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Sitwell (Edith, Dame) Papers
mssHM 32068-32122
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Dame Edith Sitwell papers
Creator:
Sitwell, Edith, Dame, 1887-1964
Identifier/Call Number: mssHM 32068-32122
Physical Description:
1.2 Linear Feet
(1 box)
Date (inclusive): 1913-1915
Abstract: A collection of poems and letters by
English poet, Dame Edith Sitwell.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at
the Huntington Library for more information.
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.
[Identification of item]. Dame Edith Sitwell papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino,
California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Joan Wake, July 1969.
Dame Edith Sitwell (1887-1964) was an English poet, prose author and renowned eccentric.
Sitwell was born into a prominent literary family and participated in literary endeavors
with her brothers, Sir Osbert Sitwell and Sir Sacheverell Sitwell. Her first book, The
Mother and Other Poems, was published in 1915, and Sitwell steadily published poetry from
this point until her death; her volume of Collected Poems was published in 1930 and her last
book of poems, The Outcasts, appeared in 1962. Although chiefly known as a poet, Sitwell
also composed works in prose, many of which were nonfiction works and biographies. In 1953
Sitwell completed a film script based on her book on the life of Elizabeth I, A fanfare for
Elizabeth (1946). A book of Sitwell's letters, Selected Letters, was published in 1970, six
years after her death.
The collection contains a series of manuscript poems (both typewritten and handwritten
items) by Edith Sitwell as well as some letters and miscellaneous items. Many of the
manuscript poems in the collection are various drafts of poems, and several of them were
published in Sitwell's first book, The Mother and Other Poems (1915). The letters in the
collection are from Sitwell to her cousin, and fellow writer, Joan Wake, and chiefly address
Sitwell's writing. The miscellaneous items include pieces written by Wake on modern poetry
and on her cousin's poetic stylings.
Processed by Katrina Denman in 2001; in October 2023, Gayle M. Richardson created the
finding aid.
Arranged with Sitwell's poems first, followed by correspondence and miscellaneous
items.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Poetry, Modern -- 20th century
Women poets, English -- 20th century
Letters (correspondence)
Manuscripts (documents)
Poems
Wake, Joan