Tony Harrison: The Making of a Post-War English Poet

Abstract

Tony Harrison’s self-fashioning would seem to be a relatively self-evident aspect of his poetry, but this essay uses the rich variety of materials in the poetry archives at the University of Leeds to consider how his identity as a poet has been constructed throughout his life as a writer. The essay’s distinctive aspect lies in its analysis of his accumulated archive, including his numerous notebooks and his correspondence. Even more particularly, this article reflects on how the accumulation, handling and presentation of the archive by Harrison himself has contributed to and has reflected his sense of himself as a poet. In this regard, the essay will offer a new perspective on his creative processes and will initiate critical discussion as to the role and significance of an individual poet’s archive in the making of a poetic identity. In this aspect, Harrison’s self-fashioning will also be seen as part of a specific historical phenomenon in the post-War generation of male poets.