Correspondence with and relating to Scottish poet, translator and critic, Edwin Morgan, who signs his letters with a variety of noms de plume. Much of the correspondence relates to Morgan's first six publications with Carcanet, and relates to: contractual issues; copyright and permissions; titles; Schmidt's arrangement and editing of the pieces in each book, and Morgan's response to this; proof-reading; jacket design; publicity; sales; reviews; royalties; The volumes are as follows, with a note of any additional further topics of interest discussed in the correspondence:
- Wi the haill voice: 25 poems by Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky, translated from the Russian into Scots, with a glossary by Edwin Morgan (1972), Morgan's first Carcanet publication which formed part of a series of poetry in translation. /1 makes reference to the difficulty of translating Mayakovsky's work into English effectively, which Morgan overcame by using Scots (see /1-10, /13, /15-16, /22-23, /38, /45, /47, /52, /70, /100 and /103).
- From Glasgow to Saturn (1973): this collection was originally turned down by Edinburgh University Press, and in the absence of another poetry publishing house in Scotland, Morgan took Schmidt up on his offer to publish the title. Includes references to the first draft and the subsequent omission of the 'Instamatic Poems' and 'Newspoems' (see /17-23, /26-28, /37-43, /45-46, /48-50, /52, /57-62, /64, /66, /69-73, /77, /79-80, /82, /88, /90, /100 and /136-141).
- Essays (1974), a volume compiled by Morgan at Schmidt's suggestion (see /25, /37-38, /53-4, /56, /65, /67-68, /70, /81, /83-84, /87-89, /95, /100 and /103).
- Rites of passage: selected translations (1976): this volume of poetry translations from various languages was originally scheduled for publication by the Poni Press in Edinburgh whose finances ultimately prevented them from proceeding, so Morgan approached Carcanet in 1974 (see /73-78, /92-95, /97-102, /104, /106-109, /112-117, /122-125, /127, /129-130 and /133).
- The new divan (1977): a collection of new poems (see /77-8, /112-113, /115-117, /122-124, /127-133 and /135).
- Scottish satirical verse, an anthology compiled by Morgan (1980) (see /120-122, /130-131 and /134-5).
Other topics covered in the correspondence include: British poetry since 1960: a critical survey (ed. Schmidt and Lindop, 1972), to which Morgan contributed (/3-4, /6-7 and /37); the possibility of Morgan translating work by [Evgeny] Vinokurov for Carcanet (/13); Morgan's Glasgow sonnets (/15); Morgan's refusal to become a regular contributor to PN Review, because of its association with Brian Cox, whose ideas as manifested in the Black Papers Morgan deplores (/26, /65, /68, /74-76 and /133); the issue of being published in the New Review (/76); Schmidt's suggestion that Morgan write an autobiography (/38); Morgan's suggestion that Carcanet take over publishing the Scottish poetry annual in 1975 (/105); Carcanet's financial problems, and the possibility of selling the Carcanet Archive and some books to raise funds in early 1977 (/134); and some brief references to poems Schmidt and Morgan have been writing together [ultimately published as Grafts by Mariscat in 1983].
The file includes typescript poems by Morgan as follows: "On those high wires..." (/11); 'Friendly Village' (/31); 'Heron' (/32); 'Blackbirds' (/33); 'Phoning' (/34); and 'By the Fire' (/35). /110 is a Christmas card containing a printed poem by Morgan entitled 'Song of the Child', signed by the author. The file also includes a small amount of correspondence with other individuals relating to rights in Morgan's works published by Carcanet.
/99 and /104 are in Spanish.
Dated at: Glasgow; Dublin and Howth, County Dublin, Ireland; London; and Amsterdam, Holland.
Holograph and typescript.