Papers and Correspondence of Charles Montagu Slater (1902-1956); 1929-1976

The Slater archive is, unfortunately, not a coherent or complete gathering of his literary work, nor does it contain much information about his personal life. It includes many fragments and variants of particular works.

The archive covers the period 1929-1956, with a publication about Slater dating from 1976. The bulk comprises poems and songs, prose works (many intended for broadcast or filming), film and television scripts, reviews, official correspondence and some printed biographical works and accounts of Slater. Slater's political interests are reflected in newspaper cuttings concerning events in Africa and China in the 1950s.

Slater's efforts to write a libretto for Garcia Lorca's 'Yerma' are recorded, with drafts two acts. Several play texts are present, including 'The Good Soldier', adapted from Paul Selver's translation of Jaroslav Hasek's 'The Good Soldier'.

The inclusion of some reviews of Slater's work and associated papers relates to work undertaken by Arnold Rattenbury after Slater's death to sort his papers and publish his poetry.

Literary papers and correspondence.

Material is divided according to form (e.g. prose, poetry) and listed chronologically within sections, arranged by title where possible.

• <persname>Slater, Charles Montagu, 1902-1956, theatre critic, writer and communist</persname>
• <persname>Rattenbury, Arnold, fl 1970, poet</persname>

Photocopies and photographic copies can be supplied for educational use and private study purposes only depending on the condition of the documents.

Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Keeper of the Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections (email: mss-library@nottingham.ac.uk). The Department will try to assist in identifying copyright owners but the responsibility for copyright clearance before publication ultimately rests with the reader.

Accessible to all registered readers.

The papers were formerly held by Arnold Rattenbury who sorted them and drew on them for his article 'Poems by Montagu Slater' in Renaissance and Modern Studies, xx (1976), 120-136. They were subsequently transferred to the University Library in 1985. They constitute a separate archive within the larger gathering of Twentieth-Century Theatre Papers (GB 0159 Tw T).

Charles Montagu Slater (1902-1956) was born in Millom, Cumberland in 1902. He won a scholarship to Oxford and, following his graduation, began a career as a reporter for the Liverpool Post. He was active in local politics and joined the newly-formed Communist Party in about 1927. His commitment to Communism is reflected in his literary work, which was particularly productive during the 1930s. He became editor of Left Review and wrote theatre criticism as well as plays, poems, short stories and film scripts. He worked with Benjamin Britten in the 1930s, a partnership best known for the Peter Grimes libretto in 1945.