Howard Milton Blake papers (Ms. 78.15)

The collection consists of all the extant manuscript verse and prose of Howard Blake. Existing in hand-written and typed drafts and copies, the material was edited by Robert Kent under the supervision of Austin Warren and was published under the title The Island Self: Poems of Howard Blake.

What is of prime interest in the collection is Blake's creative process, easily visible throughout the drafts and reworkings of his verse up to the point of publication. This creative process is analysed in Kent's preface. Kent's own organizational apparatus for the editing of the material is also included in the collection.

Approximately fifteen percent of the collection was not included in Kent's publication, either because the work was considered too "juvenile" in character or because it simply was left unfinished at the time of Blake's death and deemed not significant enough for publication.

The prose material in the collection consists of some sixteen different items and includes book reviews and literary essays. Some were apparently published during Blake's lifetime in among other places Boston newspapers.