Letters from George Mackay Brown to Lawrence Millman
Content Description
This fonds comprises 81 manuscript letters sent by George Mackay Brown to American writer and ethnographer Lawrence Millman, who was George M. Brown's only regular North American correspondent. Brown and Millman met in Stromness in 1977, and were friends for fifteen years. In his letters, Brown talks about his personal life and his writing, and refers to Millman's irish book Our Like Will Not Be There Again, as well as his prose poems. They corresponded throughout the 1980s, but in the 1990s Brown's health issues limited his letter writing.
The letters are arranged in chronological order; the first letter is dated 22 July 1977, and the last one, 12 February 1987.
Dates
- Creation: 22 July 1977-12 February 1987
Creator
- Brown, George Mackay, 1921-1996 (writer and poet) (Author, Person)
Language of Materials
English
Physical Description
Good condition; however the letters are still in their envelopes. Handle with care.
Conditions Governing Access
Open; permission has been given by the donor to read and photograph the letters.
Biographical / Historical
Lawrence Millman (b. 1948) is a travel writer and mycologist from Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was a friend of Scottish writer George Mackay Brown, whom he met in Stromness in 1977, and whom he visited again in 1978 and 1979. Brown dedicated at least one poem to Millman, and wrote up two of his visits in his column Under brinkie's Brae.
Millman and Brown corresponded throughout the late 1970s and the 1980s, until Brown's ill health limited his letter writing in the 1990s.
Extent
1 folder
Arrangement
Arranged in chronological order.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated in June 2018 by Lawrence Millman. Accession no SC-Acc-2018-0143.
Physical Description
Good condition; however the letters are still in their envelopes. Handle with care.
Processing Information
Catalogued in October 2018 by Aline Brodin.
Creator
- Brown, George Mackay, 1921-1996 (writer and poet) (Author, Person)
Source
- Millman, Lawrence, b 1948 (American writer, ethnographer, mycologist) (Recipient, Person)
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections Repository
Centre for Research Collections
University of Edinburgh Main Library
George Square
Edinburgh EH8 9LJ Scotland
+44(0)131 650 8379
heritagecollections@ed.ac.uk