John Montague, 1967-2012 and undated

Sub-Fonds

Reference Code: GBR/1058/COO/3

Scope and Contents

From the Fonds:

The collection consists of correspondence, poetry and prose received by Barrie Cooke and original artwork produced by him. The principal correspondents are Seamus Heaney, Ted Hughes, Jean Valentine and John Montage, and their letters along with their poetry and prose are to be found in the archive. There is also a large series of correspondence from poets and artists resident in Ireland, the United Kingdom and America, often consisting of just 1 or 2 letters from each correspondent but showing Cooke's wide circle of friends and interests.

Dates

Creation: 1967-2012 and undated

Creator

Montague, John, 1929-2016 (poet) (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

From the Fonds:

The Archive reading room is open by appointment, Wednesdays-Fridays, but all visits must be booked in advance. Photographs may not be taken of the Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes material without the permission of the Estates. The Archivist can provide further information and contact details for permissions. The remainder of the collection may be photographed for private research, subject to UK copyright provisions. Those wishing to publish from the collection should seek advice from the Archivist prior to publication.

Biographical / Historical

Montague was born in Brooklyn, New York, USA in 1929. He came to Northern Ireland in 1933 to live with aunts in County Tyrone. He attended University College Dublin in the late 1940s and in 1953 was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to Yale University, USA. Montague married Madeleine de Brauer in 1956, and they later moved to Paris, where he was the Paris correspondent for the Irish Times. He moved back to Ireland in the early 1970s, settling in Cork. In 1973 he married Evelyn Robson, with whom he had two daughters: Sibyl and Oonagh. In 1995 Montague and Evelyn separated, and he formed a partnership with Elizabeth Wassell whom he married in 2005. In 1998, Montague was named the first Ireland Professor of Poetry. He won numerous awards throughout his career including being made Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur in 2010 and received an honorary doctorate from the Sorbonne, France. Montague died in 2016 in France.

Extent

0.5 archive box(es)

Language of Materials

English

French

Additional Description

Related Materials

See GBR/1058/COO/1/1/26, a poem written by Seamus Heaney for 'Hill Field: Poems and Memoirs for John Montague on his sixtieth birthday', Coffee House Press, 1989.