Historical/Biographical Note:
'The English Intelligencer' appeared 36 times between January 1966 and April 1968-roughly once every three weeks-and was circulated by mailing list to a varying number of English poets. (The fluctuation was between 25 and 65 names.) There was always a hard core of a dozen or so, and these were the poets who gave the magazine its consistency. This intensity of activity was in itself an important fact of English poetry in the 1960s. But, in addition, this hard core of contributor-readers included many of the most active and interesting younger English poets, whose work continued to develop, and who found 'The English Intelligencer' an important contributor to the growth of their poetic consciousness.
'The English Intelligencer' was originally conceived as an attempt to draw together various English poets whose work was thought of as "avant garde," who, for instance, were strongly aware of contemporary American work-these included the poets variously associated with Migrant, the Resuscitator, and Prospect, as well as more isolated individuals such as Tom Raworth, Lee Harwood, Jim Burns, and Tom Pickard-and to provide them with a common meeting point. There was no initial editorial line beyond the selection of poets to circulate the Intelligencer to. The editor, who at the time was associated with the American poet Tom Clark in bringing out the first issue of the Wivenhoe Park Review, felt that such a peculiarly "English" project entailed producing a second magazine of an entirely different character to that of the W.P.R., and the free availability of a mimeograph machine gave him the means to do so. It is likely that the Intelligencer was partly the inspiration for Tom Clark's Once series of magazines: both were produced on the same mimeograph, and they are roughly identical in format.
The function of the Intelligencer as it had been originally conceived was never realized. The magazine was actually run-down and brought to a halt between December 1967 and April 1968 when it became apparent that a) the size of its readership had become unwieldy, b) it had various levels of readership involvement, and c) those most closely involved felt that the pattern of exchange that had been established had become stultifying.
Return to topScope and Content Note
The English Intelligencer Archive is a part of the Avant Garde Collection at Fales Library, New York University. The Fales Library is the primary special collections division of the NYU libraries, housing over 170,000 volumes of English and American literature from 1700 to the present. Strengths of the collection include the development of the English and American novel, with an emphasis on the Gothic and the Victorian novel. The Avant Garde Collection comprises printed materials, archives, and other materials related to the avant-garde writing from the 1960s and early 1970s. Curators, including Mel Edestein and Ted Grieder, built the collection during that period. All rights are reserved.
The English Intelligencer Archive is a collection of correspondence and manuscripts submitted to the editors, Andrew Crozier and Peter Riley, during 1966 to 1968, as well as seven of the magazines publications. Collection highlights include manuscripts/letters written by Peter Armstrong, Elaine Feinstein, Barry McSweeney, John Jay, and J. G. Ballard. Noted correspondents include: Allen Ginsberg, William S. Buroughs, Derek Taylor and Saul Bellow, among others.
SERIES DESCRIPTION
Series A: Correspondence: contains 1 box of correspondence to the editors, Andrew Crozier and Peter Riley. Noted correspondents include Peter Armstrong, Barry McSweeney, John Jay and William S. Burroughs, among others.
Series B: Manuscripts: contains 2 boxes of manuscripts submitted by such notable figures as Elaine Feinstein, Barry McSweeney, Peter Armstorng and J. G. Ballard.
Series C: Publications: contains one box of a complete run of 'The English Intelligencer.'
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Arrangement |
||
| Materials are arranged in alphabetical and chronological order. | ||
| The files are grouped into three series. | ||
Related Material at the Fales Library and Special Collections
Once: a one shot magazine archive
Return to topSeparated Material
There is no record of materials separated from the collection.
Return to topRestrictions
Access Restrictions
Open to researchers. Appointments are necessary for the use of manuscript and archival materials.
Use Restrictions
Collection use is subject to all copyright laws. Permission to
publish materials must be obtained in writing from the Director of Fales
Library and Special Collections. For more information, contact
Fales Library and Special Collections
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012Phone: (212) 998-2596
Fax: (212) 995-3835
Email: fales.library@nyu.edu
URL: http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/research/fales/cdfa.htm
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Administrative Information
Provenance
The collection was acquired by purchase.
Preferred Citation
Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date (if known); The English Intelligencer Archive; MSS 12; box number; folder
number; Fales Library and Special Collections
, New York University Libraries.
Container List
Note: Folders include listings of file contents.
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