Collection context
Summary
- Abstract:
- A collection of the papers of American poet Dunstan Thompson (1918-1975), a Catholic who lived in England beginning in the 1940s. Consists of manuscripts, including book reviews, diaries, essays, plays, poems, and short stories, and correspondence (both to and from Thompson), photographs, drawings and ephemera.
- Extent:
- 4.8 Linear Feet (12 boxes)
- Language:
- Materials are in English.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item]. Dunstan Thompson Papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The collection consists of manuscripts by Dunstan Thompson, including book reviews, diaries, essays, plays, poems, and short stories, and correspondence (both to and from Thompson), photographs, drawings and ephemera. Correspondents represented in the collection include: Harry Brown, Cyril Connolly, Paul Dehn, T.S. Eliot, Edith Sitwell, Osbert Sitwell, Stephen Spender, Philip Trower, Howard R. Turner, and Oscar Williams. Business correspondents include: William Abrahams, Margot Johnson, John Lehmann, Simon and Schuster and William Morris Agency.
The papers consist of the following series:
1. Manuscripts (Boxes 1-4) are arranged alphabetically by author and title. The manuscripts include book reviews, diaries, essays, plays, and short stories by Dunstan Thompson; his poems, both published and unpublished, are cataloged separately, beginning in Box 3. This series also includes manuscripts by other authors, most notably: Harry Brown, Paul Dehn, Coman Leavenworth, Stephen Spender, Ruthven Todd, and Philip Trower.
2. Correspondence (Boxes 5-8) is arranged alphabetically by author. This series includes personal letters, letters related to Dunstan Thompson's Catholic faith and his writing. There is a large group of letters between Thompson and his mother, Virginia Leita Thompson, beginning in 1945.
Thompson's business correspondence has been cataloged separately in Box 8; these are letters to and from literary agents, editors, publishers and literary publications, including William Abrahams, Margot Johnson, John Lehmann, Atlantic Monthly Press, David Higham Associates, Simon and Schuster, William Morris Agency, Horizon, and the New Yorker.
This series also includes letters written to Philip Trower, beginning in 1975, with the death of Dunstan Thompson, and then later, in response to Trower's request for information and remembrances of Thompson for the memoir Trower was writing.
Also included in this series are letters from notable people including Harry Brown, Cyril Connolly, Paul Dehn, T.S. Eliot, Edith Sitwell, Osbert Sitwell, Stephen Spender, Philip Trower, Howard R. Turner, and Oscar Williams.
3. Photographs & Prints (Box 9) are arranged alphabetically by subject then sub-arranged chronologically. These include family photographs, a small number of photographs of friends, as well as photographs of various homes, and locations important to Thompson. There are also photographs and negatives from his trip to the Middle East in 1946-1947, and from his trip to Rome in 1950.
4. Drawings & Prints (Box 10) are arranged alphabetically by artist. Included in this series are original pencil drawings and sketches by Dunstan Thompson, but the majority are photographs or prints of paintings and drawings, by the artists Gene Derwood, John Hurst, Alfonso Ossorio, and Philip Trower.
5. Ephemera; Addenda (Boxes 10-12) is arranged by subject, then alphabetically by author and title. This series includes personal and family material for the Thompson family, printed material related to Dunstan Thompson's writing, and articles about him and others. The addenda includes a sketch by Thompson; biographical notes about Thompson by Philip Trower; photographs related to the life and work of Thompson.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Terry Dunstan Thompson (1918-1975) was born in New London, Connecticut, August 30, 1918, the only son of Terry B. Thompson, a Naval officer, and Virginia Leita Thompson. Raised in a devout Catholic family, Thompson was educated at a variety of Catholic schools before entering Harvard in 1936. During his three years at Harvard, Thompson began exploring his vocation as a writer, especially as a poet; during this time Thompson experienced a loss of faith and left the Catholic church and, at the same time, began to live openly as a homosexual.
After leaving Harvard, without graduating, Thompson lived mainly in New York until he was drafted into the Army in 1942. During his time in New York, he edited, along with Harry Brown, a short-lived literary magazine entitled, Vice Versa. In October 1943, Thompson was posted to England and quickly met the leading literary figures of war-time London, including T.S. Eliot, John Lehmann, Cyril Connolly, Edith Sitwell, Osbert Sitwell, and Stephen Spender. During this year, Thompson published his first volume of poetry, Poems, to overall positive American reviews.
Thompson's first book was followed by a second book of poetry, Lament for the Sleepwalker (1947), a travel book, The Phoenix in the Desert (1951) and a novel, The Dove with the Bough of Olive (1955), a posthumous collection of poetry, Poems, 1950-1974, was published in 1984.
After World War II, Thompson settled in England, to live in a small Norfolk town, Cley-Next-the Sea, with Philip Trower, a fellow writer and artist. In 1952, after several years of drawing closer to the faith of his childhood, Thompson returned to the Catholic church, and thereafter lived a platonic life of friendship with Philip Trower, until Thompson's death on Jan. 19, 1975, from complications of liver cancer.
- Acquisition information:
- Gift of Philip Trower, July 2009. Box 12, gift of Philip Trower, August 2014.
- Processing information:
-
1. Dunstan Thompson lived a homosexual lifestyle from the mid 1930s until he began practicing his faith again in 1952. Though this collection covers these 16 years there is no manuscript material or correspondence that deals with or mentions homosexuality. It appears that Thompson may have removed some material from the collection, as there is little about his personal life. Philip Trower also deleted some content as words and phrases have been scissored out of the poems. Indeed, an autograph note by Trower states: "I have cut out references to personal and business matters." This note is attached to the correspondence between Thompson and his mother. Thus, while the collection does contain material about Thompson's Catholic faith and beliefs, it does not contain material directly related to his homosexuality.
2. Some of the earliest letters to Thompson are addressed to "Terry" (his first name); but, his authorized name is used on the folders and in this finding aid.
3. Philip Trower went through the entire collection before it was transferred to the Huntington Library; his extensive autograph notes are throughout the collection, providing helpful information, names and date.
4. The letters of Dunstan Thompson and Philip Trower are mainly typewritten carbon copies or photocopies; but Thompson, in particular, was in the habit of heavily correcting the carbon copies, and, in some cases even signing the copies.
5. The addenda was processed by Gayle Richardson in January 2022.
- Arrangement:
-
Organized in the following manner:
- 1. Manuscripts (Boxes 1-4)
- 2. Correspondence (Boxes 5-8)
- 3. Photographs & Prints (Box 9)
- 4. Drawings & Prints (Box 10)
- 5. Ephemera; Addenda (Boxes 10-12)
Arranged alphabetically.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
- Subjects:
- Catholic Church -- Great Britain -- Clergy.
Catholic Church -- Great Britain
Catholic Church -- United States
Faith and reason -- Christianity.
Business letters -- 20th century
Drawings -- 20th century
Ephemera -- 20th century
Letters (correspondence) -- 20th century
Photographs -- 20th century
Poems -- 20th century
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.
- Terms of access:
-
All photocopies, for which the Huntington does not hold the original manuscript or letter, may not be copied in any way, as noted in the Container List and on the folders.
Literary copyright/publication rights are held by Philip Trower; upon Mr. Trower's death, Joel Thompson retains the literary rights to the material. In order to quote from, publish, or reproduce any of the manuscripts, correspondence, or visual materials, researchers must obtain permission from Mr. Trower or Mr. Thompson.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item]. Dunstan Thompson Papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
- Location of this collection:
-
1151 Oxford RoadSan Marino, CA 91108, US
- Contact:
- (626) 405-2191