PEN archive

Approximately 28,300 letters addressed to the London Centre of the PEN Club complemented by carbon copies of approximately 23,200 letters from the General Secretaries and their respective assistants. The correspondence spans roughly the years 1940 to 1980, bridging Herman Ould's administrative command which ended wih his death in 1951, the years 1951-1974 in which David Carver was International Secretary, Tresurer, and General Secretary of the London Centre, and more recentlly Pater Elotob's administration.

The papers are arranged into two series: Correspondence, consisting of approximately 61,500 handwritten, typed, and carbon copy typed letters and cards between various authors and the London Centre of English P.E.N. General Secretaries and their assistants. Also included are handwritten, typed, and carbon copy typed drafts of poems, talks, and essays as well as publication announcements and press cuttings; and Adminstrative papers. Readers may wish to refer to P.E.N. The Early Years. 1921-1926 by Marjorie Watts (Archive Press, 1971).