General correspondence, 1930s-1997

Component identifier:

Series 2

Content Summary:

During the course of his career, Stivens corresponded with many prominent people in the literary sphere and a large number of their letters can be found in this series. The main correspondents are listed at Appendix 1 (attached - see Related Documentation tab). Stivens met one of the main correspondents, Christina Stead, in London when he was living there. On her return to Australia, she was a regular visitor to Stivens' home and included in this series is correspondence between the two.

This series also contains correspondence relating to Stivens' day-to-day activities, his literary pursuits, grant applications and his many interests including local and state politics and current affairs. There are a large number of invitations to speak at or attend literary and art events and functions and letters of congratulation on his receiving the Patrick White Award in 1981. Included are drafts and copies of many of Stivens' replies to letters. There are also copies of translations of business letters to and from Stivens into other languages.

Correspondence files created by Stivens have been retained and listed as such. All other correspondence has been listed chronologically by year.

Immediate source of acquisition:

The papers were purchased from Stivens in several small instalments from 1971 to 1973 and in one large instalment from Stivens' companion, Juanita Cragen, in 1999.

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