| Description | This collection consists of the personal archive of Fairfax relating to the initial establishment of the Arvon Foundation and its gradual growth into a structured organisation. The following types of papers are included within the collection, c 1971-c 1991:
Letters from course students; poems by course students; correspondence relating to course organisation and lists of courses; course details; committee papers (minutes, annual reports, accounts, course director reports etc.); letters to Fairfax on a wide range of topics associated with the organisation of Arvon; Foundation newsletters. Of particular interest are papers on the establishment of the various residential centres, and notes by Fairfax on how the Foundation came into existence. Also included are audio tapes of poetry readings by various writers who were involved with Arvon, including Fleur Adcock, Gavin Ewart, Douglas Dunn, Alan Brownjohn, Pete Morgan, Anthony Thwaite, Peter Porter, Peter Redgrove, Penelope Shuttle, Ronald Duncan and Michael Horovitz; recorded at Totleigh Barton writing courses supervised by John Fairfax, 1970s. |
| Admin History | John Fairfax (1930-2009 ) was born and educated in Devon and although he lived most of his life in Berkshire, he retained strong links with the county throughout his writing career, through his long friendship with fellow poet and artist John Moat and as co-partner in their joint establishment of the Arvon Foundation for writers.
The concept for Arvon was first discussed by Moat and Fairfax in c 1967 in order to provide opportunities for young writers to meet and discuss their work with peers and established writers. The first week-long creative writing course was held for Devon schoolchildren in 1968, with Ted Hughes (Poet Laureate) attending as guest reader. The Foundation was constituted in 1969 with the assistance of the Arts Council of Great Britain. Totleigh Barton Manor, Devon, was acquired in 1970 as the Foundation's first residential Centre, and poets and writers such as Ronald Duncan, Henry Williamson, Alan Brownjohn, Michael Hamburger, Robert Gittings, Ted Walker, Leslie Norris, Paul Roche and Peter Redgrove were amongst the early course tutors. The first meeting of Arvon Foundation Ltd. was held in February 1973. The Foundation is now administered as a registered charity, running residential creative writing courses for songwriters, poets, novelists, script and screenwriters, playwrights and journalists at four centres throughout the United Kingdom.
John Fairfax's publications include: 'The way to write: a complete guide to the basic skills of good writing' (co-written with John Moat, and with a foreword by Ted Hughes) (1981), 'Creative Writing' (1989), 'Frontier of going: an anthology of space poetry' (selected and with an introduction by John Fairfax) (1969), 'Stop and listen: an anthology of thirteen living poets' (compiled by John Fairfax) (1969), 'The fifth horseman of the apocalypse' (1969), 'One hundred poems' (1992), 'Bone harvest done poems' (1980), 'Horizons' (ed.) (1971), 'This I say: twelve poems' (1966), 'Wild Children' (1985) and 'Zuihitsu poetic journal and jottings' (1996).
Further additions to the collection include:
Audio tapes of poetry readings by various writers who were involved with Arvon, including Fleur Adcock, Gavin Ewart, Douglas Dunn, Alan Brownjohn, Pete Morgan, Anthony Thwaite, Peter Porter, Peter Redgrave, Penelope Shuttle, Ronald Duncan and Michael Horowitz; recorded at Totleigh Barton writing courses by John Fairfax, 1970s; Autograph notebook relating to 'The Way to Write' / Arvon. |