Archive Collection OBR - Sean O'Brien Archive

Identity area

Reference code

OBR

Title

Sean O'Brien Archive

Date(s)

  • 1960 - ongoing (Creation)

Level of description

Archive Collection

Extent and medium

20 linear metres.

Context area

Name of creator

(1952-)

Biographical history

Sean O'Brien has published seven books of poems, including November (Picador 2011, PBS Choice) and The Drowned Book (Picador, 2007), winner of the T.S. Eliot and Forward Prizes, followed by Collected Poems (Picador, 2012). Bloodaxe published his first two collections, The Indoor Park (1983) and The Frighteners (1987), as well as his essays, The Deregulated Muse (1998), and most recently, his Newcastle-Bloodaxe Poetry Lectures, Journeys to the Interior: Ideas of England in contemporary poetry (2012). His translation of the Inferno appeared in 2006, his short story collection The Silence Room in 2008, and his novel Afterlife in 2009. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, he lives in Newcastle upon Tyne and is Professor of Creative Writing at Newcastle University.

Archival history

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Consists of manuscript and typescript drafts of Sean O'Brien's published and unpublished work, as well as articles and press cuttings relating to his work. Also includes O'Brien's personal notebooks from 1970 onwards, correspondence from and to O'Brien in both a personal and professional context, and miscellenous material relating to his cultural roles and activities including jobs, residencies and fellowships.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

Further accruals to this collection are expected.

System of arrangement

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Open with some restrictions (researcher interview may be required)

Conditions governing reproduction

UK copyright applies

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

Language and script notes

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Finding aids

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Correspondence relating to Sean O'Brien can be found in the Robert Westall Collection held at Seven Stories Centre for Children's Books, Newcastle. A description of the material can be found at the following link http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/998bcc0b-adc3-4f8b-9c7f-2cd5f98d84dd.

Related descriptions

Notes area

Alternative identifier(s)

Access points

Subject access points

Place access points

Description control area

Description identifier

gb186-obr

Institution identifier

Rules and/or conventions used

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

Language(s)

Script(s)

Sources

Archivist's note

This catalogue was created by Rachel Hill, Literary Archivist at Newcastle University Special Collections in 2017.

Accession area