Skip to main content

Exploring ‘Them & [uz]’ manuscripts

Harrison p54 Bottom Layer crop
Trace the development of Tony Harrison's poem 'Them & [uz]' through the series of evolving drafts contained in the pages of one of his notebooks.
More
BC MS 20c Harrison/03/SCH/53/t
Introduction to the exploration of the manuscripts of Tony Harrison's peom "Them & [uz]"
More
BC MS 20c Harrison/03/SCH/01/54b
Manuscripts notes of Tony Harrison's poem 'Them & [uz]'
More
BC MS 20c Harrison/03/SCH/01
Image and transcription of one page of Tony Harrison's notebook drafts for 'Them & [UZ]'.
More
BC MS 20c Harrison/03/SCH/01/54b
Image of page 54 of the manuscript notes of Tony Harrison's peom "Them & [uz]"
More
BC MS 20c Harrison/03/SCH/01/55b
Image of page 55 of the manuscript notes of Tony Harrison's peom "Them & [uz]"
More
BC MS 20c Harrison/03/SCH/01/56b
Image of page 56 of the manuscript notes of Tony Harrison's peom "Them & [uz]"
More
BC MS 20c Harrison/03/SCH/53/t
Early typescript draft of first sonnet of ‘Tony Harrison's poem "Them & [uz]"
More
BC MS 20c Harrison/03/SCH/53t
An early draft of the second sonnet of Tony Harrison's poem "Them & [uz]"
More
BC MS 20c Harrison/03/SCH/01/56t
An early draft of the complete poem "Them & [uz]" by Tony Harrison
More
Harrison 'Them & [uz]' first publication
First published version of Tony Harrison's peom "Them & [uz]"
More
BC MS 20c Harrison/02
Fourth draft version of Tony Harrison's peom "Them & [uz]"
More
Harrison 'Them & [uz]' final version.
Final published version of Tony Harrison's poem "Them & [uz]"
More

The majority of the draft material for the poem 'Them & [uz]' is found in just four pages of 'The School of Eloquence 1' (BC MS 20c Harrison/03/SCH/01), which is one of over 200 notebooks in the Tony Harrison Archive. This collection also houses supplementary material, including the first published version, poetry reading notes, and the final published version of the poem.

It was common for Harrison to paste successive drafts on top of each other so that only the most recent draft appears when the page is opened.

As it has not been possible to separate these layers without damaging the notebook, this resource is only able to explore the material that is clearly visible. Nonetheless, this gives a detailed picture of the evolution of the poem.