Guide to the Papers of John Kinsella
MS 8241
National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record
Collection Summary
- Creator
- Kinsella, John
- Title
- Papers of John Kinsella
- Date Range
- 1976-2017
- Collection Number
- MS 8241
- Extent
- 5.89 metres (27 ms boxes + 1 medium folio box + 2 map folios + 1 phase box)
- Language of Materials
- English
- Repository
- Special Collections (Manuscripts)
- Sponsor
- This finding aid was revised and published with the assistance of the Ray Mathew and Eva Kollsman Trust.
Introduction
Scope and Content
The collection includes correspondence, personal papers, drafts of poems, art work associated with his published volume Night parrots, and poems submitted to the literary journal Salt. Correspondents include family and friends, including Robert Adamson, Dorothy Porter, Peter Porter, Fay Zwicky, Randolph Stow, Alex Miller, Alison Croggin, Sarah Day, Galway Kinnell, Les Murray and David Brooks, and literary and magazine editors.The collection also comprises journals, interviews with and by Kinsella, material relating to professional teaching, poetry readings and lectures, photographs and printed material.
The drafts are of poems for his published volumes, including The frozen sea (1983), The book of two faces (1989), Night parrots (1989), Eschatologies (1991), Syzygy (1993), and Full fathom five (1993), and for contributions to literary journals and magazines.
Conditions Governing Access
Access conditions may apply to this collection, please refer to the collection's catalogue record for further information (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2724851).
Conditions Governing Use
Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.
Preferred Citation
Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of John Kinsella, National Library of Australia, MS 8241, [series/file number]'.
Provenance
The papers were purchased from John Kinsella by the Library in 1990, 1992, 1993 and 2018.
Finding Aid Source (s)
Please note: This finding aid may comprise or contain descriptive information provided by donors, researchers and/or volunteers.
Biographical Note
John Kinsella has written and edited more than thirty books whose many prizes and awards include The Grace Leven Poetry Prize, the John Bray Award for Poetry from The Adelaide Festival, The Age Poetry Book of The Year Award, The Western Australian Premier's Prize for Poetry (twice), a Young Australian Creative Fellowship from the former Prime Minister of Australia, Paul Keating, and senior Fellowships from the Literature Board of The Australia Council. His Poems 1980 - 1994 and volume of poetry The Hunt (a Poetry Book Society Recommendation) were published in May 1998 by Bloodaxe in the UK and USA, and Visitants (Bloodaxe, 1999) has recently been released.
He is the editor of the international literary journal Salt, a Consultant Editor to Westerly (CSAL, University of Western Australia), Cambridge correspondent for Overland (Melbourne, Australia), co-editor of the British literary journal Stand, and International Editor of the American journal The Kenyon Review.
John Kinsella was made a Fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge, in 1997, and has been appointed the Richard L. Thomas Professor of Creative Writing at Kenyon College (USA) for 2001. He is also an Adjunct Professor of English at Edith Cowan University, Perth.
Item Descriptions
Class 1. Original Consignment received 1990, 1980-1989
This consignment comprises correspondence, diaries and drafts of works including Night Parrots, The frozen Sea, The Book of Two faces, Lasseter and Nebuchadnezzar.
Series 1. Notebooks, drafts, 1980-89
These papers are part of a consignment received on 31 March 1990.
Notebooks, 1980-82, and draft correspondence (File 2) - Box 1 (MS 8241)
Includes drafts of short stories, poetry and a play The chimney sweep, and drafts of letters to Artlook and Fiona Newman.
Notebooks, 1985-86, and drafts of prose and poetry (File 4) - Box 1 (MS 8241)
Some notebooks were written during John Kinsella's trip to Asia.
Notebooks and correspondence, 1987-89 (File 6) - Box 1 (MS 8241)
Notebooks include drafts of poems, essays and reviews of poets.
Notebooks, 1987-89 (File 7) - Box 1 (MS 8241)
Notebooks contain drafts of poems, some related to Night Parrots.
Undated notebook (File 10) - Box 2 (MS 8241)
Notebook contain lecture notes, some drafts of poems including early drafts of Nebuchadnezzar and Lasseter.
Undated notebook (File 11) - Box 2 (MS 8241)
Notebook contains lecture notes, some drafts of poems including Lasseter.
Drafts of short stories and a play (File 12) - Box 2 (MS 8241)
The drafts are typed and handwritten; the play is entitled The chimney sweep.
Drafts and pictorial material for The Book of Two Faces (File 13) - Box 2 (MS 8241)
The drafts are mostly typed; includes photographs of John Kinsella.
Night Parrots (File 17) - Box 3 (MS 8241)
Mostly handwritten drafts and other material related to Night Parrots.
The dance movement of bees (File 18) - Box 3 (MS 8241)
Handwritten and typed drafts of poems for this section of Night Parrots.
Lasseter and Nebuchadnezzar drafts (File 19) - Box 3 (MS 8241)
Handwritten drafts of these poems for Night Parrots.
Lasseter and Nebuchadnezzar drafts (File 20) - Box 3 (MS 8241)
Typed and corrected drafts of poems for Night Parrots.
Night Parrots (File 21) - Box 3 (MS 8241)
Material related to the writing of Night Parrots, including 3 photographs of John Kinsella's great grandfather at the mines.
Later typed drafts of Night Parrots (File 23) - Box 3 (MS 8241)
Typed and corrected drafts of poems for Night Parrots.
Material related to Night Parrots (File 24) - Box 3 (MS 8241)
Notes on arrangement of poems in Night Parrots; draft of letter to Wendy Jenkins; proof photos of John Kinsella; invitation to launch of Night Parrots and programme of poetry readings.
Class 2. Consignment received 1992, 1988-1991
This consignment comprises correspondence, personal papers, notebooks and drafts of including Lileth Poems and works published in Eschatologies. The correspondence includes letters from family, literary and magazine editors, Robert Adamson, Dorothy Porter, Peter Porter, Fay Zwicky, David Brooks and Craig Loney.
Series 2. Correspondence, personal papers, drafts and notebooks, 1988-91
The papers in this addition include correspondence, early personal papers, drafts and notebooks.
These papers are part of a consignment received on 25 May 1992.
Correspondence, 1988-91 (File 32_35) - Box 5 (MS 8241)
The correspondence includes letters from family, literary and magazine editors, Robert Adamson, Dorothy Porter, Peter Porter, Fay Zwicky, David Brooks and Craig Loney. (The Loney letters are in Folder 28, Box 4, restricted).
Personal papers (File 36) - Box 5 (MS 8241)
The personal papers include school reports and university results, congratulatory letters on academic achievement, references, and photographs.
Notebooks, 1989-91 (File 37_47) - Box 5 (MS 8241)
The notebooks contain manuscript drafts of poems including the Lilith poems, notes on Max Dupain's photography and a few pages of diary entries.
Proofs of poems from Eschatologies (File 52_54) - Box 6 (MS 8241)
Includes photocopies of source material particularly related to the divining rod, a theme of one of the series from Eschatologies.
Class 3. Consignment received 1993, 1989-1993
This consignment comprises correspondence, notebooks and drafts including proofs and poems submitted for The Bird Catcher Anthology and Salt. Correspondents include Dennis Haskell, Ken Bolton, John Tranter, Fay Zwicky and Anne Brewster.
Series 3. Correspondence, drafts and notebooks, 1989-93
The consignment, received on 21 June 1993, includes correspondence, drafts and notebooks.
Correspondence, 1989-91 (File 60_62) - Box 7 (MS 8241)
Letters from family members and poets, including Dennis Haskell, Ken Bolton, John Tranter, Fay Zwicky and Anne Brewster; acceptances and rejections from publishers; letters concerning poetry readings and residencies, and submitting poems to Salt.
Full Fathom Five (File 64_66) - Box 8 (MS 8241)
Typescript annotated drafts, and comments on the poems.
Notebook, 1992- (File 71) - Box 9 (MS 8241)
The hardcover notebook is entitled Parallels: an illuminated volume. It includes drafts of poems, including some for Syzygy, illustrations, photographs, diary entries and addresses of contacts and journals for review. Many of the entries are dated.
Class 4. Consignment received 2018, 1976-2017
This consignment comprisesomprises ten large bound journals and a number of small journals; draft material for published and unpublished writings; correspondence with Tracey Ryan, Wendy Kinsella, Randolph Stow, Peter Porter, Alex Miller, Alison Croggin, Sarah Day, Galway Kinnell, Les Murray and others; interviews with and by Kinsella; material relating to professional teaching, poetry readings and lectures; photographs; and printed material. The collection offers rich evidence of Kinsella's creative process, his sources of inspiration, his primary artistic relationship with his partner, Tracey Ryan, his friendships and network of other literary figures, and the importance the Australian landscape holds to his sense of identity.
Series. Proofs
Annotated proofs of critical-creative book Polysituatedness, January 2017 (File 106) - Box 17
Published by Manchester University Press
Norton first pass proofs for Divine Comedy: Journeys Through a Regional Geography, 2008 (File 109) - Box 18
Norton second pass proofs for Divine Comedy: Journeys Through a Regional Geography, 2008 (File 110) - Box 18
Further Divine Comedy: Journeys Through a Regional Geography proofs, 2008 (File 124) - Box 20
Published by Inferno Press
Corrected proofs for Crow's Breath: stories, 2014 (File 154) - Box 24
Published by Transit Lounge, Melbourne
Series. Unpublished material
Series. Publications
Copy of Panopticon, 2001 (File 89) - Box 14
Note by John Kinsella: rare very limited letterpress publication
Copies of Spiralling (Newton Institute early 2017), Italian trans of John Kinsella's version of Divine Comedy, and A Failure to Fully Confess (2015), 2015-2017 (File 130) - Box 21
Copies of books Marine (with Alan Jenkins, Enitharmon, UK), Globe Hotel and Inner City Poems (Vallum Chapbooks, Canada), and Spanish translation of America: or Glow, 2012-2016 (File 142) - Box 22
Copy of Morpheus: A Novel and proof corrections, 2013 (File 163) - Box 24
Published by Blazevox, USA
Copy of A Shared Wonder of Light (West Cork) — poetry and photos book done with Irish photographer John D'Alton, 2016 (File 164) - Box 24
Copies of Stand magazine (Leeds) co-edited with Michael Hulse, 1999-2000 (File 201) - Box 28
Does not include the American postmodern issue
Copies of signed books by John Kinsella, 1995-2010 (File 202) - Box 28
Some not readily available in Australia
Over There anthology, 2008 (File 208) - Box 29
Copy of Singapore-Australia poetry anthology co-edited with Alvin Pang (Ethos Press, Singapore)
Series. Drafts
Early typescript draft versions of Jam Tree Gully cycle poetry manuscripts with annotations, 2014-2015 (File 107) - Box 17
Note by John Kinsella: Pertaining to the eventual book versions of Firebreaks (Published by Norton) and Open Door (UWAP), done on a 1950s Hermes 3000 typewriter
Earliest version (very short version) of stories collection In the Shade of the Shady Tree, 2008-2009 (File 113) - Box 18
Eventually published by Ohio University Press, 2012
Peter Porter's original, typewriter-corrected typescript for his section of Rivers with John Kinsella and Sean O'Brien, nd (File 119) - Box 20
Published by Fremantle Press
Assorted print/corrected drafts, including Jaguar's Dream translation book drafts, 2004 (File 129) - Box 21
Typewriter typescript drafts re The New Arcadia and Peripheral Light (new poems section) and other published and unpublished 2003-2004 poems, 2003-2006 (File 144) - Box 22
'Avoneering' transcription drafts, 1999 (File 161) - Box 24
Uncorrected from cassette tapes. Conversations in the W.A. wheat belt with Glen Phillips
Sacre Coeur: a salt tragedy (File 166) - Box 25
Original typescript draft on Olivetti typewriter at York under Walwalinj
Shades of the Sublime and Beautiful, 2005 (File 175) - Box 25
Original/first typewriter typescript drafts of poems
Corrected drafts from Ireland/stuff re Refuge novella/notes on libretti (various tales) for Grimm's Tales (Victorian Opera Scholars — composer Gordon Kerry), 2014 (File 176) - Box 26
Miscellaneous drafts and notes (including handwritten 1994 notes re 1995's Radnoti Poems), 1994-2007 (File 188) - Box 27
Series. Correspondence
Letters in sleeved folder, 1995-2008 (File 152) - Box 23
Correspondents include Randolph Stow, Peter Porter, Alex Miller, Alison Croggon, Sarah Day, Galway Kinnell and others
Sleeved folder of correspondence, poems (File 156) - Box 24
Correspondents include Les Murray, Randolph Stow poem originals; drafts of concretion poems — spiral medallion, topknot Australian 'de-mapping' originals by John Kinsella
Series. Audio Visual material
Series. Manuscripts
Smith Street play, nd (File 93) - Box 14
with Tracy Ryan but before director Steve Chinna's textual additions
Series. Notebooks
3 medium-sized spiral-bound notebooks/journals and one small notebook., 2015-2016 (File 199) - Box 28
Note by John Kinsella: Includes the ONLY copy of Graphology Rune poems outside a few that were typed up from the handwritten drafts - no other copy exists in any form — it has not been typed up. Unpublished
Series. Miscellaneous Papers
John Forbes faxes, 1996-2003 (File 135) - Box 21
copied from fading fax paper of letters and Forbes poems
Papers preparing for Randolph Stow's Land's Meaning poems, 2013 (File 148) - Box 23
Published by Fremantle Press
Assorted documents, 2002-2018 (File 151) - Box 23
includes Marjorie Perloff's original of introduction to Doppler Effect: collected experimental poems, and Poems for Manus Detainees
Miscellaneous papers 'Odds & sods', 1995-2012 (File 157) - Box 24
includes a copy of Papertiger CD ROM issue with feature by various people on John Kinsella's work
Faded fax pages of lost book D & G co-written via fax with Urs Jaeggi in the mid 90s, 2001 (File 186) - Box 26
Several copies were sent to various people of a photocopied version late 90s but all those who received copies lost or misplaced them over the years
Earlier Open Door Jam Tree Gully work (2016), 2012-2016 (File 206) - Box 29
Includes two survey-failure (numbers 4 & 6) 'un-mapping' poems in original typescript with 'illustration'; typewriter drafts some unused in eventual book
Catalogue of Karl Wiebke painted hoops with handwritten 'spiral' poems by John Kinsella inside the hoops etc., 2015 (File 215) - Folio-Box Shared, Folio 31 (MS 8241), Folder HYATT WING folio 31 (SB 000014)
Note by John Kinsella: This is a unique piece. Some of these images were photographed (by Wendy Kinsella) and the images used in the book Spiralling (Cambridge) with Karl Wiebke's permission