Correspondence with the poet Bill Griffiths who was the first archivist appointed by King's College to work on the Eric MOTTRAM ARCHIVE

ERIC MOTTRAM ARCHIVE
King's College London, Hampstead Campus, Kidderpore Ave., London NW3 7ST
Dr. Bill GRIFFITHS, Archivist
23 January 1998
[Texts within square brackets are the interpolations of TW clarifying the references.]

Dear Dr Wignesan,

Thank you for your letter of 9th January. Unfortunately, by the time this had been forwarded me from King's in the Strand, work on the archive events of the 19th were well under way, and have kept me busy for some time. I can only apologise for the delay in answering your enquiry.

Although you talk of an extensive correspondence [ the only items concerning yourself to appear in the Archive so far are as follows:

1. photocopied circular letter, 31 May 1988, from T. Wignesan, seeking Mottram participation in 'Premier Colloque International de Poietique';

2. typescript letter from T. Wignesan, 16 Aug 1994, reminding Mottram to send material for his journal, Revue de Poïétique Comparée [in italics];

3. typescript letter of 15 Jul 1967, mostly describing his own work, but in a manuscript postscript enquiring about 'the Burroughs piece';

4. manuscript letters, 5 Jun 1992 - 14 Oct 1994, briefly touching on the issue of publication later realised in Revue de Poïétique Comparée [italicised];

5. manuscript letter of 1 Jan 1994 enclosing curriculum vitae and article 'Wong Phui Nam's poietics' [by T. Wignesan] from proceedings of a conference in Essen, 1991;

6. bound copy of Mere deaths and the mostly dead: a collection of short stories [italicised] by T. Wignesan (1993).

It is possible that further items may emerge from boxes yet to be catalogued, but there is no sign yet of any large-scale correspondence over a long period, nor of course did Eric Mottram necessarily keep all the letters he received. His Archive is very much a selection of material he made himself on cultural topics, rather than a personal picture.

[The correspondence between Eric Mottram and Yours truly extended between 1957 and 1994 and on a first count comprised some 232 closely packed pages which in print should total some 700 pages. Yet EM during his last two visits to Paris urged me - without restrictions or conditions - to have them published, and this is what I am doing here.]

I hope, therefore, you will reconsider your position towards the Archive, and let the above items continue to form part of the public Catalogue for public access. I can send you photocopies of any of the letters above, if you would like to consider the question of access in more detail. What will not be possible, I regret, is the physical return to you of the originals. You will understand that these documents were passed to King's by deed of assignment from the previous owners, the executors of Eric Mottram's estate, and now form part of the College Archives of King's College London. And King's is keen to increase, not diminish, the remarkable collection that has been entrusted to its care.

However, it is my understanding that the copyright of your letters in the Archive remains with you. That is, your letters could not be photocopied or published without prior permission from yourself. [ Be that as it may, a Japanese lady who teaches American studies in Germany managed to obtain (according to her, herself) photocopies - if I am not mistaken - of the said correspondence, without hindrance.] Further, you may, if you wish, have the letters placed on reserve - which means, that they would be withdrawn from the available archive and kept in a special reserved section, so that the public could only consult the documents with your permission, during your lifetime. I hope, personally, that you will not take this action, but I advise you of the option, as it might go some way to meet your concern over the material.

I hope however that on reflection you may be reassured concerning the material and its handling, and not wish to restrict its usage.

Yours sincerely,

Dr. B. Griffiths

(c) T. Wignesan, Paris - 1998-2023