Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Collection
Title
Harold Monro Collection
Date(s)
- 1903-2001 (Creation)
Extent
2 boxes
Name of creator
Biographical history
Harold Monro (1879-1932) was a British poet, literary critic, and owner of the famous Poetry Bookshop, where renowned poets came to connect with the London public. Monro, a poet of modern verse and an avid promoter of British literary arts, founded three leading literary periodicals, including The Poetry Review.
He became proprietor of the Poetry Bookshop in 1912, and through this venue became influential in the lives of many important modern poets, including Wilfred Owen, Robert Frost, T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, and Anna Wickham. He was reluctantly called up to fight in World War I from 1917 to 1919, after which he returned to continue his literary and business career. Monro was a conflicted homosexual who married twice; once in 1903 and again in 1920.
His second marriage was to his assistant, Alida Klemantaski, who enjoyed participating in Monro's intellectual and business pursuits. Poor health and alcoholism contributed to his early death at the age of 47. Monro is not well remembered by literary history, though devotees such as Dominic Hibberd have helped to resurrect the memory of this influential and talented literary professional.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
This collection consists of handwritten research notes, correspondence from various individuals, institutions and organizations, and photocopied materials collected by Dominic Hibberd for his 2001 biography Harold Monro: Poet of the New Age. It also includes the papers and research notes of Ruth Tomalin. Alida Monro left Tomalin money to write a biography of Harold Monro, but this was contested by an executor of the will. Though she won her court case, Tomalin did not write the biography, and instead passed her notes to Patric Dickson, another potential biographer, who in turn gave them to Dominic Hibberd. The collection also contains publicity materials and publication information for Hibberd's book.
System of arrangement
This collection is arranged into the following four series:
- Series 1, Research Notes (box 1)
- Series 2, Correspondence (box 1 and 2)
- Series 3, Ruth Tomalin’s Papers (box 2)
- Series 4, Publication Information (box 2)
There is a folder labeled "1-1" that has a finding guide, Hibberd’s inventory of the collection, a list of book insertions, a folder list of the collection, a bibliography of books in the collection, and a list of other Monro related materials.
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
Physical access
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Related descriptions
Notes element
Specialized notes
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Sources used
Archivist's note
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