DEANE, SEAMUS, 1940-
Seamus Deane papers > Writings

Scope and Content Note

This series consists of writings by Seamus Deane and others from 1970-2010. Materials include drafts, proofs, notes, and a small amount of correspondence directly related to the writings.

Deane's writings consist of critical pieces, notebooks, novels, poetry, and translations, demonstrating Deane's range as both critic and creative writer. His critical essays and periodicals, the majority of which pertain to Irish literature, history, and politics, have been grouped chronologically. Many of these drafts are early versions of pieces that appeared in the New Yorker and the Times Literary Supplement, including his dialogue between W.B. Yeats and James Joyce written for the TLS in 1992. Deane's notebooks contain both critical notes and creative writing, including several drafts of poems. Of particular interest are multiple versions of his prize-winning novel Reading in the Dark (1996), a semi-autobiographical work set in the years leading up to the Northern Ireland Troubles. There are also multiple drafts of poems, approximately half of which are from Deane's three volumes of poetry: Gradual Wars (1972), Rumours (1977), and History Lessons (1983). The other drafts are of uncollected and unpublished work. Drafts of collected poems have been grouped by volume, with poems arranged in alphabetical order by title. Uncollected and unpublished works are grouped separately in alphabetical order by title or first line. The series also contains translation materials, including copies of source texts, drafts, and notes. The majority of the translations are by Deane, with the exception of the Italian translation of his poetry volume Gradual Wars.

Writings by others documents Deane's relationships with Irish, British, and American writers. There is a small amount of writing about Deane, including book reviews and a thesis. The majority of the material consists of essays, plays, poems, and short stories sent to Deane by various writers. Of particular note are drafts of poems by Seamus Heaney, including a complete typescript of North with Heaney's corrections. Other notable materials include typescripts of several of Brian Friel's plays for the Field Day Theatre Company, a typescript of Colum McCann's Everything in This Country Must, and plays and short prose by Thomas Kilroy and Hugh Maxton.

Arrangement Note

Arranged in alphabetical order by record type.