Guide to the Papers of Vincent Buckley
MS 7289
National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record
Collection Summary
- Creator
- Buckley, Vincent, 1925-1988
- Title
- Papers of Vincent Buckley
- Date Range
- 1952 - 1986
- Collection Number
- MS 7289
- Extent
- 2.4 metres (16 boxes)
- Language of Materials
- English
- Repository
- Special Collections (Manuscripts)
- Sponsor
- This finding aid was revised and published with the assistance of the Ray Mathew and Eva Kollsman Trust.
Introduction
Scope and Contents
The collection is diverse, consisting of correspondence, poetry, autobiographical prose, articles, lectures, broadcasts, reviews and printed material.
There are multiple versions of Buckley's poetry, from manuscript drafts to galley proofs. Most of these works were published.
Conditions Governing Access
Available for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.
Preferred Citation
Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Vincent Buckley, National Library of Australia, MS 7289, [series and file number]'.
Provenance
Six cartons of papers of Professor Buckley were acquired by the National Library in February 1985. In 1986 a furthur two cartons were received as a gift from Professor Buckley, under the Tax Incentives Scheme.
Related Materials
The A.D. Hope Collection ( MS 5836) includes several of Professor Buckley's letters (1953-60) to Hope and drafts of some verse. The Oral History Section holds a tape and transcript of an interview Buckley held on 21 November 1969, with Mrs Hazel de Berg.
Arrangement
The various series were created from Buckley's original arrangement of the material. Several folders include a mixture of materials.
Separated Materials
Other papers of Vincent Buckley are held in the library of the Australian Defence Force Academy.
Biographical Note
Vincent Thomas Buckley was born in Romsey, Victoria on 8 July 1925, of an Irish Catholic farming family. He was educated at St. Patrick's (Jesuit) College and the University of Melbourne, where he received a B.A. and M.A. He later studied at Cambridge University where he wrote Poetry and morality.
During World War II, Buckley served with the Royal Australian Air Force and in 1946 he resumed study at the University of Melbourne, under a Veterans Grant. An academic for most of his life, Buckley was Lockie Fellow from 1958-60, Reader 1960-67 and from 1967, Professor of English at the University of Melbourne.Buckley's strong identity with Irish culture involved him in Australian Catholic intellectual life, an interest in Irish Republican politics and a love for Ireland.
In the late 1950s and 1960s Buckley was a central figure of a group of University poets and intellectuals with a distinctive philosophy of literature. During this time he was a member of the editorial board of the magazine Prospect and poetry editor of the Bulletin.
Buckley was the recipient of several awards, mostly the Australian Literature Society Medal, (1959), Myer Award, (1967), Dublin Prize, (1977), and the FAW Christopher Brennan Award, (1982).
Buckley died in Melbourne in 1988.
Item Descriptions
Series 1. General correspondence, 1952-84
The series contains letters from many notable Australian literary figures and reflect Buckley's political and literary interests. They are arranged according to Buckley's original order of source and/or date, with the titles of the folders supplied by Buckley.
The correspondents include Gwen Harwood, Chris Wallace-Crabbe, A.D. Hope, Francis Webb, Xavier Herbert, Donald Horne, David Malouf and Geoffrey Dutton. All the correspondence has been indexed (see attached Correspondence Index).Series 2. Working correspondence, 1958-86
This series comprises papers about work submitted to Buckley, letters from other academics and from publishers, material relating to university affairs, Australian and overseas conferences, invitations, seminars, meetings and competitions. There are a small number of letters from writers and Buckley's own replies. All the correspondence has been indexed (see attached Correspondence Index).
Series 3. Poetry, 1950s-86
The material in this series includes many drafts of published and unpublished poetry, including Golden builders and Late-winter child. Typescripts and photocopies are included. The material dates from the early 1950s to 1986.
Series 4. Prose: autobiographical, 1950s-60s
This series contains drafts and galley proofs of Cutting green hay, Buckley's memories and reflections on the 1950s and 1960s and Memory Ireland, a work of memory, on Buckley's experiences and events in Ireland.
Series 5. Prose: articles, broadcasts, lectures, papers and reviews, 1950s-86
The material in this series is diverse and dates from the 1950s to 1986. It includes drafts and photocopies of Poetry and the sacred; "Faith in the New Testament"; "What is a Catholic"; Australian Literary Essay material; CLF lectures of the late 1950s and some unpublished poems, articles for various literary journals, reviews, papers, broadcasts and lectures.
Container List
Box | Series | File |
---|---|---|
1 | 1 | 1-9 |
2 | 1 | 10-16 |
3 | 2 | 1-6 |
4 | 2 | 7-11 |
5 | 3 | 1-7 |
6 | 3 | 8-14 |
7 | 3 | 15-22 |
8 | 4 | 1-6 |
9 | 4 | 7-12 |
10 | 4 | 13-21 |
11 | 4 | 22-30 |
12 | 5 | 1-8 |
13 | 5 | 9-13 |
14 | 5 | 14-20 |
15 | 5 | 1-7 |
16 | 6 | 1 |
16 | 7 | 1 |