Guide to the Collection of Works by Arnold Wesker given to Nathaniel Tarn
Processed by Phyllis Dorset.
© 2004
The Board of Trustees of Stanford University. All rights reserved.
Guide to the Collection of Works by Arnold Wesker given to Nathaniel Tarn
Collection number: M1369
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Stanford University Libraries
Stanford, California
- Processed by:
- Phyllis Dorset
- Date Completed:
- 2004
- Encoded by:
- Steven Mandeville-Gamble
© The Board of Trustees of Stanford University. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Collection of works by Arnold Wesker given to Nathaniel Tarn.,
Date (inclusive): ca. 1920-1988
Collection number: M1369
Collector:
Tarn, Nathaniel
Extent:
2 linear ft.
(3 manuscript boxes + 1 print box)
Repository:
Stanford University. Libraries. Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives.
Abstract: Part of the collection has been cataloged individually by monograph title. The material in this collection is more ephemeral,
including texts in magazines, criticism, theater programs, posters, and a sketch.
Language:
English.
Administrative Information
Access
Collection is open for research; materials must be requested at least 24 hours in advance of intended use.
Publication Rights
Property rights reside with the repository. Literary rights reside with the creators of the documents or their heirs. To obtain
permission to publish or reproduce, please contact the Public Services Librarian of the Dept. of Special Collections.
Preferred Citation
Collection of works by Arnold Wesker given to Nathaniel Tarn., M1369. Dept. of Special Collections, Stanford University Libraries,
Stanford, Calif.
Acquisition Information
Purchased, 2002. Transferred from books, 2003. Accession # 2003-065.
Biography / Administrative History
Arnold Wesker gave a collection of his works to Nathaniel Tarn, in part because Tarn was a very thorough collector, but also
to see what such a collection would eventually look like and perhaps, to ascertain at some point in the future what value
would be ascribed to such a collection.
Scope and Content of Collection
Part of the collection has been cataloged individually by monograph title. The material in this collection is more ephemeral,
including texts in magazines, criticism, theater programs, posters, and a sketch.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Subjects
Tarn, Nathaniel.
Wesker, Arnold, 1932-
American literature--20th century.
Related Material
Part of the collection has been cataloged individually by monograph title.
M1369 Series 1
Play bills and play texts, 1960 - 1980
Box 1, Folder 1
Scene 7 from a proposed musical1960
Scope and Content Note
Arts Quarterly, No. 3, London. With a doodle pasted in and an explanatory inscription to Nathaniel Tarn.
Box 1, Folder 2
"Festival One," Program 1960
Scope and Content Note
Wellingborough Trades Council
Box 1, Folder 3
"Tag fur Tag," ("Roots"), German translation1962, February
Scope and Content Note
Play text, Theater Huete, Weske r play. Photograph of chair pasted in .[ play set item]
Box 1, Folder 4
"Chips with Everything" 1962, December
Scope and Content Note
Play text, Wesker play, Players and Plays, Vol. 10, No. 3 London
Box 1, Folder 5
"Ziemniaki Do Wazysikich Dan," ("Chips with Everything"), (Polish translation)1963
Scope and Content Note
Play text, Wesker play. Dialog, Vol. 8, No. 7, Warsaw, Poland
Box 1, Folder 6
"Patatas Fritas a Volunta," ("Chips with Everything") (Spanish translation)1964, August
Scope and Content Note
Play text, Wesker play, Primer Acto, No. 55, Barcelona, Spain. Two copies , each with a dfferent note to Nathaniel Tarn.
Box 1, Folder 7
"Los Cuatro Estaciones," ("The Four Seasons")1964
Scope and Content Note
Play bill. Wesker play, El Teatro Estudio, Cuba
Box 1, Folder 8
"Their Very Own and Golden City"1965, September
Scope and Content Note
Play text, Wesker play. in Quest, Quarterly No. 1, London, Paul Hamblyn Publishers. Also contains two long notes to Nathaniel
Tarn, and text projections for Tarn's second book, "Eagle Escaped This City."
Box 1, Folder 9
"Their Very Own and Golden City" 1966, May 19
Scope and Content Note
Play bill of Wesker play, Royal Court Theatre, London
Box 1, Folder 10
"La Cuisine" (French translation)1967, August
Scope and Content Note
Play text of Wesker play in L'Avant Scene, No 385, (With a note in French from Wesker to Nathaniel Tarn).
Box 1, Folder 11
"Les Quatre Saisons"(French translation)1969, January
Scope and Content Note
Play text, l'Avant Scene, No. 417.
Box 1, Folder 12
"The Friends"1969
Scope and Content Note
Play text of Wesker play, fourth draft, signature in pencil by Wesker, inscription to Nathaniel Tarn.
Box 1, Folder 13
Preproduction Notes for "The Friends"1970, March
Scope and Content Note
Directional notes by Wesker for "The Friends," London production, unpublished
Subjects and Indexing Terms
The Round House
Box 1, Folder 14
"The Friends"1970, October
Scope and Content Note
Play text of Wesker play in Plays and Players, Vol. 18, No. 1, London ,with photograph of donkey pasted in. (For loose photographs
see Box 3) Note to Nathaniel Tarn.
Box 1, Folder 15
"Vannera" (Swedish translation)1971
Scope and Content Note
Play bill of Wesker play. Signature by Wesker
Box 1, Folder 16
"Hora Sarutului" ("Menace for Six Sundays") (Hungarian translation)1971
Scope and Content Note
Play text for television by Wesker, "Hora Sarutului." ("Menace for Six Sundays.") in Secolu 20, Revista de Literatura,
Universala Bucharest ( in Hungarian ) No. 9, with photograph of Wesker as a child in Hyde Park, London pasted in. (See also
loose photographs in Box 3.)
Box 1, Folder 17
"Koket" ("The Kitchen") (Swedish translation)1971, September 10
Scope and Content Note
Play bill of play by Wesker, "Koket." Also notes in English from Wesker's notebook. With note and inscription to Nathaniel
Tarn.
Box 1, Folder 18
"Los Amigos," ("The Friends") (Spanish translation)1972, January
Scope and Content Note
Play text of Wesker play, "Los Amigos" ("The Friends"), in Primer Acto, No. 140.
Box 1, Folder 19
"The Friends"[1972?]
Scope and Content Note
Play bill of Wesker play, Vannerna Productions
Box 1, Folder 20
"The Old Ones"1972, October
Scope and Content Note
Play text of play by Wesker, in Plays and Players, Vol. 20, No. 1, London
Box 1, Folder 21
"The Old Ones"1973
Scope and Content Note
One page of directional notes by Wesker for "The Old Ones"
Box 1, Folder 22
"I Vecchi," ("The Old Ones") (Italian translation)n.d.
Scope and Content Note
Early version of Wesker play ,"The Old Ones", in Sapario, No. 320, Rome.
Box 1, Folder 23
"The Journalists"1975
Scope and Content Note
Play text of play by Wesker, Writers and Readers Publishing Cooperative. London.
Box 1, Folder 24
"Liebesbriefe auf Blauen Papier" ("Love Letters on Blue Paper") (German translation)1976
Scope and Content Note
"Love Letters on Blue Paper," Play text of Wesker play, Berlin. Henschalverlag, Henschal Collection. With publisher's free
copy form to Wesker. Inscription to Nathaniel Tarn.
Box 2, Folder 25
"The Wedding Feast," Parts 1 and 21977, April-May
Scope and Content Note
Play text of play by Wesker, Plays and Players, Vol. 24 , No. 7, London. Inscribed to Nathaniel Tarn.
Box 2, Folder 26
"The Merchant"1977 - 1978
Scope and Content Note
Play text of play by Wesker, in Adam International Review, Vol. XLI,. 401-403, London. Also contains an article: "Wesker's
Quest for Values" by Peter Bowering, and "Leah," an essay by Wesker.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Peter Bowering
Box 2, Folder 27
"The Merchant"1977, October
Scope and Content Note
Play bill of a play by Wesker. Given at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington D.C.
M1369 Series 2
Magazine articles, 1954 - 1980
Box 2, Folder 28
"Londoner Revives Ancient Craft"1954 May-June
Scope and Content Note
Essay by Wesker in Norfolk Magazine, Norwich, Norfolk, U.K. Original and photocopy, with inscriptions to Nathaniel Tarn.
Box 2, Folder 29
"Two Lost Generations"1960, February
Scope and Content Note
Essay by Wesker in Definition, Quarterly Journal of Film Criticism, No 1, London. Note and inscription to Nathaniel Tarn.
Box 2, Folder 30
"The Modern Playwright," or "Mother Is It Worth It ?"1960
Scope and Content Note
Essay by Wesker, Gemini, London
Box 2, Folder 31
"Labor and the Arts"1960
Scope and Content Note
Essay by Wesker in Gemini, London,.
Box 2, Folder 32
"The Secret Reins"1962, March
Scope and Content Note
Essay by Wesker in Encounter, Vol., XVIII, No. 3, London. Inscribed to Nathaniel Tarn.
Box 2, Folder 33
"The House" 1966, November
Scope and Content Note
Lecture by Wesker, given in Birmingham, in Encounter, Vol. XXVII, No. 5, London. Also contains a loose page of notepaper
for Centre 42, Trade Union Council arts center. Note to Nathaniel Tarn.
Box 2, Folder 34
"The System and the Writer"[1970?]
Scope and Content Note
Interview with Wesker, New Theatre Magazine, Vol. XI, No. 2, Bristol, U.K.
Box 2, Folder 35
"Conference in Tokyo"1971
Scope and Content Note
Article by Wesker in International Theatre Information, Winter, Paris.
Box 2, Folder 36
"Last Letter to Aunty Sara from Arnold"1971, October
Scope and Content Note
Letter in The Garment Worker, Vol. 40, No. 10, London. Also photo of Aunt Sara. See also Box 3, Photographs and Drawings.
Note and inscription to Nathaniel Tarn.
Box 2, Folder 37
"Bonne Feuilles" (French and English translations)1973, September-October
Scope and Content Note
Essay by Wesker on music and playwriting, in Musique de les Temps, No. 14 at St Michel de Provence, Forqualquier, France.
Inscribed to Nathaniel Tarn.
Box 2, Folder 38
"A Time of Dying: A Sort of Short Story"1973
Scope and Content Note
Essay by Wesker in Jewish Quarterly, Vol. 21, Nos. 1-2, London. Contains reproduction of painting of Wesker. See also Box
3, Photographs and Drawings. Note and inscription to Nathaniel Tarn.
Box 2, Folder 39
"East End, My Cradle"1974, Novembr 24
Scope and Content Note
Essay by Wesker in Observer Sunday Magazine, with a painting of East End street by John Allin.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
John Allin
Box 2, Folder 40
Arnold Wesker as a character in a comic book.1974
Scope and Content Note
New Times, Class War Comics, No. 1, Brighton U. K. Also contains a drawing of Wesker taken from The London Times Colour Supplement,
talks about Wesker's play "The Friends," produced in 1970. Explanatory note and inscription to Nathaniel Tarn.
Box 2, Folder 41
"Miseria de non essere Poeta" (Italian translation)1975 - 1976
Scope and Content Note
Lecture by Wesker given at Le Confereze dell' Associazione Culturale Italiana, in Genoa Turin, Milan, Rome. Published in Fasciolo
42. Inscribed to Nathaniel Tarn.
Box 2, Folder 42
"Min Mor" (Swedish translation)1977, February
Scope and Content Note
Essay by Wesker on his mother., in Femina, Helsingberg, Sweden. Early family photos reproduced. Inscription to Nathaniel
Tarn.
Box 2, Folder 43
"Journal of 'The Journalists'."1977
Scope and Content Note
Journal entries by Wesker for his play "The Journalists," in Theatre Quarterly, London, Vol. VII, No. 26.
Box 2, Folder 44
"Making the Case for Shylock"1977, November 26
Scope and Content Note
Interview with Wesker in The Nation, Vol. 225, No. 18. Inscribed to Nathaniel Tarn.
Box 2, Folder 45
"When I Was Your Age"1980
Scope and Content Note
Essay by Wesker in The School Times, Vol I, No. 2 , London. Autographed by Wesker to his grandson, Jonathan Bickerbike.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Jonathan Bickerbike
Box 2, Folder 46
"Memorandum to Playwrights"1980, July
Scope and Content Note
Essay by Wesker in The Writer's News, London. Inscribed to Nathaniel Tarn.
Flat Box 4, Folder 77
Wesker, "Days in the Life of Arnold Wesker."1971, July
Scope and Content Note
In Ink, No l0, London.. Inscribed by Wesker with note to Nathaniel Tarn.
Flat Box 4, Folder 79
Wesker, "East End Roots" in Times Literary Supplement, London, 19751975
Flat Box 4, Folder 80
Wesker, "The Merchant, " reviews, Arts Guardian, London, December 17, 19771977, December 17
Flat Box 4, Folder 81
Wesker, "Not the Same," poem, Jewish Chronicle Literary Supplement, London, December 19791979, December
Flat Box 4, Folder 83
Wesker, "The Confidence of Boughs," poem, Jewish Chronicle Literary Supplement, London, June 6, 19801980, June 6
Flat Box 4, Folder 84
Wesker, "The Clouds Are Low," poem, Jewish Literary Supplement, London, December 26, 19801980, December 26
M1369 Series 3
Critical Essays, 1968 - 1996
Flat Box 4, Folder 76
Wesker, "Fears of Fragmentation," lecture on role of the artist, Tokyo.1968, October 18
Box 2, Folder 47
"Their Very Own and Golden City"1996, May 19
Scope and Content Note
Nine reviews of Wesker's play. Names of newspapers not given.
Box 2, Folder 48
"A Letter to Mr. Arnold Wesker"1968
Scope and Content Note
Open letter from Sato Susumo,Tokyo. Inscribed to Nathaniel Tarn.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Susumo, Sato
Box 2, Folder 49
"Casual Condemnations: A Brief Study of The Critic as Censor."1969?
Scope and Content Note
Article by Wesker in The Critic in the Theatre, London, No. 1, 1969.
Box 2, Folder 50
" How Mr. Wesker's Plays End," 1970
Scope and Content Note
Open letter from Sato Susumo, Tokyo
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Susumo, Sato
Box 2, Folder 51
"Notes"1972
Scope and Content Note
Review of Wesker's playwriting by Jack Cope, editor, in Contrast 29, South African Quarterly, Capetown, South Africa, Spring
1972. Includes photo of Wesker pasted on the Contents page. Inscribed to Nathaniel Tarn.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Cope, Jack
Box 2, Folder 52
"Chips with Everything,"1972
Scope and Content Note
Wesker's play in Methuen's Study Aids, London, 1972. Also includes snapshot of Wesker. Insription and note to Nathaniel
Tarn.
Box 3, Folder 53
"A Cretinue of Critics: An Open Letter to Harold Hobson"1972
Scope and Content Note
Wesker in Drama: The Quarterly Theatre Review, No. 107, London. Winter 1972. With photo of Wesker on Pont Neuf, Paris 1956
Box 3, Folder 54
"Wesker vs Taylor"1972
Scope and Content Note
Plays and Players, London, Vol. 20, No. 2, November 1972. Contains photo of Wesker in Paris in l956. Inscribed to Nathaniel
Tarn.
Box 3, Folder 55
"How to Cope with Criticism"1972
Scope and Content Note
Wesker, in Plays and Players, Vol 20, No 3. London, 1972
Box 3, Folder 56
"Critics Round Table"1976
Scope and Content Note
Wesker, Seldes, Kalem, Wilson, New York Theater Review, discuss Wesker's play, "The Merchant," January 1976.
M1369 Series 4
Poems by Wesker, 1952 - 1979
Box 3, Folder 57
"The Poor" 1952
Scope and Content Note
Wesker poem in Plan for Freedom and Progress, Vol. 21. No. 3, London, 1952. Inscription and note to Nathaniel Tarn.
Box 3, Folder 58
"The Book in My Hand"1960
Scope and Content Note
Wesker poem in Overland Magazine, Melbourne Australia, No. 18, Winter/ Spring 1960. Inscription and note to Nathaniel Tarn.
Box 3, Folder 59
"My Child" and "The First Child"1961
Scope and Content Note
Wesker poems in Overland Magazine, Melbourne, Australia No, 19, Summer 1960-61. Inscription and note to Nathaniel Tarn.
(Also contains, Wesker's essay, "Oh ,Mother, Is it Really Worth It?" Labor and the Arts.)
Box 3, Folder 60
"The First Child"1961
Scope and Content Note
Wesker, poem in the sixties, London, Spring, l96l. Inscription and note to Nathaniel Tarn.
Box 3, Folder 61
"Sitting Waiting for Aunty Anne"1971
Scope and Content Note
1953 poem by Wesker, with photo of Aunty Anne, circa 1930, Stepney Words, London, l971, Inscription and note to Nathaniel
Tarn. (Also contains a loose page letter to Wesker by Colin Searle.)
Box 3, Folder 62
"It Was a Time of Feasts and Weddings"1978, April 14
Scope and Content Note
Wesker poem in Piano, A Flowing Journal, Washington D. C., April l4, l978. Inscription and note to Nathaniel Tarn.
M1369 Series 5
Photographs and drawings, ca. 1920 - ca. 1981
Flat Box 4, Folder 79
Colored broadsides about Wesker's work.1959 - 1969
Scope and Content Note
Broadsides include comments on Wesker's plays, labor union activities, reviews etc..Times Educational Series, The Times Newspaper,
Ltd. ,
Flat Box 4, Folder 75
Photograph, by Barcelo of Barcelona, "Chips with Everything."1963
Scope and Content Note
Spanish production. Incribed to Nathaniel Tarn.
Flat Box 4, Folder 78
Preliminary sketch for "The Old Ones," by Rudolph Heinrich, Munich, 19721972
Flat Box 4, Folder 82
Three posters for three plays, "I'm Talking About Jerusalem", "Roots," and " Chicken Soup with Barley." Shaw Theatre, London,
(1979?][1979?]
Scope and Content Note
Signed by Wesker with recepient marked on each.
Box 3, Folder 63
Photo of Wesker's desk , with typewriter.n.d.
Scope and Content Note
Also draft of a letter or article. Camera Press Ltd., Peter Mitchell photographer.
Box 3, Folder 64
Arnold Wesker's relativesn.d.
Scope and Content Note
Photograph, Wesker relatives.
Box 3, Folder 65
"Some of My Third Cousins"[1920s?]
Scope and Content Note
Wesker's photographs ( "My Father's cousins") in the Soviet Union , late 1920s.
Box 3, Folder 66
Photograph of poster of Cuban political figures1963 - 1964
Box 3, Folder 67
Photograph of Wesker pasted in.[1972?]
Scope and Content Note
Photo of Wesker, pasted in three quarter face against sculpture of Arnold Wesker by Francis Baruch, circa 1972
Box 3, Folder 68
Press Cutting of phot of Wesker's mother, in Morning Star, London, September 1972.1972
Box 3, Folder 69
Photograph of Wesker on postcard . Postcard illustrated by John Allin painting of East End , London, 1974 ,with note
to Nathaniel Tarn 19761976
Box 3, Folder 70
Drawing, copy of Rosenberg's "Ruth Lowy"[1981?]
M1369 Series 6
Miscellaneous, 1955 - 1988
Box 3, Folder 71
Letter to Wesker from John Lehmann, editor, The London Magazine, August 8, 19551955
Box 3, Folder 72
Schedule of Events, Battersea Arts Centre, U.K. September/October, 19881988
Box 3, Folder 73
Schedule of Events, The Old Bull Arts Centre, Barnet, Hertfordshire, U.K. Autumn 1988.1988.
