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This collection of papers of the Peruvian-born writer Amalia Elguera
reflects her work as a lecturer in Lima and London, her association with Thea
Musgrave on two opera projects, and her versatility as a writer of plays,
poems, stories, articles, book and film reviews, and essays. |
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Elguera was educated in Lima and the United States, but settled
permanently in London in 1950. From 1955-1982 she was a reader and literary
adviser for Harvill Press and Collins. She lectured at the Universidad del
Pacifico in Lima, London's Imperial College, and for the Asociacion Cultural
Campo Abierto, Instituto Peruano-Britanico, and the PEN Club in London. Her
lecture topics included Shakespeare and many other literary figures, as well as
philosophy and history. In addition, she worked with Thea Musgave on the
librettos for two operas,
"Mary, Queen of Scots" and
"The Voice of Ariadne." |
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The papers are organized in four series: Series I. Lectures and
Writings; Series II. Holograph Notebooks, Note Cards, and Fragments; Series
III. Diaries, 1964-1989; and Series IV. Career-Related and Personal. |
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Series I includes her lectures and writings on a wide variety of
subjects, arranged by title or topic. The Shakespeare lectures predominate the
Series, but other literary subjects include an eclectic range from Proust to
Pinter. Elguera's lectures also reflect her interests in philosophy, history,
and religion as seen in subjects such as Sartre, Comte, Kant, Simone Weil,
Bolívar, Burke, and St. Teresa of Avila. She wrote the libretto
to accompany Thea Musgrave's
"The Voice of Ariadne," represented in
the collection by typescript drafts, published libretto, programs, production
photographs, and a scrapbook of reviews. Less successfully, Elguera
collaborated with Musgrave on the opera
"Mary, Queen of Scots" based on
Elguera's
"Earl of Moray," but the two failed to
reach an agreement on the structure and content of the libretto. In the end,
Musgrave finished the libretto herself and the opera was produced in New York
in 1981. |
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Many of Elguera's manuscripts are in both Spanish and English.
Typically, the bilingual writings contain both holograph and typescript drafts
with numerous emendations, along with handwritten notes and fragments written
on odd bits of paper, often recycled from other uses. She frequently reworked
drafts, sometimes years later, evidenced by dates written in the margins. The
collection does not confirm publication of her fiction, poems or plays,
although the published versions of
"Shakespeare and the Tudor Rose" and
"The Spain of Unamuno," an article for
The Commonweal, are present. It is likely
that articles were published in
The Listener as marginal notes on
typescripts imply. |
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The notebooks, fragments, and note cards in Series II echo Elguera's
work in Series I and provide additional source material for her research and
writing. Dates and subjects vary throughout. |
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Series III contains Elguera's diaries from 1964-1989. Her entries
include a mixture of narrative regarding daily events, as well as notes and
drafts for her various writing projects. Entries are sporadic and many of the
diaries are only partially filled. |
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The career-related and personal material in Series IV includes
appointment calendars from 1985-1991, works by Elguera's grandmother, a
"Diploma de Honor" from Mexico, and
files on the caricaturist Luis Bagaria and psychoanalyst and art collector
Helen Shipway. Correspondence includes letters to Elguera from Bertram and
Edythe Block, Thea Musgrave, and publishers. |
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The papers arrived at the Ransom Center as a gift of the Estate of
Amalia Elguera and are in good physical condition. The collection is open for
research. |
