MS 5715

Papers of John Tranter



Scope and Content Note

Papers

1964-1993

3.69 m (26 boxes + 1 folio item)

Restricted until Tranter's death

Papers of John Tranter were first purchased by the Library in August 1977. Further instalments were purchased in December 1988 and February 1989, and donated under the Taxation Incentives for the Arts Scheme in May 1993, May 1994, and April 1995. The collection comprises drafts, correspondence, and publishing material (such as galley proofs, typescripts, and publicity material) relating to research for and publication of a number of Tranter’s works.

There are also drafts of various poems (1983-1993), including ‘Ariadne on Lesbos’, ‘The Subtitles’, ‘Condensed Soup - Four Diversions and a Prose Poem on the Road to a Poetics’, and ‘Yoo-Hoo Fugaces’; a script of his play The Man on the Landing (1968); articles, interviews, and reviews; copies of various magazines that he has edited, including Poetry Australia, Free Grass and Transit; and papers relating to his role as poetry editor of The Bulletin.

Tranter kept his papers in good order, and this arrangement has been maintained by the Library. The following list of series and additions to the collection is based on lists received from Tranter.


Biographical Note

John Tranter was born in Cooma, New South Wales, in 1943. He is married to the literary agent Lyn Tranter, and has two children. Tranter took his Bachelor of Arts in 1970, majoring in psychology and literature. His career has spanned printing, publishing, teaching and radio production. Tranter published Transit magazine in 1968-1969, worked in Singapore as the Asian editor for Angus & Robertson in 1971-1973, produced ABC Radio’s national arts program Helicon in 1987-1988, and was poetry editor for The Bulletin 1990-1993. He is the founding editor and publisher of Jacket, a quarterly Internet literary magazine.

Tranter’s books of poetry include:

  • Parallax (1970)
  • Red Movie and Other Poems (1972)
  • The Blast Area (1974)
  • The Alphabet Murders (1975)
  • Crying in Early Infancy: 100 sonnets (1977)
  • Dazed in the Ladies Lounge (1979)
  • Selected Poems (1982)
  • Gloria (1986)
  • Under Berlin: new poems (1988)
  • The Floor of Heaven (1992)
  • Days in the Capital (1992)
  • At the Florida (1993)
  • Gasoline Kisses (1997)
  • Late Night Radio (1998)
  • Different Hands (1998)

He has also edited:

  • The New Australian Poetry (1979)
  • Tin Wash Dish: poems from today’s Australians (1989)
  • The Penguin Book of Modern Australian Poetry (1991, with Philip Mead)
  • Martin Johnston - Selected Poems and Prose (1993)

Tranter has been awarded a number of fellowships from the Literature Board of the Australia Council, and has been a visiting scholar at various institutions, including the Faculty of Arts at the Australian National University, and Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. He won the Grace Leven Poetry Prize for Under Berlin in 1988, and the Melbourne Age Poetry Book of the Year award for At the Florida in 1993. A selection of Tranter’s poems appears in the Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry (1988).


Series Description

Original Instalment

15 August 1977

Correspondence from writers, 1965-1977
Folder
1 Correspondence from writers including Robert Adamson, Bruce Beaver, Robert Bertholf, Walter Billeter, Earle Birney, John Blay, Michael Dransfield, Margaret Dresendorf, Laurie Duggan, Martin Duwell, John Forbes, Rodney Hall, and Alison Hill, 1965-1976.
2 Correspondence from writers including Kris Hemensley, Jurgis Janavicius, Alex Josey, Carmel Kelly, Robert Kenny, Rudi Krausmann, Patricia Laird, Roger McDonald, and Jennifer Maiden, 1969-1976.
3 Correspondence from writers including Mike Parr, David Rankin, Philip Roberts, Graham Rowlands, John A. Scott, Tom Shapcott, R. A. Simpson, South Head Press, Max Suich, Tim Thorne, Alan Wearne, Lee White, Michael Wilding, and Edna Wilson, 1965-1977.
4 Correspondence from writers, miscellaneous, 1965-1976
Miscellaneous items of general literary interest
5 Miscellaneous items of general literary interest including copies of printed Tranter poems, and a copy of The Man on The Landing
Magazines edited by Tranter, 1967-1977
6-11 Magazines, originals, 1967-1977.
The Blast Area (1974)
12 Final manuscript, proofs, copy of published book
13 Various versions of poems, many not included in the book.

Instalment 19 December 1988
The New Australian Poetry (1979)
Folder
1 Drafts of an Australia Council grant application by Martin Duwell, as well as the response, and a preliminary list of poets and poems in order, 1978.
2 Publishing material including papers relating to the launch, drafts and typescripts of poems included in the anthology, and correspondence between Clive Faust and Tranter, 1978-1979.
3 Correspondence, mainly between Tranter, Clive Faust, Martin Duwell and various poets included in the anthology, 1977-1984.
3a Correspondence with Kris Hemensley, 1977-1979.
4 Correspondence between Tranter, Martin Duwell and University of Queensland Press regarding the book design, 1980.
5 Permissions, and records of payments made, 1979.
6 Publishing material including proofs, publicity material, and correspondence between Tranter, Martin Duwell, and the various poets included in the anthology, 1978-1980.

 

Instalment 17 February 1989
Selected Poems (1982)
Folder
1-2 Typescripts and galleys.
3 Galley proofs of Crying in Early Infancy: 100 sonnets
4 Photocopies of galley proofs, and copies of poems for reading at Biennale Sunday, 16 May 1982.
5-6 Galley proofs.
7 Various papers including annotated typescripts, suggested artwork and book layouts, reviews, and plans for the launch, 1982.
Folio Typescripts
Under Berlin: New Poems (1988)
8-10 Galley proofs and other publishing material.
11 Annotated typescript, correspondence and other publishing material, 1988-1989.

(A cassette tape of Tranter reading poems from Selected Poems and Under Berlin has been transferred to the Oral History collection).

Instalment 10 May 1993
The Floor of Heaven (1992)
Folder
1 Photocopy of the story ‘George’ by Christina Stead, featured in the Paris Review, Winter-Spring 1967.
2 Correspondence with Angus & Robertson (publishers) and others, 1989-1992
3 Typescript of the original five poems, including ‘Jealousy’. Author’s annotations in red ink. 110 pages. Marked as ‘Finalised Jan 92’.
4 Typescript of the final four poems included in the anthology, 40 page version.
5 Editor's copy of original manuscript, marked in pencil and ink.
6 Author's copy of original manuscript, unmarked.
7 Editor's galleys in Goudy Old Style typeface (the typeface was changed to Bembo at Tranter's suggestion).
8 Author's galleys in Goudy Old Style typeface.
9 Galleys in Bembo typeface, marked as ‘Master 3.6.92’.
10 Galleys in Bembo typeface, marked as ‘Author Pages Inhouse 3.6.92’.
11 Book reviews and a signed copy of the published work.
12 ‘Gloria’
First main draft of 4-5 June 1986, 10 pages plus cover sheet. Author's minor annotations in various inks.
Draft retyped 27 July 1986, 11 pages plus cover sheet. Author's minor annotations in blue biro and brown ink.
A copy of Gloria, as published by Nicholas Pounder (1986); includes a signed copy of the pamphlet, 11 pages; unused covers (in the published edition covers were coloured by John Tranter and his daughter Kirsten using oil crayons), 4 pages; and photocopies of publishing correspondence, 8 pages.
Draft, subsequent to and much longer than the version published by Nicholas Pounder. 20 pages.
13 ‘Gloria’, draft dated 13 July 1990, 18 pages; draft dated 17 July 1990, 19 pages.
14 ‘Stella’ (then titled ‘Betty’)
Draft marked as ‘Second draft typed up Monday 26 January, 1987’. Extensive interpolations and annotations on various pages. 49 pages.
Draft, undated. In four parts, extensive rewritings. 47 pages.
Draft, dated 9 April 1988. In four parts, with annotations. 50 pages.
15 ‘Stella’
Draft marked as ‘Revised at 20 June 1988’ (original title ‘Betty’ is crossed out, with ‘At Florenzini’s’ written in). Arranged in one part only. Annotations in pencil and brown ink. 30 pages.
Draft, undated. Arranged in one part only. Annotations in black ink and brown ink. 31 pages.
Photocopy of a clean typed version, undated, no annotations. Filed away October 1991, 31 pages.
16 ‘Breathless’ (then titled ‘Sandra’)
Draft dated 8 December 1986. Author’s annotations in various inks. 7 pages.
Draft dated 15 December 1986. Author’s annotations in various inks. 9 pages.
Draft retyped 8 June 1989. Author’s annotations in various inks. 9 pages.
Draft dated 2 July 1989. Author’s annotations in brown ink. 21 pages.
17 ‘Breathless’ (then titled ‘Sandra’)
Draft 8, dated 4 July 1989. Author’s annotations in ink. 20 pages.
Drafts 10 and 11, dated 7 July 1989. Shows change from ‘Sandra’ to ‘Breathless’ in page headings, with author's annotations in brown ink. 23 pages.
Draft fragments, undated. Author's annotations in brown ink. 13 pages.
Draft fragment, sequential up to page 12, undated. Author's annotations in black ink. 12 pages.
Draft, undated, typed copy. Filed away 23 October 1991, 12 pages.
18 ‘Rain’
Draft (then titled ‘Smith’) dated 28 February 1990, author's annotations in red ink. 19 pages.
Draft (then with various other titles – ‘Kathy1’, ‘Smith1a’, ‘Smith2’, ‘Kathy2’), dated 28 February 1990, author's annotations in blue biro. 45 pages.
19 ‘Rain’
Draft, marked as ‘Typed up 26 July 90’. Very brief author's annotations in black ink. 42 pages.
Draft, marked as ‘Retyped 30 July 1990’. 40 pages.
20 ‘Jealousy’, prose draft dated 1 October 1991, 12 pages; and verse draft, dated 22 October 1991, 19 pages.
The Penguin Book of Modern Australian Poetry (1991)
21 Various correspondence, mainly between Tranter and Philip Mead, 76 pages, 1990.
22 Various correspondence, mainly between Tranter and Philip Mead, 165 pages, 1990 to 1992.
23 Various correspondence, mainly between Tranter and Philip Mead, 80 pages, 1990-1992.
24 Miscellaneous editorial files, mainly early editorial correspondence, 80 pages, 1986-1989.
25 Miscellaneous editorial files, mainly early editorial correspondence, 65 pages, 1988-1990.
26 Various lists of proposed poets and poems, 170 pages, 1989-1990.
27 Draft contents lists dated from 21 February 1990 to 15 April 1990. 71 pages.
28 Draft contents lists dated from 19 April 1990 to 8 May 1990. 51 pages.
29 Draft contents lists dated from 13 May 1990 to 9 December 1990. 99 pages.
30 Photocopies of various poems considered for inclusion. 100 pages.
31 Permission forms for use of work by poets, typed out for Penguin by Philip Mead. Covering letter from Mead to Tranter, dated 5 March 1991. 50 pages.
32 Material relating to the launch of the anthology at the Sydney Festival Writers Week, January 1992, including flyers and advertisements. 40 pages.
33 Various drafts of the much-rewritten introduction to the anthology. 83 pages.
34-41 A complete set of marked-up galley proofs. Title for Bruce Beaver's first poem in the sequence Letters to Live Poets, ‘Frank O'Hara’, added by Tranter (poem was originally published in the late 1960s and untitled until 1991). 150 pages.
42 Photocopies of various reviews of the book. 50 pages.
43 Copy of the London Review of Books, volume 16, number 22, 18 November 1993, featuring the poem ‘Pantoum – The Waiting Room’ by Tranter.
See also Instalments 27 May 1994 and 11 April 1995.
Martin Johnston – Selected Poems and Prose (1993)
44-47 Typescript, with detailed notes on yellow post-it stickers from Nadia Wheatley, used for checking proofs from the publisher. 300 pages.
48 Photocopy of article ‘Games With Infinity: the fictions of Jorge Luis Borges’ from Cunning Exiles - Studies of Modern Prose Writers, edited by Don Anderson and Stephen Knight, 1974, pp. 36-61.
49 Photocopies of ten index cards from the Sydney Morning Herald's files, listing some 97 articles written by Martin Johnston from 1968 to 1975.
50 A bibliography of Martin Johnston’s work, compiled by John Tranter, listing some 186 items.
51 Typed transcript of Late Night Live, ABC Radio National, 26 June 1990. Discussion concerning the late Martin Johnston, with Roseanne Bonney, Nadia Wheatley, Tranter, and compere Virginia Bell.
52 Correspondence between Roseanne Bonney (Johnston) and John and Lyn Tranter, from when Roseanne and Martin Johnston were living in Europe, c.1988. 20 pages.
53 Photocopies of book reviews written by Martin Johnston. 150 pages.
54 Photocopies of three print interviews with Martin Johnston, together with photocopies of reviews of several of his published books. 50 pages.
55 Material gathered during Martin Johnston's employment at SBS TV. 50 pages.
56 Typescript notes for the poem ‘To the Innate Island’, reduced and photocopied. 20 pages.
57 Original typescript for ‘The Sea-Cucumber’, reduced and photocopied. 80 pages.
58 Copy of Martin Johnston’s article ‘The Arts’, featured in This is Australia, edited by Rudolph Brash (1975). Martin's contribution appears only in the first edition; in later editions the arts are covered by Don Dunstan. 14 pages.
59 Photocopy of typescript of an interview with Martin Johnston by Hazel de Berg for the National Library of Australia, 23 June 1980.
60 Typescripts of interviews with or concerning Martin Johnston, including:
Interview with Martin Johnston by Margaret Jones, ‘A chance to write - in a room of his own’, Sydney Morning Herald, 11 August 1973.
Interview by Tranter on 10 January 1989, and broadcast on Helicon, ABC Radio National, 11 August 1991.
Part of an interview by Erica Travers, 17 June 1989.
Interview by Tranter, Glebe, 23 March 1990.
Interview with George Johnston (Martin Johnston’s father) by Hazel de Berg, 13 March 1964, National Library of Australia, tape No 52.
Interview with Charmian Clift (Martin Johnston’s mother) by Hazel de Berg, 8 June 1965, National Library of Australia, tape No 105.
Excerpts from the ABC Radio National program Late Night Live, 26 June 1990, concerning the late Martin Johnston; Roseanne Bonney, Nadia Wheatley, Tranter, and compere Virginia Bell.
61 Notes by Roseanne Bonney (Johnston) concerning Martin Johnston. 10 pages, dated c.1992
62 Martin Johnston’s curriculum vitae, with relevant notes and clippings, prepared by Tranter.
63 Tranter's editing notes. 39 pages.
64 Literature Board application notes. 20 pages.
65 Notes on the search for the correct spelling of ‘BarcaLounger’, a chair mentioned in Martin Johnston’s account of his early novel Mr Mammoth. 12 pages.
66 Photocopy of galley proofs for Martin Johnston - Selected Poems and Prose (to page 97), with one page of editor's notes.
67 Correspondence to and from Tranter, 100 pages, 1991-1993.
68-69 Introduction, several drafts in various stages, 150 pages.
70 Photocopy of cover, preliminary pages, photograph layout pages, and photographs. 47 pages.
71 Photocopy of Martin Johnston’s short story ‘Heady’ featured in Prometheus (1970). ‘Heady’ was later expanded into the novel Cicada Gambit.
Pieces
1-3 Three metal Type IV cassette tapes, no noise reduction:
  • Both Sides: Martin Johnston interviewed by Tranter, 23 March 1990.
  • Side A - poet Laurie Duggan remembers Martin Johnston. Side B - Late Night Live segment concerning Martin Johnston, ABC Radio National, 26 June 1990. Compere Virginia Bell with Roseanne Bonney, Nadia Wheatley, and Tranter.
  • Both sides: program devoted to Martin Johnston on Helicon, ABC Radio National, Sunday 11 August 1991, recorded off air, fair quality.
4 Cassette tape recording of The Ern Malley Story, a radio documentary by poet/radio producer John Thompson (d.1968) concerning the hoax poet ‘Ern Malley’. Ern Malley was a persona and a body of work concocted in 1943 by the young poets James McAuley and Harold Stewart, and published in Angry Penguins in 1944. The documentary was first broadcast on ABC radio in 1959. Recording features Max Harris, Geoffrey Dutton, Barrett Reid, Harold Stewart, James McAuley and others, and includes the reading of a letter from ‘Ethel Malley’. (The Penguin Book of Modern Australian Poetry is the first anthology to feature the complete poetic works of Ern Malley).
5 Computer diskette, 720 kilobyte, IBM MS-DOS format, containing the four poems featured in The Floor of Heaven, plus two ‘readme’ files with other matter.
Instalment 27 May 1994
Martin Johnston – Selected Poems and Prose (1993)
Folder
1-5 Typescript. 400 pages.
6-9 Page proofs, marked up by Tranter and the University of Queensland Press editor. 300 pages
10-12 Page proofs marked up by Tranter and the University of Queensland Press editor. 300 pages.
The Penguin Book of Modern Australian Poetry (1991)
13-16 Photocopy of the typescript of the book as marked up by the Penguin editor and sent to the printer. 600 pages.
17-18 Page proofs marked up by Tranter. 150 pages.
The Bulletin, September 1990 - June 1993
19-25 General correspondence, mainly with poets regarding their submissions to The Bulletin. Includes Judith Wright, A. D. Hope, John Blight, Robert Adamson, Chris Wallace-Crabbe, Andrea Sherwood, Lee Cataldi, John Ashbury, Alison Clark, Dana Gioia, Rhyll McMaster, Jennifer Maiden, Bruce Dawe, Rosemary Dobson, Bruce Beaver, Tom Shapcott, Les Murray, and many more. 566 pages, 1990-1993.
26 General correspondence and files, 35 pages, 1990-1992.
27 Office mail correspondence, 35 pages, 1990-1993
28 Correspondence of particular interest, 105 pages, 1990-1992.
29 Copies of all the published poems, torn from copies of the magazine. 141 pages, dated 4 September 1990 to 1 June 1993.
Drafts of poems
30-36 Drafts of poems, being roughly half the poetry work done by Tranter between the publication of Under Berlin (1988) and the publication of At The Florida (1993). Some holograph pages, but most are typed, with revisions in ink or pencil. In most cases poems have undergone five to ten draft stages, with ink corrections and reprinting of each page.Each sheet bears a designation on the verso identifying it as by the author and giving the approximate date. 500 pages.
Instalment 11 April 1995
The Penguin Book of Modern Australian Poetry (1991)
Folder
1-4 Approximately 700 pages of photocopy material, comprising copies of poems by various authors taken from books and anthologies, and used as the basic manuscript for The Penguin Book of Modern Australian Poetry
Drafts of poems
5-9 Drafts of poems, being the second half of poetry work done between the publication of Under Berlin (1988) and the publication of At The Florida (1993). Some holograph pages, but most pages are typed or computer printout, with revisions by hand. Two and a half pages of holograph critical notes by Lyn Tranter. In most cases poems have undergone numerous draft stages, with ink corrections and reprinting of each stage. Each sheet bears a designation on the verso identifying it as by the author and giving the approximate date.
10-12 Drafts of poems. 500 pages, dated from 26 July 1986 to 14 September 1992.
13-15 Drafts of poems. 500 pages, dated from 28 August 1985 to late July 1986.
16 John Tranter / New Poems 1986. Draft collection of 55 poems, most of which ended up in the collection Under Berlin. Includes the narrative poem ‘Gloria’ and half a dozen uncollected poems. 90 pages.
17 John Tranter / Ten Haquiri, consisting of ten poems later published in Under Berlin, and presented here as an entry to the 1990 Michel Wesley Wright Prize in Poetry. 13 pages.
18 John Tranter / A Selection of Recent Poems. An early form of the manuscript that became At The Florida. 95 pages, dated October 1991.
19 At the Florida editorial copy (original title Déjà vu crossed out). A photocopy of the prose poem ‘At Naxos’ is tipped in opposite the typed version of the poem. 95 pages.
20 At the Florida cover designer’s copy (original title Déjà vu crossed out). A photocopy of a fax from Tranter to Mark Tremlett at DNA Graphics is tipped in on the first page. 95 pages.
21 Drafts of poems for Under Berlin, dated May 1987 to October 1987. 95 pages.
22 Draft of narrative poem ‘Stella’. 31 pages.
23 Laser printout of author’s computer diskette of poems in At The Florida, supplied by the University of Queensland Press. 44 pages, dated approximately 1991.
24 Five sequential drafts of the four-page poem ‘Ariadne on Lesbos’. Many and substantial holograph alterations. 19 pages, dated from December 1991 to 28 January 1992.
25 Five sequential drafts of poetics essay ‘Condensed Soup - Four Diversions and a Prose Poem on the Road to a Poetics’ (for Meanjin magazine). Extensive holograph alterations throughout. 40 pages, dated from March to April 1988.
26 Photocopies of poem ‘Lufthansa’, and copies of the article announcing the poem’s winning of The Australian’s 20th birthday poetry prize. 3 pages, dated 1984.
27 Drafts of ‘Yoo-Hoo Fugaces’. Some seventeen fugitive early poems and prose-poems, put together for John Kinsella’s Salt magazine, on the understanding that the material would be used. The title is a joke at the expense of Horace’s poem ‘Alas! Fleeting…’ (Eheu fugaces). 102 pages, dated late 1991.
28 Drafts of a sequence of ten poems at the time tentatively titled ‘Flow’, later incorporated in At The Florida. 108 pages, dated October 1990.
29 Invitation list for the launch of Under Berlin. 18 pages, dated May to June 1988.
30 Drafts of poems. Approximately 40 pages, dated early 1985 to July 1985.
31 Drafts of poems. 48 pages dated October 1984; and 83 pages dated late March 1984 to December 1984.
32 Drafts of poems. 19 pages, dated 1983 to 1984.
33 Three drafts of the prose-poem ‘The Subtitles’. 30 pages, the last marked ‘Revised and typed on W/P 16/10/84 JT’.
34 Drafts of ‘Sex Chemistry’ sequence (25 poems), included in Under Berlin, 30 pages.

Box List

Box

Instalment

Folder

1

15 August 1977

1-7

2

 

8-13

3

19 December 1988

1-6

4

17 February 1989

1-7

5

 

8-11

   

Folio items

6

10 May 1993

1-6

7

 

7-13

8

 

14-20

9

 

21-26

10

 

27-33

11

 

34-38

12

 

39-43

13

 

44-50

14

 

51-57

15

 

58-66

16

 

67-71

   

Pieces 1-5

17

27 May 1994

1-9

18

 

10-16

19

 

17-23

20

 

24-29

21

 

30-36

22

11 April 1995

1-6

23

 

7-12

24

 

13-18

25

 

19-26

26

 

27-34

July 1998