one’s mind
I felt about Michael Hamburger as you
aid about Robt Nye. Hamburger wrote me a
letter of glowing praise about the Fox book -
what a pity he didn’t say evenhalf of it in
print! Then in a later letter he x said he
had recommended the book when in Dublin and
Cork,whether in public or private I don’t
know. But his praise in public would carry
weight. Alas! alas!
As for my rather sketchy 40’s memoirs,a
pamphlet wd be the thing,but pamphlets don’t
sell. However,I'm glad to have committed these
memories to paper. One day somebody might
commission'a short book and I’d have the raw
material to hand.
Hope your fiction is preceding well. I
can understand that feeling of the man-hours
one spends on such work and how one hopes for
some return on the time and effort.
Another poetry reading in public-at Horseshoe Hotel
beside Dominion Cinema , Tott Crt Rd, but the poets
this time are little-known and I don't think we can
get a London Poetry Secretariat grant. It will be on
Sunday evg., 22nd May.
Love to you both - Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161651GreacenStanford277Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 May 31stLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford277LetterInside the Forties, PlymouthEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford277LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford277.jpgNo. 27 P.C.
31 May 77
replied 6th June 77.
My dear Derek,
Many thanks yrs of 28th.
Glad sales of INSIDE THE. FORTIES are
going well. So far as I know, my notice
xx for BBN hasn’t appeared.
Interested to hear of yr w/e at Plymouth,
news of Christopher Fry etc.
Rang Jack B this morning just after
getting yr letter. Unfortunately xxx he
can’t manage Wednesdays which is the evg
my Group meets,but we hope to meet sometime
and Jack wd like to come to the next public
reading: 10th July (Sunday). Readers will
be Michael Hamburger,Matthew Sweeney,R.G.
Incidentally,I hope you can come too! The
last public reading was a qualified success.
A small profit,actually,but a poor xxxxxxxxx
attendance. None of the readers is known to
other than a handful of people and they
didn’t try hard enough to rope in their
friends. Thanks for announcing it at your
class.
I’ll look forward to Shirley’s piece on
you xxxxxxxx in the June B and B.
Do you know ,del>xx what is now called PN
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161652GreacenStanford278Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 May 31stLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford278LetterMichael LongleyEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford278LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford278.jpg
Review,formerly "Poetry Nation". I got a nice
revi w of the Fox book - only 2 yrs late! -
in the latest issue. It came from Andrew
Waterman who first wrote a long introductory
section on Ulster poets,damning them generally
and in particular Michael Longley. I’ve written
to Waterman and had a very nice reply — he will
read to the Group when in London. But if Longley
shd hear of RG-Waterman contacts,well........
Which reminds me/ to tell youthat I have put in for another
Bursary.... '
Yes,Roy’s book is out. Nicely produced,I
thought,and not provincial-looking. He is
disappointed not to have a London publisher -
Chatto turned it down. Roy is somewhat contra-
dictory in attitude: a strong local patriot,he
dislikes all local writers and their works with
one or two exceptions. His style and content has
altered little through the years. Good,I think,
but I feel he ought to strike out into some new
line and not keep chewing over the old Ulster/
Irish themes. But do say a good word about his
book if you can.
Not much else to tell you. I enclose a
new Fox poem. The facts about Giuliano are taken
from Gavin Maxwell's book,"God Protect Me from
My Friends".
love to you both - Robert-
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161653GreacenStanford279Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 May 31stLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford279LetterCaptain FoxEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford279LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford279.jpgFox in Sicily
Whenever Fox unfolds a map of Europe
His eyes are drawn to burning Sicily,
That foot wrenched from Italy's leg
He visited the Island long ago
To meet a man some thought a bandit
But others called a Robin Hood.
Giuliano does not rob the poor.” -
This was the notice pinned upon the chest
Of a dead follower who broke the rules;
The man had robbed a peasant.
In the name of God and Sicily
Giuliano once killed a shopkeeper
who grossly overcharged on loans.
Kidnapper,murderer, he had said;
"I can look after my enemies,
But God protect me from my friends."
He was betrayed to death at 27.
Fox has spoken of a secret meeting
Where he transacted business
ith the man described as molto sincero,
Molto bello and gentilissimo.
Fox could not fault him
In the courtesies of trading.
He told me how Sicilians think
That Giuliano sleeps among the mountains,
Their one-time and their future King
Like Arthur of our knightly Camelot.
The Captain gave me this advice;
"If ever you should visit Sicily
Just act the package tourist.
Don't prod the sleeping lion!"
Bobert Greacen
May 1977
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161654GreacenStanford028Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Mar 27thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford28LetterDavid Marcus, Roy McFaddenEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford028LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford028.jpg36 H.P.M 27/3/73
replied:28 Mar
My dear Derek,
Many thanks yrs.
Glad to hear that Valerie keeps you supplied with books.
I've had none since before Christmas so I suppose that's that.
Thank
from "The Teacher" + the like! As with you, books keep pouring in from Frank.
Good news about yr Carcanet project Like those of Jehovah, David Marcus, mills
grind slow but they Do grind. I had a letter explaining that he can be
disappointed in the quality of recent books but would send some later on.
I think he likes to have a large number of reviewers on his panel, rather
than a few hogging up the available books. Not surprised to hear you had a book
from him even though the last was in august '72.
Coward dead! Hard to believe. isn't it? My respect for him grew as I was
writing that little book - and what a delightful man to meet!
Letter today from Roy McF. The
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091403GreacenStanford280Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Jun 4thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford280LetterBooks and BookmenEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford280LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford280.jpg4 June 77
I read. Shirley’s review in B and B
with great pleasure. It ought to do
you a lot of good. Am hoping to see Jack
next Tues evg at No. 27.
Love xxx to you both-
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161655GreacenStanford281Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Jun 9thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford281LetterTrinity College DublinEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford281LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford281.jpg
No. 27 P.C.
9th June,1977
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for yrs of 7th.
Your story sounds very interesting and
I hope to have the pleasure of seeing it in
print. What comes spontaneously often turns
out well and I note that it was 'improvised'
with an audience present.
The Giuliano poem has been accepted by
Howard for OUTPOSTS. This Sicilian was a
real person,as I’m sure you know,and I took
the facts about him from Gavin Maxwell's
biography. I've just had a copy of ICARUS,
published by students at Trin Coll Dublin,
with 5 Fox poems. Fox goes down well with
students — they don't seem to resent his
being reactionary:
Jack seemed to enjoy his evening here. I
had a few members of the Poetry Group as well
and they were entertained by his reminiscence
of the 4o's, eked out by references to D.
Stanford’s "Inside the 4o's". I marvel at how
well I hit it off with the 25 year olds —
much less well with those of approx 35 or 45.
Perhaps there’s some kind of similarity in
outlook xxxx every 30 years or one is just
far enough away to be a period piece and not
merely out-of-date.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161656GreacenStanford282Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Jun 9thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford282LetterDolmen Press, Northern Ireland Arts CouncilEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford282LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford282.jpgAm waiting for confirmation from London
Poetry Secretariat of 10th July poetry
reading at the Plough in Museum Street and
hope you will get along to it. Jack says he
will come. And I hope Herta will he there.
Letter today from Dolmen Press to say
they 'hope' to decide about my new Fox
collection 'within the next couple of weeks' .
They are very slow but their books are
beautifully produced ,much better than xxxxxxx
Gallery.
I think I told you I've applied for
another Bursary from IT.I. Arts Council.
Love to you both - Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161657GreacenStanford283Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Jul 13thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford283LetterInside the Forties, PublisherEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford283LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford283.jpgNo. 27 P.C.
13th July '77
replied:21 July '77
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for yrs of 12th.
Congrats on the Readers Union edition
of INSIDE THE FORTIES. Good-oh! as xxxxx
schoolgirls said in the 40* s. Glad to hear
you are working on the stories and I hope
you will find a publisher.
Jack B will tell,x you about the reading
last Sunday. He was a great help to me there,
looking after Herta and another woman I know:
getting drinks for them,chatting etc. He also
said some very nice things about Captain
Horatio Fox,C.B,E. Michael Hamburger brought
along some Berlin friends - they came first
for drinks to No.27. A very nice fellow,
Hamburger. Poor chap,his son’s a drop-out and
has been in trouble with the police over drugs
(shades of Roy McFadden and his son).
Howard Constable - bad joke - is coming
to talk about OUTPOSTS to the Group on 20th
(Wednes next). Would you be willing to come
some time to talk about the Forties ? Perhaps
in August ? i asked Matthew Sweeney today if
this wd interest him and he said yes;very
definitely - the 25 yr olds are not prejudiced
a bit against the 40*s and sane o£ them wonder
what it was like to be a poet during the last
War. If not in August,what about later on ?
You could spend the night here or,more
comfortably perhaps with Jack. As I run these
meetings at a slight loss I couldn’t offer a
fee... sorry.
has told
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161658GreacenStanford284Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Jul 13thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford284LetterCyphers, Irish Arts Council, Trinity College DublinEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford284LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford284.jpg
When I was having a lunch-time drink
with young Sweeney in "The Castle" in xxxxxx
Holland Park Ave he was talking about having
had a nice letter,praising his work,from
Brian Patten. A few minutes later,two blokes
came over to our table with their beer. One
of them said "Hello Matthew". Ho prize
for guessing it was Patten and a xxxxxx
friend. We chatted for about half an hour
and I found him a really nice,modest person
even though he did think for a time I was
Robert Gittings! He has a book for young
people coming out in the autumn. Any strong
views about his work ? I've read "The
Irrelevant Song" which Matthew gave me.
Some poerms I like but not quite my cup of
Nescafe. Apparently he's widely translated.
Yes,I hope my note in BBN will draw
attention to yr book abroad.
The xxxxxxx"New Poetry" Fox poem
has been taken for CYPHERS in Dublin which
is supposed ,del>xxxxxxxxx to be the best mag in
Ireland - they printed the Fox about his
childhood memories of Ireland. They pay(a
few quid per poem) as the mag is subsidised
by the S.Irish Arts Council. Pearse Hutchin-
son is one of the editors though they are
mostly a younger lot than Pearse. And I had
a group of Fox poems in ICARUS,a student
pubn at Trinity College. This has less
prestige but is widely read by undergrads.
"The delightful Herta" read yr words
with pleasure. How true they are! Delightful
women become even more delightful as time
passes. You see how well I have recovered
from Patricia. She joins me in sending love
to you both - Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161659GreacenStanford285Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Jul 22ndLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford285LetterOxford, Under SiegeEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford285LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford285.jpgNo. 27 P.C.
22 July 77
replied 25th July
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for yrs of 21st.
A pity Wed is a bad evg for you. The Group
have got into the habit of xx meeting on that
evg as it suits most of them. Perhaps when we
meet we cd talk about possibilities.
I’ve look at the Oxford Lit Guide in a
b’shp and I agree that it seemed delightful.
What a lot of work it must have entailed.
Howard gave us a nice evening. Even the
younger members thought he came out of it
with credit. Herta read a couple of poems in
German -- a language known to a couple who were
here. She was also impressed by Jack whom she
met for the 2nd time -- he is her idea of 'the
English gentleman' (and I agree!)
Yes,I saw the ref to myself in UNDER SIEGE
which has come for review. Hewison has kindly xx
sent me an invitation to the launching party
next Thursday,altho’ I met him only once - at
the Arts Council Poetry Library. Fortunately
the book only slightly overlaps with yours and
he is of a yonger generation. So that the xxxxxxx
subject
is tackled in a totally different way. He's a
very bright boy as I realised after half an
hour's chat.
I have wrtten 1 poem about Fox’s childhood
(a holiday in Ireland). But I can’t get ideas.
xx they will either cone or not and if I forced
myself to do something on these lines it /they
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161660GreacenStanford286Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Jul 22ndLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford286LetterDolmen Press, Northern Ireland Arts CouncilEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford286LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford286.jpgmight come out rather stilted. I wrote a non-Fox
poem about a month ago (copy enclosed). I’ve been
waiting nearly 6 months for Dolmen’s decision on
Fox. Fear to hurry them up too much as they might
just send the Ms back. But these long publishing
delays are tantalising.
Failed to get a N.I. Bursary. Don’t know
who has succeeded. Of course I never go there.
Wd like to apply for Eng Arts Council Bursary
- at I think it's called ’grant’ here. Any ideas ?
Herta joins me in sending love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161661GreacenStanford287Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Jul 22ndLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford287LetterBrother StephenEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford287LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford287.jpgI, Brother Stephen
I Brother Stephen, sit in the Scriptorium
Copying,copying with diligence and x delight
In elegant, decorative lettering
Psalter and gospels,praise be to Him!
And praise also to our holy Abbot
Mild dove of Christ, sainted Columba
Of Ulster,Scotland and Northumbria
With whom I sailed out from Lough Foyle,
Away from Derry's grove of oaks
When he was known as Columbcille.
Long years ago we sailed,563 A.D. or so,
Landfall unknown,the green wavexxx pounding
And the storm butting our craft on to Iona.
Deathly sick and scared everyone was,
All except our gently strong Columba
tho calmed us with his burning faith.
"They that seek the Lord", he said,
"shall want no manner of thing that is good."
Praise Him! Praise Him! Praise Him!
study, prayer, fasting, gardening, fishing,
The bothers knew little comfort of the flesh
xxx foreven our robes are course and scratchy
Yet none would have it otherwise. Praise Him!
Praise Him for thistle as for rose,
Praise Him for bogland as for meadow.
My hands are calloused from oar and spade
So that I drive the quill right clumsily
Across the parchment acreage.
Praise Him! Praise Him! Praise Him!
Time was, when stripling green, I danced
In peacock robes of proudest hue,
Dicing and drinking in my father's house
Of princely pomp and devil's luxury,
Whoring fraa starry hour till rosy light.
One night when crazed with mead and lust
I ploughed in ecstasy my brother's field,
Emptied into his wife my bag of seed,
He roused us from our lecherous embrace,
Killed her,the faithless one,at a swift stroke.
Brother fought brother until I left him dead
Beside the marriage bed I had defiled.
I fled in panic,sought Columba's narrow cell,
Confessed to him the anguish in my heart.
He sheltered,fed me,wrapped me in God's peace.
Praise Him! Praise Him! Praise Him!
over
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161662GreacenStanford288Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Jul 22ndLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford288LetterBrother StephenEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford288LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford288.jpgNow here I write in rock-like safe Iona,
I expiate my sins and will for all eternity.
Yet,God forgive me, I cannot but remember
Even sometimes when kneeling with the Brothers
That woman's snowy breast and waterfalling hair.
Deliver me from lechery, O Lord... deliver me.'
Dear Christ,hear Brother Stephen's prayer.
Praise Him! Praise Him! Praise Him!
Robert Greacen
Robert Greacen
(poem written June 1977)
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161663GreacenStanford289Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Jul 27thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford289LetterAcquarius, DublinEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford289LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford289.jpgNo. 2 7 P. C.
27/7/77
replied : 28th July 77
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for yrs of 25th.
Glad to hear the story-writing goes on
well.
Glad you like the latest poem. Yes, a
new vein. About time to say goodbye to
Capt. Fox. I've noted the points of query,
especially the one about what could be seen
as a contradictory statement. I've sent the
poem to George Barker's son Sebastian xx as
the he is editing the next issue of AQUARIUS
in honour of Heath-Stubbs who will be 60
next year. As it happens I'm meeting H-S
tomorrow and we are going together to the
Hewison party.
Very kind of you to be willing to suggest xx
my name
for an Arts Council, award. Do you think it
would be better for the suggestion to come from
someone who is primarily a poet ? I'll think
about it. Also,my last book was pubd in
Dublin - in fact my last 2 books. I have an
impression that these things are settled among
people who have personal contacts. The
politics of literature!
Arranging a public reading in Sept for
Dannie Abse. I think the Pembridge Poetiy
Group is getting known. Unfortunately one of
the best young supporters,Matthew Sweeney,is
going to Germany for a year — he brought in a
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161664GreacenStanford029Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Mar 27thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford29LetterDublin, SentimentalEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford029LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford029.jpgN.I Arts Council have commissioned a "poster poem" from his
(£50,000), of which he sends a copy. It will be illustrated
by a Dublin artist. The poem, I think, is quite good
but not one of his best. Writing to order......But I'm delighted
as he rather feels he's been kept out in the cold by the New Men.
Roy is a very good fellow who always pretends he isn't - I think he
fears that people might think him sentimental which he believes
is The End.
Roy also tells me that Freddie Vine's brother-in-law, a man called
Mac Mahon has been murdered. I knew that was the maiden name of
F's 2nd wife, but it's a common Catholic name over there, so I didn't
connect when I read of the xxxxxxx murder.
Freddy + death seem linked (a son drown, 2nd wife dead, brother-in-law murdered...)
Hope you can read this screed -
Love to you both - Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091404GreacenStanford290Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Jul 27thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford290LetterHerta, Arts Council of Northern IrelandEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford290LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford290.jpgnumber of young people.
Herta a went off last Monday. Have by now
filled the vacuum she left . Work is a great
s'oand-by, except when it’s too onerous or one
is ill.
Love to you both - Robert
Hamburger has expressed admiration for my
poems. Would he carry weight with the Arts
Council ?
P.S. What about:
My hands are calloused now from oar and spade
Yet still I drive the quill with fluent strokes
Across..........
..........
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161665GreacenStanford291Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Jul 29thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford291LetterAcquariusEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford291LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford291.jpg27 P. C.
29th July 77
My dear Derek,
Thanks for your prompt reply.
(Had to know you also feel that Michael
H would be a good person as sponsor. He is
both well-known and respected. Well,he can
only say NO. And good to hear from you that
Howard S would write a supporting letter.
Heath-Stubbs told me yesterday that
Fred Grubb had got a grant. Well! (good to
hear you will be reminiscing x about H-S in
AQUARIUS.
I met one or two people I knew at the
Hewison party — in one roam he displayed
various '39-'45 books in a glass case - inc
LYRA. I talked to a girl from Weidenfeld‘s
and told her of yr book — said it was
seeling well and was whetting interest in
the 40's period. Have you ever thought of
mounting a 40's Exbition - books,Mss.,
paintings et al’ Lectures,too. Alex C and
I once had this idea but it was too early
to get much support.
I'll write to Hamburger today.
Love to you both - Robert
x and appreciating
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161666GreacenStanford292Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Aug 6thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford292LetterArts Council of Great BritainEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford292LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford292.jpgArts Council of Gt. Britain
Grants to writers
Sponsor's reasons for recommending the writer for a grant:
I have been impressed by Robert Greacen’s recent work,
especially his sequence of 'Captain Fox’ poems,and feel
that this writer badly needs some relief from economic
pressures and his arduous teaching duties,so that he can
write the sequel to the 'Captain Fox' sequence already
published and a second autobiographical volume. After a
protracted silence,Greacen has emerged as a remarkable
poet,who deserves every encouragement and help at a xxxxxx
juncture that has put some strain on him.
Michael Hamburger
6th AUgust, 1977
No. 29 9th August '77
My dear Derek,
You will be interested to see that Michael H has to say about me.
I've just phoned Howard S. who says he will send a supporting letter.
I'm asking for £2,000 - not £20,000!! Thanks for your help in this
as in so many matters.
Love to you both - Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161667GreacenStanford293Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Aug 12thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford293LetterDevonEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford293LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford293.jpgNo. 27 P.C.
12 Aug 77
My dear Derek,
Here’s the latest, hot off the typewriter. It’s a bit
strange,! think, but that’s the xx way it turned out...
Norton Fitzwarren and Shepton Mallet are in Somerset -
Sheepwash and Black Torrington in Devon.(The first 2 make
cider which I frequently drink.) I started with the 4 names
and worked the poem from an image I had in my mind of A
Stranger or Traveller. What do you think ?
Love to you both - Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161668GreacenStanford294Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Aug 12thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford294LetterThe Snake and the TravellerEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford294LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford294.jpg"The Snake and Traveller"
Norton Fitzwarren, Shepton Mallet,
sheepwash, Black Torrington
or some such western place -
The time a century ago.
An evening black as tar
A knife of wind ice-edged
And never a star to bless the traveller
Nor even cur to argue territorial rights
A stranger rode up to the "Fox and Hounds"
Inside the oil lamps spluttered
Poured light in saffron pool
Polished the golden cider.
The traveller called for brandy,
The locals stared, froze into a hush
And crowded round the fire.
No one remembred later xxxx how it happened:
A callow youth guffawed, perhaps, to see
A gentleman join the rustic company
Or someone trod upon the stranger's foot
Or spoke a dialect word translated into insult
In the traveller's cold brain*
putting down his glass he pulled a snake
Out of his pocket underneath his cloak.
"Apologise or die of snakebite", he said.
The landlord and the villagers stood agape
Like xxxxxxx tableau figures made of wax.
A minute later all had fled]Except for the jelly-bellied landlord.
"Truly I'm most sorry,sir", he gasped.
The traveller calmly ordered mutton chops,
Drank two quarts of ale and went to bed.
Hours later Jack, an old labourer died
Of a heart attack brought on by xxxxxx fright.
Young George stayed in bed a whole week.
Others screamed in their sleep
So that doctor and parson earned their keep
For several weeks on end.
The greaybeards met in council and declared:
"'Twas the devil in disguise or we be Dutch."
Then the landlord had a new sign painted,
Renamed his inn "The Snake and Traveller"
And made a fortune for himself
Not far from Norton Fitzwarren,Shepton Mallet,
sheepwash, Black Torrington.
Robert Greacen
12th August 77
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161669GreacenStanford295Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Aug 16thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford295LetterDolmen Press, The Listener, Inside the FortiesEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford295LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford295.jpgNo. 27 P.C.
16. 8. 77
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for yr letter.
Glad to hear yr own creative work goes on
merrily. I hope Kimber not only takes the Ms but
takes less time to decide than Mr.Miller of
Dolmen Press who has had my poems for 6 months.
The Hewison party was O.K. but the older I
get the less I enjoy parties. I can't quite
explain it but I find them tiring and unsatis-
factory; and there are always too many hangers-
on around. Roy Fuller was there and a fellow
I know from the LISTENER,D.A.N. Jones - xxxxx
David Jones,more Jewish than Welsh,I'd say,a
very bright boy. But where were Comfort,N.Moore,
Tambi, Wrey G.,Derek S. ? Hamlet played not only
without the Prince of Denmark but sans Polonius,
Ophelia and a few others. But the stalwart bard
Heath-Stubbs lent his dignified presence; and
there’s no irony intended. H-S ,to whom I
spoke a good deal,is a very remarkable man.
As for INSIDE THE FORTIES, one of my xxxxxxxx
colleagues now calls me "Pork Chops" as a result
of D.S.'s decade-delineation. Such is fame
(infamy ?).
I am very pleased with yr remarks about the
new poem,not least that you note my departure xxx
from "regular themes”. I hope in the future to
"look shining at x new styles of architecture...”
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161670GreacenStanford296Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Aug 16thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford296LetterCaptain Fox, Germany, Punk RockersEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford296LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford296.jpgDead horses need no xxxx flogging. Which is
not to say that novelty for its own sake
is much use.
Your detailed criticism is most useful and
I'll incorporate some of yr suggestions into
the poem. No,I haven't checked on whether
thesd places are near each other• But I
can't xxxabandon such lovely place-names
in the name
of geography and hope that "some such West-
country place” gets me off the hook. Or I
can simply plead "poetic licence". I've become
Interested in the "story poem" and perhaps
there will be more of this type of poem.
I think I must say Auf Wiedersehen or even
Goodbye to Capt. Fox who has been much with
me for the past 6 years.
Tomorrow evg there's a Group meeting here
and Jack's going to read. I can't know how
the boys and girls will react,but on the
whole they are fairly polite to their elders.
I get on pretty well with the 25 yr old lot
whereas I didn't care for the generation just
after xxxx ours.
They are not reacting against the
40's about which they have an open mind.
I've heard them call someone old-fashioned
because they liked the Beatles! Today a 25
yr old colleagure explained what the Rink
Bockers are all about and said he xx was too
old to be one of them. Too old at 25!
Going G'many 21st and back 1st Sept.
(If you shd wish to write : C/0 Bohler,
Gartenstr. 16 a, 789 Waldshut,Germany.)
Love to you both, Robert
DOn't know what Constable Sergeant said but
expect he will know what will make best
impression. Hope so,anyway. I cd do with sane
Arts Council cash if only to prevent it going
to the likes ol xxx xxxx xxx xxxx
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161671GreacenStanford297Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Aug 18thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford297LetterSomerset MaughamEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford297LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford297.jpg18 Aug. 77
No. 2 7
My dear Derek,
Jack made his debut last night at the PPG
and read 3 poems that were well received.
The gathering was smaller than usual because
of the holiday season - what a writer char-
acter of Somerset Maugham xxxxxx as “fit
though few". Next time of course they will
be more critical...
Could you possibly distribute the enc
leaflets to likely persons ?
wd describe
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161672GreacenStanford298Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate19 JanLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford298LetterThomas BlackburnEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford298LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford298.jpgPOST CARD
THE ADDRESS TO BE WRITTEN ON THIS SIDE
I read my new poem and it seemed to go
down well xxx - I incorporated some of yr
suggestions.
Have you heard that Thomas Blackburn
has died (aged 62) ? I never met him but you
probably knew him.
Love to you both - Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161673GreacenStanford299Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Aug 19thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford299LetterArts Council of Northern Ireland, Dolmen PressEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford299LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford299.jpgNo. 27
19th august 77
replied : 21 Aug 77
My dear Derek,
Still another note from me.
I had a phone call from HS today. He
read out the text of the letter he has
written to the Arts Council - lengthy and
'strong'. He must have taken considerable
trouble with it.
No,he didn’t mention the Poetry Group
nor did Michael H. A pity,but after all
the idea of these grants xxx to help
writers anf not so much the organisers and
encouragers of writers. Or at least they may
possibly look at it that way.
Grant or not,it’s very gratifying that
MH and xx HS have been kind enough to say
these flattering things about me. Writing tends
to be such a thankless business! I must thank
you too for your good offices with HS,as I
don’t think I wd have approached him.
Love to you both - Robert
Dolmen Press - Liam Miller,that is,is
excelling himself. He’s had my 2nd Fox for over
6 months and still hasn’t decided. If he should
eventually say yes,perhaps I cd expect pubn
by 1984.
I wonder what kind of delay Jack had at
Heathrow. I am flying from Gatwick,also
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161674GreacenStanford003Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1970 Nov 2ndLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford3LetterPeggieEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford003LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford003.jpgNo. 62
Monday. Nov. 2.
Many thanks for your letter.
I'll discuss the various points when we meet.
Yes, this coming Wednesday,
Nov. 4, will be fine. "Old
Bell", then, about 12.15.
I do hope things will
improve for Peggie.
Love-
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091378GreacenStanford030Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Mar 30thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford30LetterCaptain Fox, London, ProtestantEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford030LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford030.jpg36 H P M
30. 3. 73
replied 2 Apr
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for yrs.
Yes, the Capt Fox saga inches forward.
Had a letter from Freddy today. He has been upset over the murder of his brother-in-law and supposes it was because “he didn’t play ball with the IRA”. Freddy was pall-bearer at the funeral which he says was attended by about 2,000 people. It looks as if F is heading for London or thinking of. it. “If I could get an unfurnished flat or house I could transport all my furniture to London.” When I suggested a few months ago that he should think of getting out (his wife was alive then) he didn’t take kindly to the suggestion, said N.I. was his country and where his home was etc. One good thing is that he isn’t badly off,as he inherited some money from his mother and owns the house in Banbridge, Co.Down, where he’s been teaching. (Banbridge is where Fox’s mother came from, you will recall. It’s solidly Protestant.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091405GreacenStanford300Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Sep 2ndLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford300LetterBlackburnEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford300LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford300.jpgNo.27 2nd Sept. 77
replied 6th Sept 77
My dear Derek
Just back - very tired after delays caused by
air traffic controllers strike. Thanks for your
letter of 22nd Aug. received at the "fair Herta's"
Note what you say about Tom Blackburn. Good about
"THE ELDER TREE"!
The weather was very good during my trip. (we spent
2 nights in Heidleburg, a dream city) though H said
the week before my arrival was cold and wet.
Lucky old Robert!
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Love to you both - Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:161675GreacenStanford301Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Sep 2ndLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford301LetterPlucking GeeseEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford301LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford301.jpgPlucking Geese
Although a Frenchman once told me:
"En Angleterre tout est possible",
I still haven't seen an August snowflake
Yet I soldier on in the hope that
One summer day the lid will lift off the sky
As they start plucking geese in heaven-.
Big soft quills will eddy into explosions,
Shampooing cats, making children leap like salmon
And the British Isles slither from Kerry to KirkwaL 1.
Overnight this snow will turn to ice-cream,
The Prime Minister will recall Parliament,
The Emperor of ice-cream will replace the gueen,
Squatters will dine at the Savoy", sheep bleat the "Messiah",
Football hooligans will tiptoe in the National Gallery.
All changed, changed utterly, and a terrible whiteness born.
But most important,my Frenchman will be proved right.
Robert Greacen
Written in Waldshut,August '77
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:171676GreacenStanford302Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Sep 8thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford302LetterHerta, Germany, The Standard, The Express, The TimesEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford302LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford302.jpg27 P. C.
8th September 77
Replied:12th Sept
My dear Derek,
Thanks for yrs of 6th.
I am glad you are so busy with stories and I'll look
forward to reading them. "Blue:A Biography" sounds good -
evocative xxx you are obviously using the various symbols -
rowing "Blue", Mary's colour,blue for depression (suicide).
The Masque suggests to me COMUS:A MASQUE. Milton thou should'st
be living at this hour etc.
Apart from seeing Herta twice this xxxxx summer (and also for
a few days before Easter) I saw a good deal of South Germany,
some of it for the first time. The concept of effort,of taking
trouble and doing things well lives on there. Hence prosperity
though of course they have their idiotic terrorists (most of them
upper middle class - the German workers want none of it). I hope
the German Govt will take tough measures and stamp these people
out. If not,they will have a terrible problem on their hands.
I am glad you .like PLUCKING GEESE (the phrase ccmes in Saul
Bellow's "Dangling Man" - a folk-phrase in Montana,it seems). Yes,
I seemm to be trying new things. Creativity is very strange. It
seems to come on one unawares and even In the midst of problems.
For one thing,I haven't really recovered from my colds and cough
of last winter-spring, and like you,I DREAD this coming winter.
I can see no way of being with Herta on a permanent basis. xxx
I have a lot of tiring teaching work and this,in some ways,gets
harder net easier. Yet ideas for poems come fairly easily. Per-
haps it's a matter of trying to resolve one's problems in another
medium. But then if the problems are too great one can do little
worth doing.
Dannie was in good voice last night at the 4th public reading
(and a young man called Tim Dooley also read). Jack B came along
and I think the evening went well. TIME OUT didn't appear so we
got no publicity there,thanks to strikers. I also hoped for a xxx
mention in the STANDARD (also on strike). I wd like to see the
STANDARD x and EXPRESS close down in London and deprive these
workers of jobs (as you know,they are extremely highly paid,
anyway);the Manchester workers are much more reasonable,probably
xxxxxxx because joos are scarcer in the North.
I've been in touch again with David Holbrook as a result of a
letter or his in THE TIMES complaining about the financial plight
of writers. It's incredible to hear that,despite his enormous
output,his earnings are too -low for him to pay tax. So he says.
I've asked him if he would like to read at one of my pub-public
meetings. He's prolific even as a poet. Now if he were a typist
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:171677GreacenStanford303Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Sep 8thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford303LetterArts Council of Northern IrelandEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford303LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford303.jpg
in Zurich he would have 2 or 3 times his present income... and
if he were a London printer.... I suppose that having 4 children
doesn't help matters. I am curious to know what sort of fellow
he is.
Did you hear that Heath-Stubbs has been awarded 5,000 dollars
by some American organisation? I have no x other details.
I am a wee bit impatient to hear the result of the next
Arts Council Lit Comm's deliberations on grants. Despite all the
slings and arrow,one keeps hoping.
Love to you both - Robert
P.S Andrew Waterman came to last nights reading and I'm meeting him on
Saturday. He will read at No.29 on 21st September.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:171678GreacenStanford304Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Sep 13thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford304LetterThe New Statesman, ArethusaEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford304LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford304.jpg2 7 P. C.
13 Sept 77
My dear Derek,
Your letter was a very good one since you explained in
some detail what you are trying to do in your stories. You have
whetted my appetite. Can understand how important it is to get
"a publisher's green light". So it was old AE who thought up
the term 'psychometric' as applied to writing. What a strange
mixture that old boy was of woolly visions and down-to-earth
Ulster commonsense! As for your stories,I wish them well and
happy landing with a generous publisher!
G.W.Stonier was a great favourite of mine in the old days
of the NEW STATESMAN. I always felt he wrote so well. As xxxx
Auden suggested,anyone can be pardoned for writing well. Never
came across the SHADOW ACROSS THE PAGE,but can well believe it
is 'a little masterpiece'.
Yes,I’ve asked Jack B to read at "The Ship" (Holborn) on
Wednesday evg., 26 October. David Holbrook will be the "star"
on that occasion. DH had a recent letter in The Times lamenting
authors' small earnings. That reminded me of him. His publisher
(one of his publishers) wrote to say he had decided to" give him
£150 more on his advance for his next novel. And the letter was
discussed on the Radio 4 programme END THE WEEK last Saturday.
I'd say that letter has netted DH quite a nice sum. Mind you,I
think he would earn more if he halved his output and played
harder to get.
Thanks for your telling me of yr Arts Council experiences.
No,I'm not despondent,just a bit impatient. Jonathan Barker has
told me that the next meeting of the relevant committee will be
held towards the end of this month. Fingers crossed.
The current TIME OUT bills Dannie Abse and Tim Dooley (with
RG as chairman) for a reading this coming Wednesday evg in the
Ship Tavern... if it had appeared at the right time we would
perhaps have doubled our audience...
Arethusa has had a short article published in a paper called
the SOUTHERN STAR (about a new educational venture in Bantry).
Simple language but quite clearly written. Very pleased as she
really needs a break.
-;obt Lowell is the latest to go... only 60... But as Groarty
once wrote (it sticks in my mind,although I don't think he was
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:171679GreacenStanford305Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Sep 13thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford305LetterSeafordEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford305LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford305.jpgmuch of a poet): "Why should I fear to join my friends ?"
About all for now. Love to you both - Robert
Shirley T rang me a few days ago. One of her queries was how to
get blood out of a stone - sorry,I mean money money out of B and
B . I told her about my experiences but referred her to our man
in Seaford.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:171680GreacenStanford306Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Sep 20thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford306LetterNew England Review, Conor Cruise O'Brien, Referendum, DailEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford306LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford306.jpg2 7 P. C
20th Sept. 77
replied:26 Sept
My dear Derek,
Thanks for your letter of 16th.
Glad to hear of your coming review for I.T. and of your
plans for more stories using - if I get the drift right - the
spirit of Rupert Brooke etc., to communicate their experiences
to living people. A good idea.
Tomorrow evg Andrew Waterman in coming to No.27 to read from
his work. Then,on 26 Oct. (a Wednesday) ,we have a public reading
with David Holbrook and Jack B. at the xxx Ship Tavern,Holborn.
I haven’t met Holbrook and don’t know what he's like as a reader.
But he's controversial and that may bring people along.
Have you reviewed GOD'S APOLOGY ,a book about the friendship
between Muggeridge,Hugh Kingsmill and Hesketh Pearson? I was
very interested in Kingsmill (though the whole book interested me)
who - to judge xxxx from the quotations - wrote distinctively,
and was a terrific personality. His real name of course was Lunn
(father was the travel agency man). And of course the poor chap
had a long,hard and unrewarding struggle with damn little fame and
damn little money. Pearson did well in the end out of his bio-
graphies. But all 3 of them were out of step with the Thirties
Lefties without being "in" with the Rightists. They were,polit-
ically,more or less old-fashioned patriots and small "c" conser-
vative individualists. Did you ever meet H.K. ? I think you may
have written in the NEW ENG. REVIEW.
I see that Conor Cruise O'Brien has put the pussy among the
pigeons yet again by saying that in a referendum in Ireland (as a
whole) the vote would be against unity. He's a very remarkable man
-too brilliant (and eccentric) ever to be Top xxx Dog in the
Other Island. He's in the Senate now,a more fitting place for
brilliant eccentricity than the Lr House (Dail). One of the few
people over there I'd like to meet.
Have been following the case of Victor the Giraffe with great
interest. Today's paper tells me that : "The Navy has agreed to
make a special sling similar to a huge pair of trousers." In what
other country would Victor's adventures/misadventures be followed
with such interest ? It's still a great country,inflation
notwithstanding.
Love to you both - Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:171681GreacenStanford307Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Sep 27thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford307LetterHamlet, William ShakespeareEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford307LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford307.jpgMy dear Derek,
Glad to have your views and news.
Kingsmill wrote some very good aphorisms.
A simple yet quite good one (which I hope to
profit from) is:"To be angry is to be wrong."
There are cleverer ones than that. He was
forced into anthologising to try to make
money and in fact he never did make anything
worthwhile out of them or his critical books.
Some failed to cover the advancem and he
lived with financial anxiety.
Interesting about John Smith who xx
obviously has prospered from flogging other
people’s work. (I don’t hold this against
him . It's just a fact of life that it’s a
bit easier for middlemen to prosper.)John
once told me he came from the working class,
so he must have had a hard struggle at some
time or other. Yes,I suppose if all the books
in the world were burned some of the "memory
men" would be in clover. HAMLET, PRINCE OF
DENMARK by William Shakespeare as remembered
by Eric Snooks....EVEN WITHOUT IRENE as
remembered by R.G. etc.
Went to Henley-on-Thames on Sunday. Lunch
at Shirley’s, then a reading at 4 p.m. in
school opposite - John Press,Edward Lowbury,
Michael Riviere. Talked a lot with Press and
Lowbury - the latter a doctor in B’ham and
about whom I knew some facts derived from T.W.
Gervais. Lowbury said Terence had been his
best friend at school. He’s a totally different
sort of character and has Terence summed up to
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:171682GreacenStanford308Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Sep 27thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford308LetterOxford, Dail, Roy McFaddenEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford308LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford308.jpg
a 't'. He said Terence’s brilliance was obvious
in his schooldays yet he told me of one or two
incidents that forshadowed ultimate failure.
Press works for Br Council in Oxford - I xxxxxx
thought him the best poet of the 3. Other
interesting people,too,so I had quite a day.
Letter this a.m. from Sebastian Barker
xxxxx(George B’s son) saying he would like to
use a passage of 9 lines from my Brother
Stephen in the next issue of AQUARIUS,a Heath-
Stubbs’ xxxxx festschrift. I’m saying yes.
This is the first time an editor has accepted
a section fran a poem. Eddie Linden has
collected a large amount of money and I'm told
he's going to do a bumper issue,beautifully
produced,that will do H-S proud. From meeting
him and iron what I've heard Eddie knows damn
all about poetry or anything else. He special-
ises in knowing poets (and people with a few
coppers to throw around). He told me that,
having arranged a poetry reading in the H of
Commons,he is new doing one in the Dail in
Dublin. He also said he had got some money out
of Roy McFadden (whose address I'd given him).
Now Roy isn't mean but at the same time he
doesn't exactly throw his money away,so I take
off my hat to Eddie as a fund-raiser.
Had dinner last night with my old teacher,
Ronald Marshall (he lives now in his native
Todmorden) at the Oxford and C(bridge Club. A
delightful place, xxxxxxx Marshall,now in his
late 60's,is a delightful man:cultivated,kind,
gentlemanly in an un-snobbish way. Among other
things,he knows Italian well and has been
writing about a poet called Belli who wrote in
the Roman dialect in the last century. Anthony
Burgess has also written,in a novel,about Belli
but Ronnie thinks Robert Garioch’s translations
into Scots are absolutely spot-on. I told him
about these when a few appeared in NEW POETRY,
there are a lot more in Garioch's COLLECTED POEMS
just published since our last meeting he has corresponded
with Garioch (real name Robt Sutherland).
Love to you both-
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:171683GreacenStanford309Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Sep 28thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford309LetterArts Council of Northern IrelandEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford309LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford309.jpg28th/Sept./77
replied:30th Sept
The arts council regrets....
Love to you both,
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:171684GreacenStanford031Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Mar 30thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford31LetterSolicitorEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford031LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford031.jpgLetter from Roy a few days ago. He says he will be staying there. He says he will be staying there. His case is rather different. He’s very much a local boy and has family commitments. Besides,a solicitor in N.I. can’t practise anywhere else. But he says his income is still going down.
Glad to hear City Lit is reopening if only for the last week of term. My college wasn’t affected. Who strikes next ?
What wd I do if I found a 1? inch tall Venus on my bedroom rug ? Why,auction it at Sothebys!
Let me know when you are next free for lunch.
Love to you both –
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091406GreacenStanford310Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate19 JanLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford310LetterCatholic, The Irish Press, Eamon DeValeraEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford310LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford310.jpgNo. 27 P.C
My dear Derek,
Many thanks to you and P for your lovely
birthday card.
I've news for you - see enclosed. I know
nothing about this Brian Fallon (except that
he isn't related to Peter Fallon of Gallery
Press - a fairly common Catholic Irish name).
What I've just said makes a point. Even
fairly recently the I.T. was rather Anglo-
Irish ,now it's almost wholly "native Irish”.
When I was in my 20's the lit ed was ,for
instance, Bruce Williamson, from a B'fast
Protestant family and educated at Shrewsbury.
The IRISH PRESS ,on the other hand (started by
de Valera) has always been 99% Catholic Irish,
but are liberal enough to accept a Jew as
lit ed. Ironically,! have always had better
treatment frcm the I.P. than the I.T. although
in theory it should be the other way round.
I rather enjoy these ironical situations. The
only truly vicious attack on me in print came
frcm Williamson with whom,up to then, I had
been on very good terms. I think I can say it
came from sheer jealousy as x my poems were
appearing everywhere and his weren't. Still
on the I.T. he has never published a book of
any kind, and I've been told he has long been
an alcoholic. IT's all so long ago I bear him
no ill-will. He had a decisive influence on
my life. I was a bit undecided whether to stay
on in Dublin or come to London - Patricia
said she would do whatever I wished. So I
decided to leave. Of course I might have left
later on,anyway.
Interested in yr views on German writers.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:171685GreacenStanford311Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate19 JanLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford311LetterUlster Tatler, Time outEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford311LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford311.jpgHeine’s CONFESSIONS sounds good.
I heard from my friend on the ULSTER TATLER
and he says my Lynd article is "admirable".
Haven’t yet seen xx the mag but it's glossy so
I suppose thepay is at least "reasonable". Expect
only a small section will be devoted to lit
matters and those mainly of Ulster interest.
But when I know more about it,I’ll tell you
whether it would be worth your while writing to
him. He’s called Sam Hanna Bell and has written
a few novels pubd in London - retired from
B’fast B.B.C.
Matthew Arnold xxxxx was right about always
keeping some specific end in view. I think I
have learned to do that - more instinctive
than based on a precept.
TIME OUT has listed the David Holbrook-Jack B
reading. The young chaps tell me that brings
people and apparently the N.S. cuts no ice even
among the Leftist young - it’s for oldies. I
have an almost irrational distaste for the N.S.
Don’t like it’s superior tone at all. Kingsley
Martin,remember,wouldn’t let Orwell tell the
truth about Spain and Orwell,heaven knows,wasn’t
a Tory.
It might be worth your while writing to
Brian Fallon. He will know my name as I’ve
had a few pieces in the "Arts and Studies"
section (separate from the review page) while he
was editing it. He never wrote to me,just shoved
the articles in. I might write to him except
that I’ve enough work of one kind and another.
Love to you both -Robert
Third week of dieting, Often feel hungry!
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:171686GreacenStanford312Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Oct 1stLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford312LetterThe Times, PiccadillyEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford312LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford312.jpgMy dear Derek,
No. 27 1st Oct. 77
replied 4th Oct 77.
Your letter of 30 Sept has cheered me up.
Thanks.
the A.C. letter
I felt rather depressed the day/min came -
couldn’t eat any breakfast. Of course by the next
day I was beginning to put it behind me ,not being
much good at long-term depressions (the man for
that course was Clifford Dyment). So relative
cheerfulness has broken in again despite the
attempt to be a philosopher. Yes,I may make it
next time...
1 saw the Hugo Manning obit in THE TIMES. In
fact,I thought as I read it:"That's Derek’s
style." But thought I was wrong. I've got one
particularly vivid memory of Hugo. One C'mas
xxxxxduring the break-up with Patricia
(she and A had gone to her sister's) I arranged for Freddie to
come to Ken Gh Walk. He didn't turn up and I
kept waiting. When I went out it was too late to
get lunch or even a sandwich anywhere. I went to
Piccadilly by which time it was perhaps 3.30.
I ran into Hugo and we went to Lyons Corner House.
He was very helpful. (Freddy explanation later was
that he thought G.P.Snow was plotting against him
and that Snow was trying to get me into the plot!
He's long got over that sort of thing. Sounds like
a Muriel Spark story,don't you think ? Paranoia of
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:171687GreacenStanford313Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Oct 1stLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford313LetterCatholic, JewEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford313LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford313.jpgthe purest kind.) If I were a Catholic/Jew I’d say
of H.M. - God rest his soul. I’m afraid I could never
see anything of interest in his poetry.
You don't say how Wrey G. was so I assume he
was very much the old Charles Wrey.
I've been told by my doctor I'd do well to get
rid of 1 stone in weight. I'll try. No dire warning but
just that it would be better for me. So perhaps I shall
be writing A FAREWELL TO CHIPS one of these days.
Hope your cold has cleared up.
Love to you both- R
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:171688GreacenStanford314Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Oct 6thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford314LetterThe Irish Times, Cyphers, Arts Council of Northern IrelandEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford314LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford314.jpgNo. 27 P.C.
6 Oct 77
replied: 8th Oct
My dear Derek,
Still doing my damndest to xxxx cut down
on certain foods and drink. Am also walking a
bit more than usual. You seem to have won the
battle.
Interesting about Wrey. He’s having a good
innings. Perhaps he’s tougher than he seems to
be. xxxx what you say about Wrey bringing the
Maclaren-Ross boy to live with him and Diana
does him credit. I think Wrey’s place will be
for his editorial work; he has alwys seemed
weak creatively,to me anyway.
Good about yr stories and you have obviously
been working hard since June. Let’s hope that
Kimber bites.
Note what you say about Fraser Harrison whom
I heard speakingthe other evg on Radio 4 (about
Oscar Wilde). Yes,will let you know if/when I
see yr IRISH TIMES review. As you know,their
reviews are on Saturdays.
Got a copy of CYPHERS from Dublin yesterday
with my poem about Fox in China. This is a
handsome publication (grants from Dublin and
B’fast Arts Councils,so they pay contributors).
Yes,as you said,a lot of my poems are getting
into print. It's Been a long,hard slog trying to
make up for the missing years.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:171689GreacenStanford315Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Oct 6thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford315LetterArts Council of Northern IrelandEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford315LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford315.jpg
My old schoolfriend Leslie Baxter,over
for a teachers conference,stayed here last
night. We had a lot to say to each other.
The thought has just occurred to me that in
several hours of conversation politics wasn’t
mentioned! He lives for his work (teaching
art),house and garden — probably doesn’t
know the name of the P.M.! Yet he can tell
one the measurements of every cathedral in
Europe and such-like.
Have you heard this one ? Someone wrote
on a wall JESUS SAVES. To which was added,in
another hand, MOSES INVESTS.
A wall I pass every day,in a street off
Holland Park Ave., has an inscription in
huge letters : WHY NOT ?
I may have told you I had a nice letter
from Howard S. He said he was "astounded"
at the Arts Council decision.
Hope you can manage to come to Holbrook/
JB reading on 26th.
Love to you both - Robert
1 1/2 pints of beer today,
1/2 at lunch, 1 pint this evg.
Sipping orange juice as I type
and wallowing in self-pity.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:171690GreacenStanford316Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Oct 11thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford316LetterPublisher, New PoetryEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford316LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford316.jpgNo. 27 P.C.
11 Oct 77
replied. 14th Oct
My dear Derek,
Thanks for yrs of 8th.
Agree with you about the need for very
occasional self-pity. Still on reduced diet
but it will prob take some weeks before my
masochism produces a fall in avoirdupois.
Note what your say about Kimber’s and hope
you get good news from them. Also yr idea for
a novella. Can understand you don’t want to do
a hell of a lot of work without some initial
encouragement from a publisher. That may be
why poetry writing is more popular. However much
one works on a poem, the time/energy doesn’t
compare with working on even a short book.
|
Kay very kindly sent me x paperback and
hardback copies of THEY. A most interesting
piece xxxxof work. She of course took the hard way
of full-time writing which must be enough to
drive even the well-balanced near to suicide.
So glad that things are now working out for her.
Prize from S.E.Arts as well as simultaneous
pubn of the 2 edns. Let’s hope reviewers are
enthusiastic.
Just been asked for permission to have my
"Fox Visits the New China" read by an actor at
Matchlight Poetry ("Black Bull" ,Fulham Rd.) on
this coming Thursday. Eileen Warren,who runs
this venture,saw xxthe poem in NEW POETRY. I’ve
been to one Matchlight evening and it had a
packed house. She runs it in a different way xxx
from most poetry readings — actors mainly do the
reading and she has a duplicated programme.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:171691GreacenStanford317Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Oct 11thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford317LetterDavid MarcusEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford317LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford317.jpgEven a duplicated form for poets’ permission
As you see,the venture - whatever its heme
- is well-organised a which is more than one
can say for most of these readings. Others poets
having work read on Thurs include Enright,
Redgrove,Patricia Beer.
Tomorrow evg I have P’bridge Poetry
Group meeting in the flat.so this is something
of a poetry week.
Work calls so I must say 'bye
Love to you both- Robert
David Marcus has sent me for review
a book by Alistair Cooke called "SIX MEN".
Fascinating stories of Charlie Chaplain, Bogart,
Adlai Stevenson, Mencken ect.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:171692GreacenStanford318Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Oct 15thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford318LetterThe Irish TimesEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford318LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford318.jpgNo. 27 15 Oct./77
No review by you in today's "I.T."
There is a note which reads:
"Terence de Vere White has returned
as Literary Editor, but will still
continue to write regularly on this page."
Love to you both - R
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:171693GreacenStanford319Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Oct 17thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford319LetterGoetheEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford319LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford319.jpg27 P. C.
17 Oct 77
replied: 20 Oct 77
My dear Derek,
Thanks lor yrs of 14th. Sorry to hear you
have a cold and hope it’s blown over by now.
I simply dread another cold as I suffered so
badly last winter/spring and have not even
shaken off the effects on my throat. I
saw an Indian doctor who gave me a nasal
spray and I think this has helped a bit.
So I sympathise. A little coldls nothing but
a series of heavy ones is something else.
The Fox poem was very nicely read xx at
Matchlight last Thurs evg. The xxxxx first
time I've heard someone read a Fox poem.
Interested in yr Hugo Manning project.
A man I respected very much though I never
quite went for his poetry (perhaps the later
work is better). I agree with you about
THEY. The trouble with being friendly with
writers is that sometimes one respects/likes
the person, and not the work. And vice versa,
I do NOT like George Barker but must admit
the quality of some of his work.
Haven't read Goethe's fantasy or
indeed much of that great gent - von
Goethe ( a snob like Shakespeare). There's
a splendid novel about him by Thomas Mann:
LOTTE IN WEIMAR. The only German I've been
reading off and on in the last year is
Hermann Hesse (some think he is a Swiss:he
is a German who went to live in S'land).
I've even persuaded Herta to read him in
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:171694GreacenStanford032Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Apr 2ndLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford32LetterInfluenceEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford032LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford032.jpgMr. + Mrs. D. Stanford,
5, Cricketfield Court,
Cricketfield Rd.,
Seaford,
Sussex
as from Hotel Excelsior, Zurich.
2nd April '73
I wish you would use your influence with R.G. and urge
him to stop writing about me. It can be rather embarrassing
as you will appreciate. Why dosen't he continue to write about
his old girl-friend Irene, if he must write about someone? This
is being posted in London by Carrington-Smythe. Cordially,
F.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091407GreacenStanford320Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Oct 17thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford320LetterUlster Tatler, Books Ireland, Irish PressEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford320LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford320.jpgGerman. (She isn't a keen reader but like most Germans
is keen on culture (Kultur)in a theoretical sense.
Also to some extent in a practical sense. Likes
going to the theatre,art galleries,but in moderation.)
Since Friday - today is Monday - I’ve had
a spate of prose writing. Two articles of 1,000
words each; a xx 900 word review; a short
xxxxnotice for BBN. I hardly lifted my head on
Sat and Sun apart from morning Church service
on Sun. One of the articles was a piece on
Robt Lynd written,by request,for a new mag -
the ULSTER TATLER. The other was an article on
bookshops in Belfast in the 30’ s,written on the
suggestion of my cousin Walter’s wife (an
Englishwoman) who does a bit of writing herself
and thought it might slot into something called
BOOKS IRELAND (she knows the editor). The
long review was for IRISH PRESS on Alistair
Cooke's latest and the short piece on Iain
Crichton Smith’s latest book of verse. When I
think of my idle youth!! But work keeps one
from being bored. I suppose that's why Bing
stuck it right to the end - the money must have
ceased to matter to him years and years ago.
These new/new-ish Irish mags pay. I’ll let
you know later about them when I see how they
react to me. There might be a few pennies there
for you. You prob got my p.c. to say Terence de
Vere White was retiring.
Love to you both - Robert
My old teacher has sent me a copy of Robert
Garioch's "Collected Poems". Original work + "versions"
of a poet called Relli
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:171695GreacenStanford321Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Oct 31stLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford321LetterTime outEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford321LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford321.jpg
29 P.C.
31/Oct./77
My Dear
Thanks for yrs of 28th
sorry to hear about your bad cold and sore throat
- Jack told me you had to go back home after lunch.
Hope things are better. But you did manage to
get several of your students to attend. Jack found the
reading interesting & useful.
Holbrook read very well indeed. It's interesting that
this was the worst - attended of all our pub readings,
despite its listing in TIME OUT. Dannie Abse's was not
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:171696GreacenStanford322Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Oct 31stLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford322LetterInside the FortiesEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford322LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford322.jpglisted (because of a strike) but the attendance was
xxxx about double.
I think the reason was/is Holbrook's views. One
member of the group would not come for that reason
and another came reluctantly. Draw what conclusions
you will!
What a shame that INSIDE THE FORTIES hasn't sold more
than just under 2,000. Still it will go into all the
libraries - and, thank goodness, you will be getting
royalties on one or two hundred copies.
Congrats on yr Scotsman poems. Does Willis select
poems now Robert Nye has gone to Ireland? What news of
the 3 stories?
Must rush, Love to you both - Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:171697GreacenStanford323Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Nov 22ndLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford323LetterLettersEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford323LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford323.jpgNo. 27 P.C.
22. II. 77
My dear Derek,
Thanks for yrs of 19th.
Just getting over my 1st winter cold.
It wasn’t as bad as usual - but I must
touch wood quickly. Last year I was just
getting over one cold when bang came an
even bigger one.
Now,business. Well,well,well! of all
the damn ironies... A few weeks ago I
got rid of literally hundreds of letters,
cards and what-not that had accumulated
over the past year or so, so that my folders
were absolutely bursting. I didn’t touch
earlier material. I threw away a lot of
letters (quite a few of yours I must
confesses) they had all been answered and
with new books and mags coming in I haven't
enough space - and all Freddy's bloody
stuff here,too!
Now,all I can find of the period 14 Feb
- 31 Oct of yours are 3 letters (enclosed).
I’ve looked around and see lots of yours of
earlier years - 76, 75 etc. Can you xxxxxx
possibly match up any of these ?
As for the Myers letters,I’ll ring her
before I seal this letter and will add
something about that if I can contact her.
Terribly rushed at the moment with classes
and preparation for them,as a lot of xxxxxx
students are taking exams (which means
more work for me).
over
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:171698GreacenStanford324Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Nov 22ndLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford324LetterNew York, The TimesEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford324LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford324.jpgWhat an absurd, review that must have been;
Only one or two like Tambi cd be called
‘lunatics' and then only in a figurative
sense.
R. Greacen
27 Pembridge Crescent
W.11.
I'm waiting to hear from Hamilton
(Autographs) in H.Y. to whom I've sold items
from time to time. I sent them the collection
of letters dealing with the Holbrook letter
to the TIMES a few years ago. There was a
good Graves letter,though he didn't sign,
addressed to me and an Auden signature that
came too late,you will remember.
Have rung W.M. I am to go and see
her next week. She said she had been trying to
get in touch with me and said a few vague
words about some offer. So let's see what
that is all about.
Sorry not to be sending you more than
these 3 letters but they are good ones. What
do you think ?
Love to you both.
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:171699GreacenStanford325Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Nov 25thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford325LetterAcquarius, Occult StoriesEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford325LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford325.jpgNo. 2 7 P. C.
25. 11. 77
My dear Derek,
Thanks yrs 23rd,
Yes,bugger these colds. I went to the
Doctor in the summer to see if anything cd
be done in advance. The answer was NO, so I
grit my teeth and try to bear them stoically.
Apparently,there's something wrong with my
nose (internally) that prevents me from
beeathing properly which I why I pick up
nasal-throat-eye infections easily. I add
xxxx"eye",since,recently,eye-watering has been
worse than usual,partly caused by the bitter
winds. So I thoroughly sympathise with you.
Will use my discretion about. W.Myers,
xxxxQuite agree about a pound in the hand.
I take it the party was to launch the
Sebastian Barker book. Don’t much care for the
fellow nor his Daddy. He wrote to me rather
xxxx snootily to accept part of a poem I
submitted for AQUARIUS. But useful to have
had an invitation to write for THE TABLET.
Good about OCCULT STORIES acceptance.
Well,yes,JBP may be xxxxxxxxxxxmiddlebrow
but he’s managed to get the O.M.
What rotten luck about the SCOTSMAN! Wish
I could afford to strike. But then you and I
are in the position of 'no work,no pay' -- and
what a pity it isn't like that for eveybody.
Love to you both - Robert
-Li
/L-o,
$■-
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:171700GreacenStanford326Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Nov 29thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford326LetterHolland Park, The TimesEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford326LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford326.jpgNo. 27 P.C.
29. 11. 77
replied : 18th Dec 77.
My dear Derek,
Saw Auntie Winifred today. I did a
deal over C.D. Mss and letters (letters to
C.D.) and came away with a cheque for
£375. I asked for £420 and she offered
£350,so we compromised. No doubt if I
really knew the market I cd have done
better still,but I’m reasonably satisfied.
I've Ixonly a little C.D. stuff left but will
probably hang on to it, at least for the
time being -- mainly Mss of poems and the
like.
As for the R.G.-D.S. letters xxx it’s
no go, so I rescued the 2 packets. Over to
you. Will you meet me one day and I’ll hand
them over.
Is it difficult for you to get to
N.H.G.- Holland Park area ? Ixx We cd either
meet for lunch or you cd come to No.27
between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. almost any day.
Or I cd meet you for lunch in town from
19th Dec. onwards. Let me know what's best
for you.
Still waiting to hear from Hamilton in
N.Y. about the TIMES letter material.
What is the tax position ? I think one
can get up to £500 in any one Tax year
without any bother. Can't find the relevant
section xx (Capital gains) in the folder
sent out by the Inc Tax people.
Love to you both, Robert,
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:171701GreacenStanford327Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1977 Dec 3rdLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford327LetterHolborn, Rupert GravesEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford327LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford327.jpgNo 27 P C
3. 12. 77
My dear Derek,
Thanks for yrs (undated).
Please thank yr Accountant. I think
the amount used to be £500 and ii has been
raised to £1,000. In future I shall know
who to consult re Accountancy problems.
Yes,next Wednesday 7th be fine. I don't
finish till 1 p.m. so,to save time,cd I
Skip the pub and meet you in the Italian
retaurant, the 'Ristero' in Church Street
(opposite the Mall and also opposite an
antique shop)? I'd get along about xxx
1.15. And of course I invite you by way
of modest Clifford-and-Christmas celebrat-
ion. (If I were an R.C. or Jew I wd add
"God rest his soul"...) it‘s an xxxxxx
Central Line run up to H’born.
Saw the OUTPOSTS review of I.T.F.
Have looked up Howard in yr book and one
reference shows him to be quite a hero, so
he shouldn’t feel too sore.
Soreness reminds me that,having nearly
licked the first wintry cold,I woke up
yesterday with sore and stiff back that persisted
all day. It's not sore this a.m. but a bit
stiff. Ageing,ageing... Even Herta is ageing
- she was 50 recently. She intended to cry
on her birthday but xxx was so busy cele-
brating that she forgot!
Another moan - I sent off the ,anti-Porn TIMES
letter correspondence to Charles E. Hamilton's in New York on
26th Oct.-some good items esp R.Graves letter. Mind
you it went
by sea mail. But I fear that it may be lost or, more like, stolen.
I,ve dealt with Hamilton,s years ago and they were O.K. -a highly
reputable firm, so I don't suspect them. Let that be a lesson to me!!
Love to you both - Robert-
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:331702GreacenStanford033Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Apr 9thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford33LetterThanksEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford033LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford033.jpgDerek Stanford Esq,
5, Cricketfield Court,
Cricketfield Road,
SEAFORD,
Sussex.
April 9th, '73
Many thanks for p.c. Right
Wednesday, 11th then (instead of 12th, Thurs). I v. much enjoyed
both R.N. and MacCaig's reading. Have long admired Mac C's work.
Love to you both - Robert.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091408GreacenStanford034Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Apr 27thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford34LetterCaptain Fox, Arms dealerEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford034LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford034.jpg36 H P M
27/April/73
My dear Derek,
I very much enjoyed our meeting – and how nice to see Jack again !
I had some copies made of those cuttings about my American relations and enclose copies. You hadn’t much time to look at them in the “Gaiety”. It’s rather pleasing to have discovered a new set of cousins and what-not; and pleasing that Edmund Greacen is being rediscovered after a period of neglect. I want to send them copies of my books but can’t get hold of ‘em – even EVEN WITHOUT IRENE is out of stock (of course I have copies of everything for myself, but wild horses etc. won’t make me part with them) . Where cd I try to get hold of copies ?
No news recently from Captain Fox. I’ve heard a rumour that he is really a British agent and that he is no more an arms dealer than either of us;and that he has been offered but has refused the K.B.E. I suppose
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091409GreacenStanford035Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Apr 27thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford35LetterSoldierEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford035LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford035.jpghe wants to solider on for another few years and collect something bigger. Baron Fox of Reynard’s Cross ? Quite a guy,isn’t he ?
Love to you both –
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091410GreacenStanford036Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 May 3rdLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford36LetterF.B.I, The Waste LandEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford036LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford036.jpg36 H P M
3rd May 1973
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for your card. Was your Northern tour for pleasure/business, or a mixture of both ?
Capt. Fox may well be on the payroll of the F.B.I. Who knows ? He wasn’t pleased not to appear in Allan Prior’s ONE PAIR OF EYES as he was at the party. I think he has TV ambitions in a mild sort of way. A Spanish ex-student saw me on the box and has told various friends of his in my class,so they think I am a great MAN. (Had I merely written a poem of equivalent to the WASTE LAND, well, that would pass unnoticed. But TV! Incidentally,I found that delectable lady by myself which I think was enterprising of me! )
I met Peter Porter in the street a couple of weeks ago and had a chat. He’s always very friendly. Yes,he’s on the TLS, as you supposed, so I’ve sent him a few of the Fox poems. But I haven’t much hope of
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091411GreacenStanford037Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 May 3rdLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford37LetterArethusa, EdinburghEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford037LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford037.jpg
anything from the younger generation -
except in Ireland where they like an occas-
ional piece of mine. Still,one travels
hopefully.
Arethusa arrived back in E'burgh last
Friday. She's working at Kingston x for a
while,then hopes to find another job,
presumably in Caledonia.
Love to you both -
Robert
x where Donald Grant now functions as a gardner.
A change from Eng. lit. + lang.!
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091412GreacenStanford038Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Jun 1stLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford38LetterScottish Arts CouncilEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford038LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford038.jpg36 etc.
June 1st 1973,
My dear Derek,
The Scottish Arts Council has invited me to attend , on June 13, for an interview in E’burgh for post of Writer in Residence in Aberdeen. It’s an appointment for 1 yr at ?2,000. Am keeping fingers crossed. Any suggestions ?
In haste.
Love to you both –
Robert
I gave yr name + R.N.’s as references.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091413GreacenStanford039Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Jun 4thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford39LetterAberdeen, LondonderryEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford039LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford039.jpg36 Holland. Park Mews,W. 11.
4th June, xxxx 1973
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for yr letter and card.
THE PORTRAIT GAME is based on a book
I reviewed recently (for B and B ). It
looks as if every poem now has to be a
Fox one,though God Knows that little
enough interest has been shown in them
except by a handful of people of whom you
are one.
HARROW SONGS sounds xxxxx interesting
and is probably fairly valuable.
Thanks for yr comments re E'burgh
interview. I certainly think I cd make a
success of the Aberdeen post. So we shall
see... I wonder whether you'll hear from
them. Anyway,it's good that they know
about you - and of course they know you
are a SCOTSMAN stalwart. (Sorry to be
pedantic - I was born in Londonderry not
B'fast;a much more beautiful and historic
city, and - after the xxxxxx recent local
elections - Now under Catholic control.)
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091414GreacenStanford004Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1971 Jan 9thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford4LetterThe Old BellEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford004LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford004.jpgNo. 62.
Friday.
Glad to see the my review of your "Critics of the 90's"
xxxx in today's Trib.
Unless I learn to the contrary I'll meet
you next Wednesday
(13th) at "Old Bell"
at 12.15. Love to
Peggie and yourself
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091379GreacenStanford040Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Jun 4thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford40LetterRadio 4, Rudyard KiplingEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford040LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford040.jpgHad another book this a.m. from Valerie, Geoffrey Trease on D.H.L.
Obvipusly intended for young people.
I wonder if you listened to Marghantia L’s last programme on Kipling’s poetry – Radio 4 yesterday. This series was splendid, not only for the quality of the work but the quality and variety of the reading. Not a single poem was badly read and her commentary was discerning. But Kipling – what a writer!!
Yes, we’ll meet post-E and pre-M.
Love to you both –
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091415GreacenStanford041Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Jun 15thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford41LetterArethusa, BursaryEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford041LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford041.jpg36 H P M
15. 6. 73
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for yrs - it was waiting for me when I returned
last night.
I very much appreciate what R.N. said in his letter to you
about my application for the Aberdeen job. But I'll get round to
R.N. later in this letter.
The interview went splendidly as did everything in connect-
ion with the trip. The xxxxxxxx chairman,Clifford Hanley x,
couldn't have been more at-ease-putting. He directed proceedings
wholly. It lasted for just under half an hour. The official who
. had written to me and ushered me to and fro was called Trevor
Royle, a very charming man of about 30 whom I was to met later in
the xxxxxx evening - you will see how in a moment or two.
Now Arethusa. She was waiting for me at Waverley - the train
was rather late due to engine failure but I still had time to get
to the Hotel (where I stayed 1 night) before the interview. She
has revealed much more common sense than I supposed she had - she
would have rung the Arts Council to say I'd be late if that had
been necessary... I had wondered if she would think of that. Any-
way, she has improved enormously ever since she went to Kingston
where she gets on well with everyone. I think the improvement is
more psychological than due to diet,though the latter may also be
a factor. The work is very hard but she is sticking it. In short,
we now get on excellently after quite a long period of consider-
able difficulty.
Now R.N.-Arethusa and I met xx my old pal Donald Grant for
drinks. Donald had to go off: xxxxxx he's just his old self but
far more fit thanks to his work as a gardener. Then A and I had a
meal after which I rang R.N.,not knowing if he was in town/busy or
what-not as I hadn't heard from him. He said immediately:" I
hope you aren't hurrying away." The upshot was an invitation to
his party that evening to celebrate the Bursary award. Arethusa
came ,too - she had seen the Nyes at the performance of his
"The Seven Deadly Sins" in Stirling. The party was delightful. What
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091416GreacenStanford042Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Jun 15thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford42LetterPre-Raphaelite, AberdeenEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford042LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford042.jpga gathering of artists/musicians/intellectuals,none of whom I
had previously met - but for Trevor Royle. Now up to that point I
had no idea how many candidates for Aberdeen had been interviewed.
Without letting any pussy cats out of the bag Royle told me there
had been nine,some of whom had come from London. Hanley said at
the interview there had been an American applicant but they didn’t
think they cd afford to pay his expenses from xxxx Michigan,if he
were asked for interview! Royle said the standard had been very
high,adding diplomatically that he wished they had nine jobs going!
Royle and I had a very long chat ,and he put me in the picture about
the Arts Council up there re literature.
Well,it was wonderful that R.N. had got another Bursary...and
that the celebration shd have been on June 13th ...
I note what you tell me about the quote from my TEACHER review
which is appearing on the paperback edn of yr WRITING IN THE 30.' s.
Also that you have corrected the proofs of PRE-RAPHAELITE WRITING
for Univ Everyman. B and B wrote to me recently asking if I wd.give
permission for a long quote from my review of Drabble's THE NEEDLE'S
EYE xxxxx which something called Contemporary Criticism wanted to
reprint in an annual vol. No payment, but I said yes. B and B
said it was worthwhile having the credits.
Did I tell you I had a very warm letter from Maurice Lindsay
re Aberdeen,saying to by all means use his name if it would help
etc. (I shd have said earlier that Royle said they didn’t much go on
commendation no matter who it came from,so they probably haven't
written to you or R.N.)
Sorry that so much space has been taken up with my news about
Scotland... Just in: the latest B and B. in which 3 wise (?) men
are well-pepresented,these being D.S.,R.N. and R.G.,and in which
D.S. justly praises R.N., and in which R.N. and R.G. both review
David Garnett.
Finally - YES,next Wednes 12.50 at Gaiety wd be fine.
Love to you both - Robert
Called at "Scotsman" offices + had a chat with Willis Pickard, friendly as ever.n
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091417GreacenStanford043Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Jun 16thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford43LetterThe Scotsman, FictionEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford043LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford043.jpg36 H P M
Sat., 16th June, 73
replied : 18 June
My dear Derek,
You may have seen the SCOTSMAN today. If so, you will have seen that the job has gone to Archie Hind, the Glasgow novelist. Good luck to the boy! He certainly has a good record of published work. In case you haven’t seen the report ,I quote: “The selection panel who assessed the 18 candidates for the Aberdeen post were most impressed with their enthusiasm and commitment to the new concept,and already the Council have plans to introduce similar jobs to other areas in Scotland.”
Read yr fiction review with interest, though I haven’t read any of the books you deal with. I like the way you are quoted as saying: “Angus Wilson wrote brilliant shorter faction”,especially since later you have a sentence that begins: “Give all the facts about a man or woman”. The Scots, and even the Ulster Scots, are great faction fellows, hence our pedantry…
I enclose a wee cutting from the same
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091418GreacenStanford044Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Jun 16thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford44LetterAccentEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford044LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford044.jpgissue that speaks of “Stanford’s admirable surveys” but the pedant in me cries out for the right French accent in the right place..
See you next Wednes as arranged
Love to you both (factionally an otherwise)
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091419GreacenStanford045Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Jul 4thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford45LetterCaptain FoxEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford045LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford045.jpg
Mr + Mrs Derek Stanford
5 Cricketfield Court,
Cricketfield Rd.,
SEAFORD,
SUSSEX,
INGILTERRA
4th July '73
Some like it Hot!
Enjoying myself despite setbacks at the beginning.
Great hospitality from ex-pupils so. asCaptain Fox says,
ARRIBA ESPANA!
Love to you both - Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091420GreacenStanford046Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Jul 11thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford46LetterMadrid, HeathrowEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford046LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford046.jpg36 Holland Park Mews,
W.11.
11th July ‘73
replied : 12 July
My dear Derek,
I had intended to ring you last night to suggest meeting today, if you were coming up, but since my return I’ve been a bit sick – diarrhoea mainly. I met Patricia for lunch yesterday – I had a milk shake. See what I mean ? Not yet right, but some of the sick feeling has gone.
The trip to Madrid got off to a bad start because the aircraft had to be repaired after an accident at Heath Row. So we arrived 23 hrs late, having spent a night at a hotel near Heath Row. More trouble at the hotel because of not arriving at expected time, but it was all sorted out in the end. After that,everything was wonderful,far,far better than expectations. I always thought the Irish were hospitable (esp the Cath Southern Irish) but the Spanish seem to be more so. Even strangers are extremely helpful and an Englishman at the Hotel gave me one or two instances of this. I was driven
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091421GreacenStanford047Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Jul 11thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford47LetterToledoEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford047LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford047.jpground and entertained by three separate lots of people. They walked me off my feet out of a wish that I could see everything. HIghlights: Prado in Madrid,and everything (El Greco’s house, Cathedral ,Alcazar) in Toledo. Toledo is a living museum in which even the narrowest street is a showpiece. The boys who took me there were Univ students, delightful lads,but I hope never again to walk up and down those hilly streets ,with lots of steps, in blazing sunlight, looking for the place the car had been parked.
Well,that’s just a short account and I’ll dot some i’s when we meet.
Let me know when you will be in town and free for lunch.
Love to you both –
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091422GreacenStanford048Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Jul 14thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford48LetterGaietyEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford048LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford048.jpg36 Holland Park Mews, W.11.
14 July ’73
My dear Derek,
Many thanks yrs Thurs.
Have more or less recovered in the last few days. Yes, I used Enterovioform which in fact I took , as recommended, in Spain. As I told you,all was well there,and the damned thing developed on my return. But perhaps it would have been still worse had I not been taking the tablets.
Thurs next, 12.50 “Gaiety”, suits me fine.
I feel very honoured by the dedication to me of PRE-RAPHAELITE WRITING. The inscription is good. I’ll buy a few copies for distribution – one for Roy, for instance, This pleases me more than wd a dedication in some of the 90’s anthols you have done. Many thanks or,as I learnt in another place, muchas gracias. Delighted,too,that DenT’s are so pleased and are expressing their pleasure not only in words but in cheque book language.
One or two literary items to tell you about when we meet…Do you know the work of John Stewart Collins, an Anglo-Irishman ?
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091423GreacenStanford049Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Jul 14thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford49LetterCheltenham, America, MadridEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford049LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford049.jpgI’ve reviewed a couple of his recent books and we have corresponded quite a bit. Keen to interview him and have put up the suggestion to Franks for B and B – but he’s been away ill with food poisoning contracted at Cheltenham. Collis comes from a very distinguished Dublin family,wrote literary studies in his early life and then later switched to a strange amalgam of ecology and philosophy written in an imaginative way. He must be well over 70.
How right you are about Capt. Fox. He has his contacts in Spain of course, but he was in S. America when I was in Madrid. Did you know that Franco once granted him an interview ? The most I saw of the General was the outside of his residence at El Pardo on the outskirts of the city.
Till Thurs, then…
Love to you both –
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091424GreacenStanford005Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate19 JanLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford5LetterSeriousEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford005LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford005.jpgsat.
No. 62
My dear Derek,
Enjoyed your review
very much. A good summing up
of Simmons who is not x
deeply serious (in the best sense)
but a clever,sometimes witty
trifler. Pa? seems xxxxxx
to be more the real thing
Love to you both
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091380GreacenStanford050Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Jul 25thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford50LetterPeter Porter, Captain FoxEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford050LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford050.jpg36 H P M 25 July 73
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for your letter.
So glad that Miss Ramage turned out O.K., as I thought she would. I met her when Clifford Dyment’s sister was disposing of some of C’s books and thought she made some quite reasonable offers. She kindly put up a notice about my writing Group.
Peter Porter seems to have offered us consolation prizes. Better than nowt.
You are v. generous in your criticism of the latest Capt. Fox and I appreciate yr detailed comments. Editors at large don’t seem to go overboard for Fox. Some have complimented me but have declined to publish. Still, one keeps on. “The blood is strong, the heart is Highland…” (My mother’s clan, the Macraes – “the wild Macraes” – were centered on Ross-shire.)
Love to you both –
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091425GreacenStanford051Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Aug 11thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford51LetterTimes Literary Supplement, BanbridgeEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford051LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford051.jpg36 H P M
11th August, ‘73
My dear Derek,
Thanks for your nice piece of tapestry and yr kind words on the poem. Yes, B and B have spread me around their pages, and you didn’t do so badly y’self. They had a hell of a lot of pieces to use up. British Books News and T.L.S. have sent more novels – inc a most interesting one that denounces the I.R.A.: Shaun Herron’s THE WHORE-MOTHER. Just as well I am reviewing it anonymously, as the I.R.A. would not thank me for what I have to say. God knows what they might do to Herron.
Roy has kept me informed of a horrible and surprising event. Freddy Vine has been charged with the manslaughter of his wide (she died last December – just before Christmas). There have been 2 hearings of the case, in Banbridge (a small town south of B’fast), and the case has been adjourned for a fortnight. Freddy has been remanded on his continuing bail of ?1,000 and his passport confiscated. I wrote to him to say that I hoped he would be acquitted and to
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101426GreacenStanford052Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Aug 11thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford52LetterProtestantEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford052LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford052.jpgAssure him of my best wishes for his welfare. He replied, quite promptly, thanking me and saying that his wife committed suicide and that he had no hand in her death. I know she was a seriously disturbed person for many years, dating to a time before she met Freddy, and has made unsuccessful attempts on her life. I expect this will surprise you as much as it surprised me. I have a letter from F dated July 10 in which he talks of coming to London at the end of July, and says he would like me to find him a hotel room. I have some other information that he sent me a little before that but would prefer to keep it quiet until later – I haven’t told Roy about this matter either. Will tell you when we meet, and by then the Court may have reached a verdict. Freddy somehow seems to lack the canniness of the Protestant Ulsterman and gets into trouble as easily as a ducks gets its feathers wet.
Love to you both –
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101427GreacenStanford053Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Aug 13thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford53LetterBlack ForestEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford053LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford053.jpgMr.+Mrs. Derek Stanford
C/O Queen's Hotel,
xxxxxxxx Selborne,
Nr. ALTON,
HANTS.
ENGLAND
13th August,'74
Everything going along splendid in this delightful little town.
Yesterday we went to the highest point in the Black Forest and
then climbed to the Bismarck Monument.
Love to you both - Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101428GreacenStanford054Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Aug 16thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford54LetterCollected Poems, SpainEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford054LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford054.jpg36 H P M
16th August, ‘73
replied 24 Aug
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for your letter and news. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of Ivor Gurney – he must have published earlier volumes if now he has a vol of COLLECTED POEMS. These geniuses (?) one manages to ‘miss out’ on, as our American friends say. I have been able to review Shaun Herron’s book both for TLS and BBN. As you say, he is a brave man to have said what he has. I know nothing about him, apart from having seen good reviews of his previous novel, also about Belfast. He’s pretty obviously a Catholic Irishman.
Surprise that there isn’t a standard critical biog of W.H.Hudson. Perhaps there is, but another book may revive interest. Yr friend doesn’t sound awfully professional, judging from what you say. Anyway, good luck to him. If it is published, I’ll try to get it somewhere, though natural science is not my – shall I say – field or even hedgerow. (I give myself high marks, however, for spotting a host/multitude of sunflowers when I was in Spain. YOU and Peggie get
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101429GreacenStanford055Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Aug 16thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford55LetterMaliceEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford055LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford055.jpg100% in the Culture Vulture exam, incidentally.
I think Gillian Dickinson really wants to unload novels on old hands like ourselves , as there are plenty of comers for non-fiction.
Freddy’s case will be coming up in another week or so. I’d very much like to know how it all started. Freddy is not the most discreet of men; and there is another matter that may have given rise to malice, but it’s too involved to go into. Anyway, I hope he clears himself and then clears out.
Let me know when you will be in town and free for lunch.
Love to you both – Robert
Having lunch with Valerie tomorrow.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101430GreacenStanford056Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Aug 29thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford56LetterPre-RaphaeliteEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford056LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford056.jpg36 H.P.M.
29th August '73.
replied: 21 Aug
My dear Derek,
Yesterday most interesting.....
Rang Cis Amaral of "B+B" who said certainly,
I could review your "Pre-Raphelite Writing"
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101431GreacenStanford057Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Aug 29thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford57LetterTeetotalEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford057LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford057.jpg
but that no copy had arrived.
She said she would ask Dent's
to send a copy direct to me. So....
Still teetotal. Have taken up "Coca- Cola".
Vice and self indulgence will out.
Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101432GreacenStanford058Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Sep 3rdLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford58Letter34 YearsEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford058LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford058.jpg36 H.P.M. 3rd Sept, '73
(Or 34 years on!)
Douglas says 'yes' but he hasn't had a copy.
What are dent's playing at, I wonder....
Didn't say it was redirected to me.
He said, incidentally, hehadn't "forgotten"
about me...
Love to you both - Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101433GreacenStanford059Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Sep 4thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford59LetterQuebec, Bombs, BelfastEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford059LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford059.jpgGlad to hear about yr Quartier Latin idea. Sounds attractive.
36 H P M
4th Sept, ‘73
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for card (postmarked 1 Sept and delivered 4 Sept – despite 3p stamp).
So it’s early Oct…Well, that explains why review copies hadn’t been sent out when I enquired at B and B Trib.
Quebec St. Perhaps it was the Quebecois Freedom Fighters not the Provos. You notice that the East End underworld is learning about bombs. Listening to programme about ’41 – sirens and bombs crashing. I think the media blew up the recent bombs into something too big when one thinks of what happened during the Blitz. (The 2 big blitzes on Belfast accounted for about 600 dead, fewer than have been killed in the past 4 years.)
Hope the good weather lasts for your holiday. Love to you both –
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101434GreacenStanford006Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1971 Jul 21stLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford6LetterHiberniaEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford006LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford006.jpgNo. 62
July 21st '71
On your advice, I sent “ONE MUST GO” to “T.L.S.” Rejected.
Next tried “Hibernia” and have had an acceptance by return of post.
So – thanks for the encouragement. The Irish Repub. has just issued an
attractive J.M.Synge stamp to mark his centenary.
Can't hope for that until xx 2020!! We also serve.
Love to you both – Robert.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091381GreacenStanford060Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Sep 19thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford60LetterPoemEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford060LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford060.jpg36 H.P.M. 19/Sept/73
Many thanks for card from Brockenhurst.
I hope you find the Braybrookes well.
Yes, I saw that extraordinary poem by Robt N.
What a strange imagination he has anh how wide-ranging!
There's little he writes that one can't admire.
Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101435GreacenStanford061Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Sep 25thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford61LetterChristchurchEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford061LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford061.jpg36 H.P.M
25th Sept. '73
My dear Derek,
Thanks for p.c. from Christchurch.
Hope you enjoyed the trip.
Had a cheque from T.L.S.
Rate of payment is £15.00 per 1000
Freddy writes to say that the outlook
is brighter and that he has engaged a
first-class barrister. What a business!
Love to you both - Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101436GreacenStanford062Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Oct 4thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford62LetterW.H. AudenEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford062LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford062.jpg36 Holland. Park Mews,W.ll.
4 Oct 73
we met on 5 Oct
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for your comments on
the poem. I have considered them care-
fully and, as a result,omitted 1.2,which
cuts out some of the Norse business and
the half-pun Odin','Auden'. I'll try it
on Douglas though he,like most editors,
says he likes some of my poems but won't
print them. Probably if one gets out of
the swim it's harder to get in again than
if one appears as Bill Snooks from
Newcastle-above-Slime or somewhere. I might
try a pseudonym and have poems posted from
the provinces - or Camden Town.
Yes,I very much feel Auden's loss. He
was the greatest . A nice xx guy,too.
What news from Dent's ? Hope to see
you soon - and possibly on United Nations
Day (Oct 24) which I always celebrate!
Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101437GreacenStanford063Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Oct 17thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford63LetterTribune, County CorkEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford063LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford063.jpg3 6 H P M
17 Oct 73
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for the letter
As for the TRIB it is only what you deserve. I think you
have done a splendid job with "P-R W" , and am really delighted xx
that you should have done me the honour you have. Capt. Fox has
examined the book and pronounced it O.K. and if he thinks so,well.
Now I'm working on a long piece for B and B - it will run
to 1,300 or l,400 words - early on I make it clear the book is
dedicated to me. Frank said nothing about length! By the way,I'm
incorporating that tip you gave me in yr letter.
As you say,we have certainly had a long friendship during
which each of us has helped the other - and long may it last.
Before the old man shouts x"Come on,Bob,you’re next!" I’d like to
write a long essay on your work. America might he more welcoming
for such an effort than here. Let me have reactions some time.
My “wee child" will be heading again for Edinburgh on Friday after
a few weeks with her mum in Co.Cork. She writes that P has taken
up "Transcendental Meditation" and so has she. Meditaters of the
world unite,you have nothing to lose but your tensions.She says:
"The first few days I felt a bit hostile and resentful towards
Mummy but that has worn off. I find it relaxing and feel I’d like
to he more creative." If she only tried,what a splendid satirical
novel Arethusa could write about her parents!... Anyway,we shall
see what xxx we shall see. I once asked her:"Have you ever felt
you'd like to write?" and she answered "No!"
Yes,12.30 on U.N.Day (24th) at Gaiety wd be fine. See you.
Love to both - Robert
P.S.
Do you remember my telling you about Belfast friends who left for
Canada last Christmas, arrived back disillusioned in Sept. and
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101438GreacenStanford064Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Oct 17thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford64LetterSomerset, Northern Ireland Arts CouncilEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford064LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford064.jpghave now taken refuge in Somerset (where that shit Waugh lives)
near taunton ? They are friends of my schoolfriend in belfast, xxx
how I met them some 7 or 8 years ago. They LOVE Somerset and
everything is working out for them - jobs etc. Haldane has a law
degree,is 60 and has had experience in Hospital admin work and xxxx
before that in the forerunner of the N.I. Arts Council. They are
both keen on the arts, and very lively. They have kindly asked me
to spend Christmas with them and I‘ve accepted,as I don’t think
I'd care to risk Belfast. My other friends there,the Baxters,are
invited,too,but haven't yet deciced.
R
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101439GreacenStanford065Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Oct 25thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford65LetterH. Montgomerry HydeEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford065LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford065.jpg36 Holland Park Mews, London, W.11.
25th October 1973
replied, 27 Oct
My dear Derek,
Lunch yesterday was a great joy – and all the more so for the present – and of course the lucky green frog that is not jumping all over the carpet… and gradually turning ORANGE.
I have written to John Rotheroe and suggested Carson. It would certainly sell in N.I. Here is a draft of the opening bit which I’ve just finished this minute. Don’t think there is any lack of material on Carson – H.Montgomery Hyde did a biography some years ago. And there’s a lot of material about Carson the lawyer – Oscar Wilde (whom he knew at T.C.D.) prosecution etc. Thanks for putting me on to Shire. Comments appreciated.
I rang Valerie today. She told me she hasn’t had a copy of yr P.R.W. Perhaps it has gone direct to her reviewer – I think you know who is doing it there, don’t you ?
The house is full of Tibetans here for the Dalai Lama’s visit. May the Presbyterian God protect me !
Love to you both –
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101440GreacenStanford066Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Oct 29thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford66LetterEdward Carson, Oscar WildeEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford066LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford066.jpgNo. 36
29th October, ‘73
My dear Derek,
I re-read yr letter and then saw the P.S. Certainly, I’d be v. pleased to help with B.M. research. Let me know the details.
I got a big parcel of assorted books from Frank a few days ago – the first for a couple of months. Expect he wanted to work off those reviews he had.
Yes, if Shire prefer an impersonal approach I can as easily do it that way. Anyway, that was about the only personal reference I intended. I can hardly give a first-hand impression of Carson’s cross-examination of Oscar Wilde!
Interesting that you had tea with Kay D the other day. She helped me a lot “when I was four-and-twenty” – my first book is dedicated to het. Glad to hear John S is well and prosperous.
Love to you both –
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101441GreacenStanford067Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Oct 29thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford67LetterCaptain FoxEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford067LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford067.jpgDerek Stanford Esq.,
5Cricketfield Court'
Cricketfield Rd.,
SEAFORD,
Sussex
No. 36
29th OCT.'73
Many thanks for your letter
+ comments on Carson
intro. Noted. Gave
your P.R.W. to
Paulette at w/e.
Pleased! Capt. Fox.
joins me in extending
love to you + P.
- Robt.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101442GreacenStanford068Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Nov 2ndLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford68LetterHibernia, Goethe, Captain FoxEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford068LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford068.jpg36 H P M
2/11/1973 replied : 5 Nov
My dear Derek,
The enclose from John Rotheroe will explain itself. Please return.
Here’s a photocopy of “The Captain in Spain”, slightly revised. HIBERNIA have consistently published me for two or three years – and they seem to like the Fox sequence, God bless ‘em. I sent the one about Goethe to Robt N. who saw it a few months ago and told me to return it if it didn’t find a home elsewhere.
HIBERNIA had a special offer for 12 issues, so I’ve subscribed for you. You won’t like their politics, but have a look at the book reviews. Let me know of the arrival of yr 1st copy. This is, shall we say, a pre-Christmas – a Hallowe’en – present. Members of the Capt. Fox Society must be looked after.
Keep the aspidistra flying while you’re coming up for air on animal farm in 1984!! Whatever has that come into my head for ?
Love to you both
- Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101443GreacenStanford069Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Nov 7thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford69LetterBooks and BookmenEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford069LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford069.jpg36 H P M
7.11.73
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for letter of 5th.
Good to hear that your picture will appear on B and B cover. Probably for the issue dated January. Quite a nice boost.
Let me know about B.M. research.
Having lunch with Valerie on Friday, her trip to Israel having been cancelled,
Love to you both – Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101444GreacenStanford007Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1972 Mar 13thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford7LetterCompulsive, HolbrookEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford007LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford007.jpgNo. 62
13 March 1972
My dear Derek,
Yes,indeed,David H is hardly what one xxxxx
might call lucid. He’s a compulsve writer; and
compulsive writing often makes hard reading.
I tried to read the pamphlet but gave up. Lord,
I am not (intellectually) worthy.
Well,to take the Holbrookian xxxxxxxxxx
taste out of your (literary) mouth I enclose a
small selection from one Simmons. I don’t greatly
admire him,but I’ve read worse; and at least I
know what he’s getting at.
I wonder if that note about W.H.A. will
stimulate controversy.
What did yr bookseller think of the
Gascoyne offering ?
Love to you both-
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091382GreacenStanford070Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Nov 14thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford70LetterHamish HamiltonEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford070LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford070.jpg36 H.P.M. 14 Nov. '73 replied 17 Nov. 73
Yes, as I thought, Kathleen Raine's FAREWELL HAPPY FIELDS
is published by Hamish Hamilton (15th Nov.)
Roy will like yr note..... Capt. Fox. was invited to the
wedding today but couldn't make it, unfortunately.
Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101445GreacenStanford071Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Nov 16thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford71LetterHibernia, Tribune, Times Literary SupplementEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford071LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford071.jpg36 H P M
16. 11.73
My dear Derek,
I’ve been reading the new HIBERNIA and, as frequently, think that John Broderick’s fiction review is the best piece in the paper. I’d be interested to hear your opinion. Haven’t seen anything by Broderick on any subject other than novels, but am very taken both by his judgments and wit. Most of the others seem worthy but dull. Don’t know who Broderick is or his background, but think I once saw that he lectures on Eng Lit at T.C.D. or U.C.D. Anyways, I’d like to know how you react.
Sent you a photocopy of the TRIB notice and was glad to see the book advertised in today’s TLS. Ran into our sex kitten (?) yesterday at Gaston’s and had a drink with her. She recited a couple of poems that were quite funny – frightfully clever, and I told her about an erotic dream. Then she confessed that yr book had gone to the wrong person, which of course you already know.
I saw in the current TRIB why I
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101446GreacenStanford072Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Nov 16thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford72LetterBevanite, SocialistEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford072LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford072.jpgI haven’t been getting books to any extent in the last few months. They’ve got back to their old contributor in Belfast. He had a row with them Eliz T’s time which is why she switched to me for Irish polit books. He’s an old-time Bevanite type and is now back in the fold, bleating away in the approved manner. Exit R.G. whose baa-ing was somewhat lacking in Socialist fervor. It will of course mean a severe financial loss, won’t it ?
Love to you both –
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101447GreacenStanford073Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Nov 26thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford73LetterFrancis Stuart, Fuel CrisisEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford073LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford073.jpg36 H PM
26 Nov 73
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for your letter.
Yr impressions of Broderick are very
interesting. I don't think he has a
Philistine aspect - e.g. his xxxxxx praise
for Francis Stuart's latest novel.
Didn't know about Cis Amaral/replacing
Frank G B. I've had sane long conversat-
ions with her on the phone,and also met
her a couple of times. She seems very
capable and more on the ball xxxxx than F.
Is the fuel crisis hitting you ?
Heating etc. ? No xxxx difference here -
so far .... Looks like an economic Dunkirk
Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101448GreacenStanford074Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Dec 7thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford74LetterEmigrate, AustraliaEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford074LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford074.jpg36 Holland Park Mews, W.11.
7th December, ‘73
My dear Derek,
Thanks letter.
Thanks, too, for the kind remarks about “Wee Jimmy” which I think is now much better than the original version. There are of course the Irish papers, but nobody here sees them. I think nobody here will take on a ‘has been’. It would probably be better never to have written a line back in the 40’s. Peter Porter turns down everything I send with great respect, but a no is still a no. Most discouraging, one soldiers on.
Have you applied to emigrate to Australia/NZ/SA ? Yes, indeed, if I had anywhere to go to, I’d go! Shall not bore you with my views on the economic situation, but they are probably similar to yours. A bad time for optimists.
Love to you both
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101449GreacenStanford075Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Dec 22ndLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford75LetterBlackstaff Press, Denis Ireland, From the Jungle of BelfastEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford075LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford075.jpg36 H P M
Thursday
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for yrs. I take it that yr
suggestion is for lunch today week. Don't
think I'll be xxxx back. Am going to
Somerset on Saturday and they have asked me
to stay a week,so won't be back unless
something crops up. One also doesn't know
about trains. I suppose these days one can
only rely on the phone for making arrange-
ments.
Have just had a Blackstaff bookx,sent
by my old friend in Belfast, Denis Ireland,
xx now nearly 80 and writing better than
ever. It's called,topically but a little
misleadingly,FROM THE JUNGLE OF BELFAST,as
he deals with xxxxxxxxxxxx War Service
in Greece during the First World War and
gives his impressions of the U.S. A most
vivid series of descriptive pieces. He's
good on life in a bourgeois family pre-14.
I'm doing a review for B and B.
Love to you both -
Robert
x he touted the lds.round publishers for years.
I thought he'd never make it.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101450GreacenStanford076Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Dec 27thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford76LetterCaptain FoxEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford076LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford076.jpgMr. + Mrs.
Derek Stanford,
5 Cricketfield Court,
Cricketfield Rd,
SEAFORD,
Sussex
27th December 1973
Yesterday we - all 5 of us- x went
to Wells + Glastonbury.
Delightful, though the sky was rather grey.
Love to you both -
Robert
x including Capt. Fox
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101451GreacenStanford077Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Dec 30thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford77LetterEalingEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford077LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford077.jpg36 H.P.M.
30-12-73
My dear Derek,
Got back yesterday - no trouble getting back but
a hell of a journey going (go-slow + the accident at West Ealing).
Here's the latest "H.U." - as eccentric as ever. Love to you both
+ good wishes for '74.
Robert
P.T.O
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101452GreacenStanford078Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1973 Dec 30thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford78LetterThe Joy of SexEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford078LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford078.jpgAccording to today's SUNDAY TIMES,
Alex Comfort's "The Joy of Sex" has
been on the U.S. bestseller list
for 54 weeks.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101453GreacenStanford079Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jan 4thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford79LetterHonest Ulsterman, Malcolm Lowry, Gallery PressEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford079LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford079.jpg36 Holland Park Mews, W.11.
4th Jan ‘74
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for yrs of 3rd.
Quite agree with yr assessment of Ewart. He really excels in sexy satirical-fantasy. A nice lad, too. And a kind of Hon. Ulsterman (Honest of otherwise) .
My friend in S.F. has sent me a big biography of Malcolm Lowry. What a boy! He out-Dylans D.T. in some ways: drink, violence, scrapes with the police. But it was all dispersed over several countries. Lowry seemed to be proving that anything a Celt could do an Englishman also could.
Glad you found the new Fox intriguing. The Captain is a dark horse indeed. Now since I last wrote I had a letter from one Peter Fallon who runs the Gallery Press in Dublin. I’d read about their books of poetry in the IRISH TIMES. I sent him 12 Fox poems plus about 20 others (almost all written in the last 2 or 3 yrs). Back they all came with expression of deep regret, partly because of commitments and
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101454GreacenStanford008Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1972 Aug 7thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford8LetterRefugeEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford008LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford008.jpgTel. 727 9326
36 Holland Park Mews
London
W. 11
7 Aug 1972
In the fight of R.G. v the Property
Expoliters (that will do,but I meant
Exploiters) the latter have won hands down.
R.G. 's new refuge - at over 50% increase
in rent - as above. Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091383GreacenStanford080Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jan 4thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford80LetterCaptain Fox, Vitality, GaietyEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford080LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford080.jpgpartly because of the actual poems. He obviously didn’t care for the non-Fox poems about which he says not a word. He writes: “I do very much like the Captain Fox sequence. There’s a lightness and vitality about it that is most enjoyable. However twelve poems would, I think, hardly be enough to even think of as enough for a book. Do toy see the sequence as complete ? Or might there be additions to it ?” He suggests that if I don’t get another publisher I should “speak at a later date about the Captain’s poems”. He tells me that when he comes to London he stays with Brian Paten in Holland Park Gdns and hopes to meet me. The letter is pretty fulsome, with handwritten p.s. etc. though no mention whatever of the other poems. Well, I’ve replied to say that the sequence is on-going and that I wrote another poem recently. I’m craftily taking 2 other poems and turning them into Fox pieces. Which means I really have 15 now. What I like is that, whether Fallon ever publishes me or not, he’s another voice cheering the Capitain along. Yes, do let me have the name of the little mag that might want one or two.
Just getting out of the dark tunnel I’ve been through, thanks to one of my king-size colds – contracted in the West Country and developed to nth degree in London. What a miserable New Year, reading about Lowry’s misfortunes, listening to the radio version of the country’s woes and pouring out mucus by the bucket…. Will most probably be able to make it next Wed (9th) at Gaiety as suggested.
Love to you both –
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101455GreacenStanford081Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jan 17thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford81LetterPeggie, Nigeria, UlsterEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford081LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford081.jpg36 H P M
17 1 74
My dear uerek,
Thanks for yrs and congratulations to you and Peggie xxx on the
venture that began 11 years ago - may it last very,very long!
And congrats, too, to you,/u>, for getting such a fine notice in TES. I've
seen the name of John Russell Taylor here and there as a reviewer
but don't know his books, A stout fellow. Why don't you send him a
note ? (NOT a Treasury one - you know what I mean...)
me
Too late for me to wish Jack godspeed in Nigeria...
Fox Productions roll on,and still another has come off the xxxxxx
assembly line called "Midwinter, W.11"(no 3 day week in that>/u> factory).
I accept your suggested deletion in "Knowing and Not Knowing". My old friend in
Belfast,Denis Ireland,always says the Ulster writer has to guard
against a characteristic fault - not knowing that the job is
finished and putting in a bit more to make sure. He's right.
I'll think about "shitty" in the Haiku.
Roy writes - a characteristic letter. "McF's Worst Xmas" - "I
writes most weekends. Pomes maturing with the plentiful dung."
"I am chary about 2 many words. I am parsimonious because I am
generous. My words spill and I gather them up like turds and weewee
and put them away and hoard another day." "Have they hanged Fred
behind our backs ? because I haven't heard hint or xxxxxx hilt
of him since he was arraigned." (hint or hilt - i.e. news). Very
entertaining. But I think Roy has been having a pretty bad time one
way and another.
Nice letter today from Peter Fallon,along with 3 Gallery Press
booklets (one by Pearse Hutchinson). Well produced - 2 of the 3 with
the assistance of the Arts Council of Ireland (i;e. the Dublin-
based one) which means that Fallon has some pull with the Establish-
ment. Says he will look me up when in London.
And here I must end - Fox,TLS,students etc. are calling.
Love to you both - Robert
P.S. No payment from B+B for Nov.
or Dec. contributions, despite letters and phone calls!
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101456GreacenStanford082Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jan 25thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford82LetterEdwardian, Artillery MansionsEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford082LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford082.jpg36 H.P.M.
received 25
26th January,'74
replied 25 Jan
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for yr letter - hope yr cold has passed as quickly
as hoped for.
I had lunch yesterday with Cis Amaral,a very pleasant woman -
this was a kind of thank-you for getting me a cheque,though I'm still
not paid up to date. She wd like to meet you and so would her assist-
ant,an agreeable young man - Gareth xxxxxxxx Marshallsea (2 L's in
his name,one I've never seen before - xxxxxxxxx as indeed Amaral).
I took it on myself to invite both of them to lunch in our joint
names. Wednesday sometime,I suggested. What do you think ? They both
strike me as reliable people:the young fellow asked me if I wd like
copies,for instance,and immediately got what I asked for and suggested
I shd leave my other stuff with them and collect it all later. It was
all waiting for me when I went back to the office. None of the
Gerard Werson cleverness but good old-fashioned common sense. We went
to a pub across the road which is pleasantly Edwardian though not
good value. There's an Italian restaurant just beside the entrance
to Artillery Mansions and I suggest we try it as a foursome.
Read with pleasure yr notice of Eobt Armstrong's book (I
reviewed it for Valerie). Have paused to reread it it: means yr review not
Armstrong's bloody book!
Heaven knows,talent is rare, as poet or critic,but a man can at least
get the bloody titles and dates right! Suggest that Armstrong shd write a
new book called "Freedom from Talent and How It May Be Achieved ".
(As for the Roy Campbell episode,his account is a load of--------)
Now for Foxing. I very much appreciate yr comments and detailed
textual emendations. I've acted on most of these. Thank Peggie for
her suggestion of an active verb. The verb has been activated.
Fox is a great man for activity. I enclose new versions. There are 21
pieces now,though I have cheated: one is a Haiku and xxxxxxx
piece consists of random notes. Now I must look at them as a series
and do a wee bit of polishing,perhaps. Then look for what John Atkins
used to call a 'rubbisher'.
That's all the noo.
Love to you both - Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101457GreacenStanford083Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jan 25thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford83LetterCaxton HallEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford083LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford083.jpgreplied 29 Jan
36 H P M 28.1.74
Any chance of seeing you on Thurs at WAG meeting ,Caxton Hall ? Shd be interesting. Can’t get to the lobbying earlier because of class which doesn’t end until 6.45. Keep the home fires (slightly) burning…
Love to you and P
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101458GreacenStanford084Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jan 26thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford84LetterHegelEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford084LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford084.jpgDerek Stanford Esq,
5 Cricketfield Court'Cricketfield Road'
SEAFORD,
Sussex
36 H.P.M, 26-1-74
Many thanks for your letter. Yes, Tuesday - any
Tuesday would suit me. So let me know - I'll ring
C.A. ...
You're right - I've started the piece on Hegel
(you note the link between it + the very first
"Captain Fox"). Good to hear about "Pre-R.W"
review. Some reviewers xx feel obliged
to have a sting-in-the-tail. I'm prejudised perhaps,
but "Pre-R.W." is your best + xxxxxx
scholarly text. Love to you both
-Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101459GreacenStanford085Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jan 29thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford85LetterCommuter, Yorkshire, Glasgow, CommunistEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford085LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford085.jpg36 H P M
29.1.74
My dear Derek,
Thanks for the letter.
Sorry to hear you have had such travel difficulties, though I’m not surprised. The London commuter belt has taken more punishment in recent years than any other area in the country. It’s partly the commuters own fault as, unlike you, they behave like sheep and will take any amount of inconvenience without protest. I don’t think they’d take it quite so quietly up in Yorkshire – or Glasgow. But this willingness to make a virtue out of ‘taking it’ (i.e. not getting what you are reasonably entitled to get) is widespread and makes the job of the Left extremists much easier. Make no mistake – what is going on has been carefully, even skillfully organised. They are out to destroy society as we have known it, and they may possibly succeed. If I even hint at this to anyone, they think I’m a fanatic, unbalanced etc. Remember how the DAILY EXPRESS had a headline a day or two before Sept.3 ’39: THERE WILL BE NO WAR. Optimistic, yes; total unreality, no !
At the branch where I work there is a Communist who persistently stirs up trouble against the Head of Dept. – urges support for NUT strikes – marching in the streets etc. That’s small-scale stuff but those like him are working
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101460GreacenStanford086Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Jan 29thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford86LetterRudyard Kipling, Ian Paisley, Independent ScotlandEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford086LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford086.jpgjust as hard and with more success in the Unions. WE know it but what % of the population has any idea of what’s going on ?
Broke off to listen to a reading of KIPLING’s HIS WEDDED WIFE. Brilliant. I’d like to see R.K.’s poem on The Crisis!
Can well understand your reluctance to travel to the GT Wen. Yes, Tues 19 Feb O.K. for lunch. Do you want me to invite the B and B couple of not ? If so, suggest we meet at their office. During The Crisis of course one realizes that arrangements can only be provisional.
I see that old Paisley is turning into an Ulster Nationalist. He says that since BR doesn’t want the Ulster Protestants any longer they’d better think of setting up their own state tho’ he still does not want union with the South. That’s a U-turn, but understandable. R.G.’s suggestion: a union of an independent Scotland and N.I. (to be called Greater Scotland.) I’ll have to talk to Fox about that. He’s busy organising his Patriotic Front – won’t give me any details – says I talk too much about him. Love to you both –
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101461GreacenStanford087Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Feb 5thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford87LetterChurchillian, ViolenceEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford087LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford087.jpg36 H P M
5 Feb 74
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for your letter.
I’ve fixed up with Cis and Gareth that we shall go to the B and B offices at 12.30 on Friday, Feb.15. If trains are not running etc., well, we’ll just call it off. Heavens knows what will be happening by then – perhaps the Tube boys will striking, too.
I agree with what you say. Personally I have no confidence in Heath’s management of the country. Which does not mean any sympathy with the deliberate wreckers and stirrers-up of trouble. But really Heath isn’t a big enough man for a job that needs Churchillian type. Worse still, who is big enough in any of the Parties ? I feel very gloomy at the prospect ahead. Perhaps if the situation runs to a standstill or worse (riots etc) the Army will be used. There are senior officers – Brig. Kitson an outstanding one – who are prepared for urban strife; and they have the experience of the last few years in N.I. behind them.
The English have no tradition of violence like the Cath. Irish, and outbreaks of violence could probably be crushed fairly
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101462GreacenStanford088Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Feb 5thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford88LetterFrenchEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford088LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford088.jpgeasily. Even so, the economic damage to the country will be immeasurable. Can you see the Germans, French etc., wanting to buy our goods ? Yes, I think we are all in for some very rude shocks.
Rang Valerie this a.m. She says she has to cut down on entertaining and, like everyone, complains of the increasing difficulties. Says her Drabble book is supposed to come out in July.
We are being converted to sea gas. Needless to say, the parts that should have arrived have no arrived. Water has mysteriously got into a cupboard and soaked some of my shirts. Life! life! life! My shares gains have been wiped out by recent falls. The list of bad news is endless, but here I shall end….
Love to you both –
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101463GreacenStanford089Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Feb 10thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford89LetterThe Sunday Times, W.B. Yeats, James JoyceEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford089LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford089.jpg36 H P M
10.2.74
My dear Derek,
Enc cutting from today’s S.TIMES about J H-S. Perhaps yoU’ve already seen it.
I wonder how you feel about the Gen. Election. Enoch started off the campaign with a lovely bombshell! I see the Ulster Prod extremists want him to lead them, but I think he’s after bigger prizes. Capt. Fox has been trying to brainwash me , as usual. He keeps quoting Yeats on democracy : “this filthy modern tide”, and remind me that democracy doesn’t work even in the country that gave rise to the name. He hopes that his friend Brigadier Kitson will eventually take over when we are starving /heatless/lightless/bookless.
Ealing Adult Edn authority have asked me to take a 20th cent lit class starting in Sept. I suggest Yeats, Joyce, V. Woolf, Shaw, Wells, Eliot (not many democrats among that lot!) and wd like to discuss. This will be with Eng students, mainly retired people, it seems.
P.T.O.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101464GreacenStanford009Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1972 Nov 4thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford9LetterNobel Prize, Captain FoxEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford009LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford009.jpgthirty-six H P M
4 Nov 1972
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for letter and card.
I am glad to have your approval of my reply to J.C. I refuse to
admire even a xxxx Nobel prizeman's non-existent clothes (why the
hell didn't I think of saying that in the reply ? L'esprit a'escalier
I seem to be offending authors and publishers right and left these
days. You prob saw that my enemy of earlier this year,Auberon W,
and PRIVATE EYE have to pay damages and costs to Nora Beloff. I wish
I could snare him into libelling me.
Re the Mass of Christ. I quite understand your difficulty. I have
dilly-dallied and 'swithered' as usual about plans,though partly
because other people haven't replied to letters. On the whole, think
I won't go to Belfast and will go to Scotland in New Year. If
Seaford is possible,fine. If not,I can spend Christmas with the
Gillespies - the only penalty being to endure Leslie on politics
and literature!!
CONGRATULATIONS on the St. James cheque. I see that Good Boys
get served first. Bad Boys who cry "I MUST have seme pudding J"go
to the end of the queue. A True Story of Good Derek and Bad Robert
and How One Was Rewarded and the Other Punished.
Yes,indeed the Gaiety at about 12.50 on xxxx Wed.-Nov.15 would
be fine. Perhaps whoever is first would go inside and grab a table.
But I realise you will have to confirm this meeting.
Glad you like the new envs "with their violet innards".
Finally,Capt. Fox rides again.-. in the current issue of
HIBERNIA which prints "The Death of Capt. Fox" - the one about how
he was knocked down by a Peugeot in Zurich. But YOU know what
HIBERNIA readers don't - it was his double who was killed... So
that makes 2 in print and a 3rd to come in the HONEST ULSTERMAN.
I enclose a nice poem by Roy which is in the same issue - there's
a double-spread of Autumn Poetry,about 15 poems mainly by the
younger lads. I am probably the eldest ,followed by Roy (he's a
year younger than me).
Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:091384GreacenStanford090Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Feb 27thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford90LetterGollancz, Northern Ireand Arts Council, Books and BookmenEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford090LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford090.jpgCutting enc. May interest you. Please return.
3 6 H P M
27 ii 74
replied:28
My dear Derek,
Many thanks. Your list of poetry publishers
plus comments is exactly what I was hoping for.
I can’t believe that Gollancz will say YES,so
I’m wondering who to try next. A possible might
be the Blackstaff Press in Belfast which is
putting out good work,but the trouble is that
over here they don’t carry any weight. They
sometimes get a grant to help with a book from
N.Ireland Arts Council (as they did in the case o
of Denis Ireland’s book which I review in the
current B and B ). Anyway, Derek, many thanks.
Still no cheque from B and B,despite repeated
requests. Still not paid for Nov /Dec. Frank
was hard to pin down to anything but xxxxxxxxx
responded better to my frenzied appeals...
I'm sure John Border had quite a tale to
tell. As has Freddy Vine. F has written to me a
couple of times since his acquittal - hopes to
holiday in Cornwall and I got some information
for him about hotels. Letter from Roy today.
Quote:
Yesterday I emerged from my office and was
grasped by someone not immediately recognis-
able. FRED. He is bloated beyond recognition.
Many of his teeth xxxxxxxx have gone;those
remaining are black. --Did you see I won my
case,he asked jauntily,as if he had been
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101465GreacenStanford091Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Feb 27thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford91LetterFinnegans Wake, The Irish TimesEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford091LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford091.jpgthe prosecutor and not within a
whisker of getting nine years. He was
carrying a cardboard box - probably
empty like the briefcase he used to
carry daring the divorce proceedings.
This sounds like the opening of a short story,
doesn't it ? Roy then says he thinks F is back
to the state of mind he was in during that 3 year
period in London before his second marriage. Quote:
I would think some sort of retreat is necessary
where he could use his talent for translating -
say - Finnegans Wake into Hebrew,or any other
language that would occupy his mind for the rest
of his days. I was surprised at my feeling of
warmth for him during our chat. I suppose he is
as much a victim as the deceased wife.
Most of R's letter is lit chit-chat, xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
but one para reads:
Wollies got it yesterday. I was passing just
before the bombs exploded.
Roy’s a cool customer. (Woolies of course is
Woolworths,as you probably guessed.)
A relative of mine living near Dublin,one
Walter Greacen (about 35) has sent me a copy of our
family "tree" plus a lot of details of the family.
Most interesting. He writes a bit and I am urging him
to do a short history. Our common ancestor was a
George Grierson from Scotland,but Walter thinks his
own grandfather and mine were brothers. Walter saw my
address in the IRISH TIMES appended to my letter.
An odd spin-off. Also, the lady I repremanded for her attack
on my dead friend wants to meet me when she comes to London
shortly.
Libs. Good for you! Delighted by Lib ratings in the polls.
Fox has been at work.
Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101466GreacenStanford092Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Mar 2ndLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford92LetterBooks and Bookmen, Ulster-ScotEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford092LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford092.jpg3 6 H P M
2nd March ,’74
replied: 4Mar
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for yrs.
Yes, indeed, you have caught the infection
from me. You have written a very sound and
forceful letter to B and B (on yr advice I
shall write them a rather forceful letter,too)
about that Cornish broth-of-a-boy. "Belly
gnosis" is splendid - and so is "...there are
more xxxxx ways than one of being anti-liberal
and anti-rationalistic". Yes: I am anti-liberal
yet pro-Liberal,and perhaps you are,too. I do
hope your letter goes in - I’m pretty sure it
will.
F has written to me again and told me a
little about his new lady,Mary Hayes - separated
from hubby and war-time marriage - so she ain’t
xxx young. Incredible,as you say. I hope he
wan’t get into any more tangles with the law.
Another letter from my namesake Walter who
appears to be an indefatigable correspondent,
full of information about the family. He writes,
as I may have said,and has had some articles
in print,mainly in "The Shooting Times". He’s
sent me some of them and I enclose one for yr
I please return Walter shoots to kill,
like many another Ulster Scot,though the present
writer must be excluded. Yes, I might write
summat about the Greacens including the Yankee
branch.
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101467GreacenStanford093Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Mar 2ndLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford93LetterLiberalEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford093LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford093.jpgI shall not weary you with my reflections on
the Election results. Just a few points:
1.Excellent for Liberal vote though even for
our system a mere 14 seats is laughable.
2.A hearty kick up the a. for Ted Heath by
the elctorate. Richly deserved.
3. Pleased to see the S.N.P. do well. Up Cale-
donia.
4.Pleased to see that little bitch, Bernadette
McA, kicked out. She has said some vicious
things in her time and encouraged the bombers.
5.Even 'Tory Kensington gave the Lib,Dr. Lefever,
8,270. The only candidate whose blokes came
round and the first to send the election
address.
Looking at the figures of the total votes, I see
that the Lib vote is over half of the Con and
Lab votes respectively. English xxxxxxxxx fair
play! ? Perhaps you'd let me have yr reflections.
Leslie G had still another letter in the IRISH
TIMES about our late friend. He's as delighted as
if he were asked to form the next Govt. Perhaps that
will teach the boy to take Robert's advice in
future - I urged him to write a letter in the first
place. I once offered to write a poem and let him
publish it under his name - but he declined the
offer. What more can one do!
Love to you both
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101468GreacenStanford094Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Mar 7thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford94LetterBooks and Bookmen, Merlyn Rees, MatrimonialEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford094LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford094.jpg36 H P M
7 March 74
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for letter and Walter G's.
Yes,I know about that Stanford. Have often
seen his books reviewed/advertised.
B and B paid me up to date the other day,
the cheque having been sent before the arrival
of my demand. Next time I shall threaten to
invite Walter G with his gun to visit Artillery
Mansions. And you can call on Col. (?) Stanford.
If they fail,there1 s always Captain xxx Fox.
Freddy,as you surmise,will probably beat
me to the matrimonial bedpost. He’s a great
believer in marriage - or was. Sooner him than
me.
Agree with yr remarks on the new Govt and
P.M. What an inflationary price we shall pay
for the settlement with the miners. I see xxx
wily old Uncle Harold has handed over N.I. to
a wily Welshman,Merlyn Rees,a Welsh Baptist who
will be more than a match for Big Ian. In his
first speech in Belfast Rees made a crack at
Ian--a joke accusing him of Popery,no less!
This Parliament,with all the strange bods there,
ought to be entertaining if nothing else.
Mrs. Wechsler tells me her son,who runs a
Bond St. Gallery,made £60,000 last year - xxxxxxxxxx
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101469GreacenStanford095Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Mar 7thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford95LetterSaint AugustineEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford095LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford095.jpg£18,000 of this on 1 picture alone. He deals
in Old Masters. Apparently he spotted a genuine
Old Master going cheaply in France, had it
restored and sold at a vast profit. His father
was in the business ,too,but he obviously has
a flair. Intends to educate his children in
Switzerland as he fears Lab will abolish the
Public Schools. You might think Mrs. W is
roxiing in money. Not so. She does own this
valuable house but has a smallish income and
won't take a penny from her very rich son who
is always urging her to help herself to some
of the lolly. My mother was like that,too,
and would only take very small presents,and
in later years even saved out of her small
old age pension and sent me money! Incredible
but true.
Funny I shd be getting so much news from
distant members of the family - Nan Greacen
has sent me a folder announcing a new Exhib-
ition in St.Augustine,Florida. This contains a
photo of her and I can see a 'family likeness'
Still in the case of her father and myself.
Very many thanks for your note on this new
publisher. It seems an excellent tip,as you
say. Have to wait for Gollancz’ reaction. Tip
much appreciated.
Saw Valerie this afternoon for about 30
mins. She’s said adieu to her gent in educat-
ion. Did a review for her the other day of a
Penguin I bought myself,as Penguin won’t send
her review copies. Her Drabble book is schedul-
ed for July.
What about lunch either with/without
Cis and Gareth ?
Love to you both- Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101470GreacenStanford096Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Mar 11thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford96LetterFaber and Faber, John Montague, Philip LarkinEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford096LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford096.jpg3 6 H P M
11 March 74
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for yrs.
Wednes.,20 March,for lunch at "Gaiety" is
fine. I notice you say 1.30,presumably xxxxx
because you are coming on a later train or have
a bit of business before getting to "Gaiety".
Just want to make sure it wasn’t a slip of the pen
and you intended to write the earlier time when we
usually meet.
I’m afraid the troublemakers are going to be
with us for a long,long time. Grandfather Stanford,
xxxx thou shouldst be living at this hour. ..
Jan and Feb have been two very lean months
for books. I’ve been turning my hand to articles
and glad to say one has been accepted by the IRISH
PRESS. Valerie is also article-writing and showed
me one or two that had appeared - e.g. in CAMBRIDGE
EVENING NEWS. She’s also collecting psychiatrist
and computer jokes for some project. A busy,busy
bee.
Has the Faber anthol of IRISH VERSE come your
way ? The editor,John Montague,is an Ulster Cathol-
ic,and much disliked (not on that account of xxxxxx
course) by R.McF. It's probably eccxentic in the
manner of Larkin's, with strange ommisions and inclusions.
If you review it I hope, should you
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101471GreacenStanford097Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Mar 11thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford97LetterDenis Ireland, PunchEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford097LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford097.jpg
mention omissions x,you will say a word, for Roy:
he really ought to be inmit and Montague hasn’t
the excuse that Roy hasn't published a book for
a long time or that there has been a falling off
in quality. I think that Roy at his best is very
very good.
My old friend in Belfast,Denis Ireland,has
sent me a few photocopies of reviews: PUNCH
has given him a long and stunningly favourable
notice written by that fire-eater Claud
Cockburn. Nice too for the relatively new
Belfast firm,Blackstaff Press.
Must press on elsewhere -
Love to you both -
Robert
x I don't mind being left out.
I'm an anthology drop-out
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101472GreacenStanford098Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Mar 14thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford98LetterWriters' GuildEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford098LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford098.jpg3 6 H P M
14. 3. 74
My dear Derek,
Many thanks yrs.
12.30 then,next Wednes.
I think that,more than me,Roy ought to have
been in that anthol. He's had a book out not so
long ago and can't be considered to have dropped
out.
Yes,I heard a radio review of the Cockshut ("t"or"tt"?)
book. Glad you got it from your aptly named
TEACHER'S PET. I’ve asked her to try to get me
the Montague selection.
Have just had WAG letter and have voted for
joining the Writers' Guild. Have you ? Those 2
girls have done a good job.
2 creative writing fellowships are being
offered by the Yorkshire Arts Assn,one at Sheff-
ield Univ and the other at a College of Edn.
I'm sending in an application and,with yr
permission,giving your name as a referee,i.e.
"an established writer,critic or academic who
knows your work and would be prepared to
support your application." Interviews will be
held early in May. Of course what I really need
is a recently published book of creative xxxx
work. Anyway,I believe it's worth having a
shot. xxxx
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101473GreacenStanford099Letters to StanfordGreacen Estate1974 Mar 14thLHLWednesday, March 16, 2016TIFFGreacenStanford99LetterProtestants, C.I.AEnglishhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford099LHLLHLAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAhttps://www.niliteraryarchive.com/sites/default/files/GreacenStanford099.jpgWell,the assassins got Senator Fox ...
and burned down the house of his friends,all
of them Protestants. My "cousin" Walter may know
these people as he comes from the same county,
Monaghan,and his father was involved pretty
successfully in local politics. xx IRA. ? UDA ?
Murderers,in any case.
I have a student,a young Mexican,who has
informed me that the real villains are the
Yanks,both so far as Latin America is concerned
- and Europe,too. Specifically,the CIA and ITT.
His theory is that they go where there is trouble
and stir things up,and have a world-wide network
of agents unknown to each other. He told me all
this with great feeling,and a Spanish boy nodded
agreement. So now we know,don’t we ?
See you next week.
Love to you both -
Robert
TextRobert GreacenSaturday, August 20, 2016 - 11:101474