182t福利

In this second glimpse into Univ鈥檚 collection of the books and papers of Erich Alport (matr. 1926), we turn to two figures with strong Oxford links, the Oxford don Nevill Coghill, and Univ鈥檚 great twentieth-century poet Sir Stephen Spender.

Nevill Coghill (1899-1980) was English Fellow of Exeter College from 1925-1957, and then Merton Professor of English from 1957-1966. The Alport papers contain more letters from Coghill than any other correspondent, which suggests the depth of their friendship. Coghill is perhaps best known today for his translations of Middle English literature, especially Chaucer鈥檚 Canterbury Tales, which was published by Penguin Classics in 1951, and was for many years the most popular rendering of Chaucer into modern English.

Coghill has a special link with Univ, because in 1948 he co-authored The Masque of Hope, a pageant performed in Radcliffe Quad in honour of Princess Elizabeth during a visit to Oxford (the Princess next visited Univ, now as Queen Elizabeth II, in 1999). The Masque is a short but ambitious piece, incorporating elements of medieval outdoor tournaments as well as the masque form. Popularised in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, masques were allegorical plays that relied heavily on opulent scenery, costumes and choreography: as Ben Jonson once sarcastically remarked, “Painting and carpentry are the soul of Masque” (Coghill 1948: 5). They were traditionally performed indoors, providing a comfortable setting for an evening鈥檚 entertainment and paving the way for the invention of theatres in Stuart times.

According to producer Glynne Wickham, the last time that such a spectacle was put on for royalty in Oxford was during Charles I鈥檚 visit in August 1636 (Coghill 1948: 6). It is understandable, then, that The Masque of Hope attracted University-wide interest and involvement, with the majority of the actors and almost half of the backstage crew coming from Colleges other than Univ. No effort was spared to create a visual extravaganza; the hand-printed programme includes a long list of thanks to local companies who agreed to lend such unusual props as a horse, a flock of pigeons, and a suit of armour.

Univ Library owns a couple of copies of Coghill鈥檚 script, which was published by OUP to mark the occasion. Evocative bonuses in the published version are Osbourne Robinson鈥檚 striking costume designs and producer Glynne Wickham鈥檚 fantastical drawings of the set. However, the copy that Alport donated is particularly special thanks to its handwritten inscription by the author. 鈥淲ishing you could have seen it!鈥� Coghill has written excitedly in red pen, showing his pride at the success of his literary creation.

In addition to his writings, Coghill was a highly regarded theatre producer, putting on many plays and some operas in Oxford, culminating in 1966 with a production of Doctor Faustus, starring Richard Burton (whom he had taught) and Elizabeth Taylor. In the following year, he and Burton co-directed a film version of the play. Coghill did also do some work in London, as when in 1951, he directed at Covent Garden the world premiere of Ralph Vaughan Williams鈥檚 opera The Pilgrim鈥檚 Progress, although this was not a success (Vaughan Williams鈥檚 ODNB entry even calls the production 鈥渋nsultingly half-hearted鈥�).

The two letters shown below discuss these two different projects. This first letter (UC:P110/C12/7) is dated 30 April 1951, four days after the premiere of The Pilgrim鈥檚 Progress, which Alport and his mother attended. Here at least, Coghill is happy with his work, noting that Vaughan Williams had thought the production 鈥渜uite beautiful鈥�, and declaring that he doesn鈥檛 much mind 鈥渢he rather scornful treatment of the production鈥� by some critics. He goes on to discuss what he hoped to achieve in the production – no 鈥淧iperian hanky-pankies鈥�, but rather 鈥渁 return to straight objective naturalism鈥�.

The second letter (UC:P110/C12/18) is dated 31 December 1965, and discusses Coghill鈥檚 work on the forthcoming production of Doctor Faustus. However, Coghill also writes enthusiastically about A Hundred Camels in the Courtyard, by Paul Bowles, whose friendship with Alport was discussed last month. Evidently Alport lent Coghill his copy of this book, for it was found there over thirty years later.

Sir Stephen Spender (1909-95) is the one member of this trio who is an Old Member of Univ, coming up in 1927 to read PPE. A self-confessed aesthete living in a rather 鈥渉earty鈥� College, Spender did not enjoy his time at Univ, writing about it to pungent effect in his autobiography World within World (1951), and he failed his Finals.

Alport had gone down from Univ just before Spender came up, but several things must have drawn them together. In particular, while an undergraduate, Spender travelled regularly in Germany, and so would have stood out for his understanding of Alport鈥檚 native land. Alport and Spender became close: indeed some of Alport鈥檚 letters held in the British Library suggest that Alport fell in love with Spender, but Spender did not return his affections. Something of this turbulent relationship is reflected in Spender鈥檚 early autobiographical novel The Temple (not published until 1988). Alport was so upset by similarities between himself and the lovesick character Ernst Stockman that he threatened to sue for libel; this altercation, along with the novel鈥檚 explicit scenes of homosexuality, resulted in a publication delay of decades.

Univ Library is highly fortunate to own a distinguished collection of Spender texts. Some were generously donated by Spender himself, but the majority of what we have comes from Alport.

Perhaps the most exciting Spender-related items that Alport acquired are the original typescripts of six poems composed before the Temple rift. Two of the typescripts (鈥淭he faces of living friends I see on water鈥� and 鈥淪ouvenir de Londres鈥�) have abandoned, unfinished versions on the reverse side, allowing scholars to glimpse Spender鈥檚 drafting process. Two others (鈥淏ecause I love you so鈥� and 鈥淲hat I expected鈥�) are accompanied by German self-translations, indicating how seriously Spender took his immersion in German culture. The 鈥淲hat I expected鈥� translation (鈥淲as ich erwartete鈥�) has been corrected in places by a helpful Alport.

Alport鈥檚 collection of Spender鈥檚 published books starts with the rare first edition of Spender鈥檚 1930 debut Twenty Poems (thought to be number five of only seventy-five copies) and assiduously follows the writer鈥檚 career until Alport鈥檚 death in 1971. It is interesting to trace the evolution of their relationship through the handwritten notes in the books. The revised edition of Twenty Poems, for example, contains the following inscription: 鈥淔or Erich. Signed with best wishes in Hamburg, 1930, Stephen Spender.鈥� This was at a time when Spender was starting to distance himself from Alport鈥檚 unrequited passion, but the direct address, added in pencil, indicates that they were at least still on speaking terms.

Most of the books from the later 1930s, 40s and 50s are autographed by Spender, but there are no more personalised notes to Alport for thirty years. Many of these middle-period books come with messages from other friends of Alport鈥檚, implying that after the fall-out he relied on the generosity of intermediaries to feed his interest in Spender鈥檚 work. One such message, from an unknown friend called Leslie in the 1958 edition of Inscriptions, is shown here. The impersonality of the Spender signature and the time of year that Leslie was writing strongly suggest that this was a Christmas gift organised by Leslie, rather than the result of direct contact between Alport and Spender.

Alport鈥檚 copy of Inscriptions, with note by his friend Leslie. Spender鈥檚 autograph is at the top of the title page

One book that was not signed by Spender, but is historically evocative, is Spender鈥檚 1939 translation of Federico Garc铆a Lorca鈥檚 poems. Spender actively supported the liberal Republican side in the Spanish Civil War, and met his first wife, a Spaniard named Inez, at an Aid to Spain event in Oxford. Alport鈥檚 copy of the Lorca translation is, on the one hand, a poignant reminder of how precarious life was for Spanish writers and artists under the fascist General Franco: the inscription to Alport is from Lorca鈥檚 close friend, the painter Gregorio Prieto (1897-1992), who made a timely escape to Britain, but Lorca himself had already been executed by the time the book was published.

Alport鈥檚 copy of Spender鈥檚 Lorca translation, inscribed by Lorca鈥檚 friend Gregorio Prieto

Also tucked inside the book was a letter in English to Alport from Spanish literary translator RM Nadal (1903-2001), another escapee who wrote the introduction to the volume. The letter addresses Alport as a good friend and suggests meeting up in Oxford. Sadly, no further evidence of Alport鈥檚 Spanish connections remains in the collection, but the inscription and the letter do give an example of how closely his and Spender鈥檚 circles of acquaintance overlapped. It was perhaps inevitable that the two would eventually be brought back together.

In 1962, we find another inscription directly from Spender to Alport, in Spender鈥檚 autobiography World Within World: 鈥淭o Erich from Stephen 1929-1962. August 5 1962.鈥� In an understated but touching way, Spender seems to be acknowledging that their friendship has emerged from the rough patch.

Very few letters from Spender to Alport are preserved in the Univ archives, but they include these two short notes below from 1962 (ref. UC:P110/C30/2-3), which reinforce the impression that by then they were on happier terms.

We hope you have enjoyed this two-part exploration of some of the highlights of the Alport Collection. If you would like to know more about the rarities that Alport acquired, you can find further details on the and in our Treasure from December 2014 Treasure. Look out for future Treasures too鈥�

Note: The copyright holders for the Coghill and Spender materials photographed above have been contacted.

Selected Bibliography

As the Library鈥檚 Spender and Coghill collections are relatively large, only the items referred to in the above article are listed here. Details of all the other books can be found on UnivCat.

Available in the Alport Collection:

YC/CHA: Chaucer, G. and N. Coghill (tr.) (1951), The Canterbury tales: trs. into modern English. London: Penguin.
YIO/COG: Coghill, N. (1948), The masque of hope. Presented for the entertainment of HRH Princess Elizabeth on the occasion of her visit to 182t福利, 25 May, 1948 by Oxford University dramatic society. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
YIO/LOR: Garc铆a Lorca, F., S. Spender (tr.), J. L. Gili (tr.) and R. M. Nadal (ed.) (1939), F. Garc铆a Lorca: poems. London: The Dolphin.
YIO/SPE: Spender, S. [n. d.], Eight typescripts of poems.
YIO/SPE: Spender, S. (1930), Twenty Poems. Oxford: Blackwell.
YIO/SPE: Spender, S. (1951), World within world: the autobiography of Stephen Spender. London: Hamish Hamilton.
YIO/SPE: Spender, S. (1958), Inscriptions. [s. l.]: The Poetry Book Society.

Available from other locked collections upon request:
KCA/SPE: Spender, S. (1930), Twenty Poems. Oxford: Blackwell.
KCS/COG: Coghill, N. (1948), The masque of hope [presented for the entertainment of HRH Princess Elizabeth on the occasion of her visit to 182t福利, 25 May 1948 with Programme]. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
YIO/SPE: Spender, S. (1988), The Temple. London: Faber & Faber.

Available on the open shelves in the Old Library:
YC/CHA: Chaucer, G and N. Coghill (tr.) (1970), The Canterbury tales. London: Penguin.

The ODNB entry for Ralph Vaughan Williams, cited in the above article, can be read in full at

Published: 31 July 2018

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