Leeds Poetry 1950-1980

Use this resource to help you explore the history of poetry publishing at Leeds between 1950 and 1980. Learn about the Poets who studied and worked at the University and those connected with the city and the surrounding area.

Special Collections holds extensive archives (including original manuscripts, correspondence and tape-recordings) relating to poetry connected with the University between 1950 and 1980.

Discover more about poets at the University of Leeds, be they students or teachers, and about their lives and their impact on poetry internationally. Find out about the founding of the Gregory Fellowships, particularly the award for Poetry, winners of the award and their lasting impact on the university. Learn about poetry publishing at Leeds, from student zines and monographs to internationally renowned journals and world famous publications. And finally, see where the poets who lived locally by viewing the maps available at the end of the resource.

As a whole, these resources bear witness to a vibrant regional literary culture centred on the University in the post-war period, and have much to offer scholars, historians, and readers of modern English poetry.

The Leeds Poetry Project was a joint project by the School of English and Leeds University Library, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) in 2005, which brought together online information about archival collections relating to poets working at the University of Leeds between 1950 and 1980.