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The papers of poet Kenneth Royal Murdoch contain handwritten and typescript drafts
of prose
and poetry, children's stories, plays, extensive correspondence, and personal material.
Although his works were published under the name Royal Murdoch, he was known to his
friends
and family as "Kenneth," the name he also employed in his correspondence. The collection
is
organized in three series: I. Works, 1941-1982; II. Correspondence, 1940-1981; and
III.
Personal. |
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The works in Series I. include drafts of three published books: The Disrobing: Sex and Satire (edited and published posthumously by
Winston Leyland of Gay Sunshine Press, 1982), Gargantua's Mouth (1946), and New Friends of Mother Goose (1958). Also present are drafts of an
unfinished novel "Letters to Xenophon Ho," as well as numerous poems and playscripts.
Ideas
and sketches for works can be found in numerous notebooks and notes on various subjects. |
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Series II. Correspondence, 1940-1981, bound in date order by Murdoch, contains incoming
and
outgoing letters, primarily typed transcriptions of personal correspondence. Correspondents
include Murdoch's mother Mary Snyder, sister Sadie Woodhead, friends such as Winston
Leyland, Stavros Mannesis, Felice Picano, Cyril Sloane, and Edward Watkins; and fellow
poets
including Peter Dent, Marianne Moore, and André Spire. Loose materials from the bound
volumes, such as original letters, photographs, and personal papers, are foldered
separately
and follow the bound letters. |
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The personal material in Series III. includes promotional blurbs for works by Murdoch,
Spanish vocabulary aides, "Poems and Prose, 1954-1974" by David Malberg, diplomas
from high
school and college, photographs, and cancelled stamps. |
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Books and personal effects received with the collection were transferred to appropriate
departments within the Ransom Center. The material is in good condition with the exception
of fragile drafts of "The Letters to Xenophon Ho" that were photocopied to facilitate
access
without using the original draft pages. |
