Creative Drafts
Object types in Special Collections
Documents may be drafted several times before a ‘final’ version is reached. These sequences of drafts can often form a key part of literary archives. The changes traced between drafts reveal the creative process and working method behind creative writing. Asking why these changes were made can help us to engage with and understand the final or latest incarnation of the work.
Sequences of creative drafts can vary greatly depending on who wrote them, and when. An expansive idea may be honed down to a few lines, or an aside might become the driving force behind a whole new piece of writing. Drafts can be handwritten, typewritten, digital or a combination of all three.
Changes of poetic form can clarify or entirely alter a poem's meaning. Crossed out lines can show the initial inspiration for a poem, or how ambiguity of meaning has developed through the drafting process.
Digital versions of the drafts for Simon Armitage's 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight' and Tony Harrison's, 'Them & [uz]' are available on Special Collections website.
Image credit Leeds University Library