James K. Baxter literary manuscripts.

Collection

Identifier: MSS-Archives-B-30

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Holographs and typescripts by James K. Baxer including: Song to the Father(2 leaves); Summertime on the Shortest Day of the Year (2 leaves); The Boobhead and the Girl (4 leaves) - holograph and typescript; Song to the Lord God on a Spring Morning (4 leaves) holograph and typescript; Sestina to Frank McKay; Sestina of the Makutu; Letter to Peter Olds; Sestina of the Dark Welcome; Winter at Jerusalem. Five of these poems were published in Landfall 103 (1972).

>A poem to my father

Dates

1970s

Creator

Sturm, J. C. (Person)
Baxter, James K. (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Not restricted

Conditions Governing Use

Publication of Baxter material requires permission of The Trustees, James K. Baxter Trust, 77 The Parade, Paekakariki (Literary advisor: Associate Professor Paul Millar, School of Culture, Literature and Society, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch).

Biographical / Historical

James Keir Baxter (1926-1972) poet. The son of Archibald and Millicent Baxter, New Zealand poet J.K. Baxter was born in Dunedin and studied at Otago University. After Otago Baxter worked on newspapers and various other jobs while continuing to take courses at Christchurch and Wellington Universities, ultimately graduating with a BA. In 1958 he travelled to India and Japan on a UNESCO grant and joined the Catholic Church. Baxter held the Robert Burns Fellowship at the University of Otago, 1966 and 1967. In 1969, deciding to devote his life to social work, Baxter established a commune at Jerusalem on the Wanganui River. (Source: New Zealand encyclopedia / Bateman).