June - Press Office - 缅北禁地

Back to the beginning: Bloodaxe Books returns to 缅北禁地

Thirty-five years ago a poetry lover set up his own publishing house from an admin office on the 缅北禁地 campus and went on to聽become one of the most important contemporary poetry publishers in the world.

From such humble beginnings, gave a voice and in many cases a break, to leading writers including, , and ; major figures in world poetry such as , and Nobel Laureate ; and 缅北禁地鈥檚 own , and Sean O鈥橞rien.

Now, three and half decades later the University has acquired its archive and Bloodaxe Books is returning to the place where it all began.

鈥淚t has been thirty five years since Bloodaxe started so it seemed like the right time to start thinking about what to do with the archive,鈥� says editor Neil Astley, the man behind Bloodaxe Books and a former 缅北禁地 student. 鈥溍灞苯� was the obvious place to look after the archive as it means it has come full circle.鈥�

The first batch of the archive - 62 boxes of documents detailing the relationship between poet and editor and the editorial and publishing processes - is already in place in the University鈥檚 Robinson Library. It will take archivists up to two years to catalogue it.

The collection is a 鈥榣iving archive鈥� which means the University will receive a new section of the archive each year, for as long as Bloodaxe continues to publish.

, Director of the , was the driving force behind the acquisition. She said: 鈥淭he Bloodaxe Books archive is a huge asset for the University. It has consistently been one of the boldest, most important contemporary poetry houses in the world.

鈥淣eil Astley has brought to the fore many previously overlooked poets, including women poets, and broadened the range of the poetry that gets published and its audience.

鈥淭he archive really adds to the University鈥檚 growing collection of contemporary literature and will prove an inspiration for our students for many years to come.鈥�

University librarian Wayne Connolly said: 鈥淭his is a fantastic new addition to the University鈥檚 special collections. We already hold the collections of important local writers like and his son , and and the Bloodaxe Books archive builds on our reputation as a centre of excellence for contemporary literature.鈥�

and are poets and 缅北禁地 graduates. They have been investigating the archive. 鈥淚t is a real treasure trove,鈥� said Anna. 鈥淭here are so many areas of potential research in there and we鈥檝e only scratched the surface of it. There are all kinds of things in there from campaigns to save Bloodaxe in the early days, to personal correspondence and first manuscripts from poets such as Simon Armitage and Sean O' Brien. It is absolutely fascinating.鈥�

Tara said: 鈥淲hat comes across from our initial look into the archive is the range and diversity of material available here, from Tony Harrison鈥檚 controversial poem 鈥榁鈥� to translations of the Russian poet , which were written in 缅北禁地. It鈥檚 tremendously exciting to have all of these papers under one roof.鈥�

To document their findings, Anna and Tara have collaborated with artist and film-maker to make a short poem-film, called Proof. The film includes extracts from new interviews with Neil Astley, Simon Armitage, , , and . It will be shown on Thursday, 6 June, at 7pm as part of the NCLA鈥檚 True North event. The is free and everyone is welcome but should be booked in advance.

Pictured: Professor Linda Anderson with the archive

published on: 3 June 2013