Abstract for May 1937 Abstracts of Robert Graves Diary 1935-39 Shoichet, Jillian compiled by L.R. Roberts University of Victoria Libraries
P.O.. Box 1800, STN CSC Victoria B.C., VH3 2W5 Canada
July, 2006 UVic Text Analysis Portal for Research URL: http://web.uvic.ca/hrd/tapor/tapor.htm UVic Humanities Computing and Media Centre URL: http://web.uvic.ca/hrd/tapor/tapor.htm University of Victoria, Victoria B.C., Canada

Copyright of diary available by permission of the Robert Graves Trust

Copyright of introduction to diary available by permission of Elizabeth Grove-White

Copyright of diary markup, editorial notes and abstract by permission of the University of Victoria Libraries

Copyright of notes marked WG by permission of William Graves

Copyright of notes marked KG, Robert Graves Trust

 University of Victoria Humanities Computing and Media Centre and University of Victoria Libraries

held in the University of Victoria Libraries, Special Collections, Robert Graves Collection
P.O.. Box 1800, STN CSC Victoria B.C., VH3 2W5 Canada
acquired by the Libraries from Robert Graves in 1971 through the offices of Bertram Rota SC050GR01 Diary of Robert Graves 1935-39 and ancillary material Graves, Robert (1895-1985) University of Victoria Libraries
P.O.. Box 1800, STN CSC Victoria B.C., VH3 2W5 Canada
July, 2006 UVic Text Analysis Portal for Research URL: http://web.uvic.ca/hrd/tapor/tapor.htm UVic Humanities Computing and Media Centre URL: http://web.uvic.ca/hrd/tapor/tapor.htm University of Victoria, Victoria B.C., Canada

Copyright of diary available by permission of the Robert Graves Trust

Copyright of introduction to diary available by permission of Elizabeth Grove-White

Copyright of diary markup, editorial notes and abstract by permission of the University of Victoria Libraries

Copyright of notes marked WG by permission of William Graves

Copyright of notes marked KG, Robert Graves Trust

 University of Victoria Humanities Computing and Media Centre and University of Victoria Libraries

held in the University of Victoria Libraries, Special Collections, Robert Graves Collection
P.O.. Box 1800, STN CSC Victoria B.C., VH3 2W5 Canada
acquired by the Libraries from Robert Graves in 1971 through the offices of Bertram Rota SC050GR01 Victoria, BC, Canada University of Victoria Libraries Special Collections OHC0005681 PR6013.R35

Graves' diary manuscript includes 1546 pages including 117 enclosures: letters, clippings, photographs post cards, notes, games, etc.

Private URIs to the ref prefix are pointers to entities in references.xml, which contains all people, places, organizations, and other entities referred to throughout the project.

Pointers to the repository of facsimile images of the Graves diary.

Private URIs to the ref prefix are pointers to entities in references.xml, which contains all people, places, organizations, and other entities referred to throughout the project.

Pointers to the repository of facsimile images of the Graves diary.

 Primary hand. Secondary hand. Secondary hand. Primary hand.
MAY 1937

Graves begins May with The Wretch: eight drafts - two days, 12 lines. He will produce subsequent drafts of the poem as the month progresses, and seems pleased with it. The new poetry collection is also taking shape: Graves begins writing the foreword and starts playing with the order of poems. He also writes drafts of several new poems: Smoke, (first drafted in April) The Stranger, The Last March,Graves calls this the "resuscitated" poem - is it the same as "Moments in Never" that he is trying to retrieve from memory in April? JS, Or To Perish Before Day, and Leaving the Rest Unsaid, which he intends to include as the last poem in the collection. He also drafts Poets.

Graves and Riding continue to work on The Kind Ghost (later The Swiss Ghost); Graves writes to the end of Chapter 6, and Riding is not far behind reading the drafts. Rumours about the status of the Claudius film continue to contradict themselves, and the future of the production looks rather grim. But A Trojan Ending receives several more good reviews, and the first review of Honor Wyatt's The Heathen is a surprisingly positive one in the Times Literary Supplement.

Riding writes her own poetry this month as well, including The Victory, and UnPentateuchal Genesis. At the same time, she continues editorial work on Schools (despite an earlier plan to postpone work on the project) and Norman Cameron's Rimbaud. She also sends a letter to the Spectator in response to Dorothy Sayers' article on Letter on International Affairs; in her letter, Riding demands an apology for infringement of copyright.

As the weather improves, the tone of the diary lightens, although low-pressure weather systems and heavy spring rains also result in frequent headaches for both Graves and Riding. But despite disheartening updates from Spain - Gelat is still in prison and the political conflict is far from over - most entries include some note about the warmer weather and Graves' delight in the natural world. Long walks become longer and more frequent, and often include Riding and Karl. Graves loses weight and feels generally healthier, despite such minor irritations as a bad toothache and the re-emergence of a boil that had plagued him in previous months.

Graves and Riding give notice that they will be leaving the house in Lugano on 1 June. Harry Kemp and Alix Eierman have found them a house in Ewhurst in Surrey for the summer months. Politics and world events take a back seat to domestic activity and the upcoming move back to England. The Hindenberg explodes and the German and Italian attacks on Spain worsen. But the diary chronicles in more detail the return of Schwarz and Strenge from abroad, bearing gifts; Riding's unsettling interaction with Maisie Somerville, which threatens to destroy the friendship between the two women; Karl's expired passport; and Graves' growing sense of distance from his surroundings: Lugano is already a pleasant memory to Laura & me.

There is one enclosure this month: the envelope of a letter from, or forwarded by? Juan Vives in Rennes.

Lugano Lugano Switzerland near the Italian border, where RG and LR spent part of 1937 eds. Ewhurst Ewhurst Surrey England Highcroft, the house RG and LR rented with Harry and Alix Kemp between July and November 1937, was located there. eds. Surrey Surrey England Rennes Rennes France where Gelat's daughter, Anita, and son-in-law, Juan Vives live; visited by RG and LR et al in 1938 eds. Graves Robert Robert Graves, Robert [1st person]. (1895-1985). Poet, novelist, essayist, critic, and author of his diary. eds. Riding Laura Laura Riding, Laura (1901-91) American poet. Laura Riding (née Reichenthal; then Laura Gottschalk). Cameron Norman Norman Cameron Cameron, Norman Poet. Built Can Torrent in 1932-1933. W.G.; m. to Elfriede, then to Catherine Vandervelde; friend and contributor to LR and RG's work eds. Sayers Dorothy Dorothy Sayers Sayers, Dorothy (1893-1957) scholar and writer with the Spectator who criticised LR's writing in The World and Ourselves eds. Marroig Más Juan Gelat Más, Juan Marroig Juan Marroig Mas, called Gelat: Landowner on Deyá and friend of Robert Graves and Laura Riding (L.R. & R.G.'s factotum. W.G.) Goldschmidt Karl Karl/Carl Goldschmidt, Karl Karl Goldschmidt, later Kenneth Gay: Graphic artist, friend and secretary of Robert Graves and Laura Riding since 1934. R. G. spells both as Carl and Karl. Harry Kemp Kemp, Harry Poet. Met Graves and Riding through James Reeves in August 1936, just after their arrival in England. In their previous correspondence, Riding had been intrigued by his falling-out with Communism. He became associated with their circle, collaborating on various projects. (RPG 248-49) Alix Kemp Kemp, Alix Married to poet Harry Kemp. The couple shared a house with Graves and Riding in Ewhurst, Surrey (1937). eds (RPG 277); also referred to as Frau Eierman by RG eds. see Diary August 30, 1936 Schwarz Georg Swartz Schwarz, Georg German Jew. Deyá neighbour. Antique dealer. Lived with Frau Emmy Strenge, his house keeper, in Can Caballo some hundred yards from Canellun. RG and LR translated his "Almost Forgotten Germany." WG Strenge Emmi Strenge Strenge, Frau Emmi Schwarz's house keeper and ? mistress. WG Sommerville Maisie Maisie Sommerville, Maisie Head of BBC Education broadcasting department. Friend of R.G. and L.R. Arranged accomodation for them when they returned to London as exiles. W.G., eds. Vives Juan Juan Vives, Juan The Doctor's brother. Married to Gelat's daughter. Lived in Rennes, France. WG Graves Robert Graves, Robert Author of the diary. Graves Beryl A. Graves, Beryl A. Second wife of Robert Graves. Transcribed the diary entries and register of letters written (hereafter, logs) from a photocopy of the manuscript, and these 53 monthly MS Dos, ASCII files, dated 01/01/83 were sent to Chris Petter by The Robert Graves Trust on floppy disc in 1996. Goldschmidt Karl Goldschmidt, Karl Karl Goldschmidt, d.1995, who later changed his name to Kenneth Gay, was Robert Graves' and Laura Riding's personal secretary during the period when the diary was written. He later annotated another printout of the diary produced from the B.A. Graves transcript, which is at the Graves Trust Archives in St. John's Oxford. Notes by Karl Goldschmidt are denoted as KG. Shoichet Jillian Shoichet, Jillian Abstracts: responsible for researching and writing the abstracts for the whole diary Graves William Graves, William Son of Robert and Beryl Graves. Helped to identify names, places and titles in Deya (1935-1936) and with translations and other references in three ways. He left an annotated printout of the first six months of the diary in the Graves Trust Room at St. John's College, Oxford. He also sent Chris Petter an Excel file with a list identifying names and places, principally in the Majorcan sections of the diary, and a glossary of Spanish terms. Finally he has sent the editors answers in response to reference questions. Notes by William Graves are identified with the initials WG. Editors Editors of the Graves Diary Project. Wretch, The [poem] Modern Poet, The [1938 Anthology ed. Gwendolyn Murphy] Graves, Robert London Sidgwick & Jackson, Ltd. 81 b27 1937-05-01 Smoke [poem: presumably "The Smoky House". See Complete Poems, Vol. II, pp. 82-83. (Check drafts in Buffalo for this title.) DW] Graves, Robert The Strangers [poem became The Stranger] Collected Poems [1938] Graves, Robert London, Toronto, Melbourne & Sydney Cassell and Co. Ltd. A48 1937-05-09 The Last March ["resuscitated" poem] [could be a superseded title on draft(s) of "Defeat of the Rebels" (Check drafts in Buffalo for this title). DW] Graves, Robert 1937-05-13 Moments in Never [poem; later Proofs of Royalty; published as Fragment of a Lost Poem] Robert Graves: Complete Poems Vol. II Graves, Robert Beryl Graves and Dunstan Ward Manchester Carcanet Press pp. 86, 313 (note). 1995-1999 Or To Perish Before Day [poem] Collected Poems [1938] Graves, Robert London, Toronto, Melbourne & Sydney Cassell and Co. Ltd. A48 1937-05-18 Leaving the Rest Unsaid [poem] Collected Poems [1938] Graves, Robert London, Toronto, Melbourne & Sydney Cassell and Co. Ltd A48 1937-05-23 The Poets [poem] Collected Poems (1938) Graves, Robert London, Toronto, Melbourne & Sydney Cassell and Company Limited A48 1938-11 The Swiss Ghost [formerly The Kind Ghost] [novel] Graves, Robert/ Riding, Laura 1937-04-22 Claudius [the film: based on I, Claudius, directed by Alexander Korda, starring Charles Laughton. It was never completed.] Trojan Ending, A [novel] Riding, Laura Deyá & London Seizin & Constable 1937 The Heathen Wyatt, Honor Riding, Laura New York Random House 1937 Times Literary Supplement London Times London 1902-1968 Victory [poem] [Presumably "Defeat of the Rebels". (Check drafts in Buffalo for this title.) DW] Collected Poems (1938) Graves, Robert London, Toronto, Melbourne & Sydney Cassell and Co. Ltd. 1938-11 Schools [an international survey of education] Graves, Robert; Riding, Laura Riding, Laura Translation [prose: unpublished?] Graves, Robert, Riding Laura 1936-02 Spectator London F.C. Westley 1828- Letter on International Affairs Riding, Laura Chatto & Windus London 15-19 A36 1938