Idea #8 Bloodaxe Books Archive

Subjects:   Literature   Creative Writing   Poetry Publishing

The Poetics Of The Archive bloodaxe.ncl.ac.uk

The Bloodaxe Books archive is considered one of the most exciting archives for contemporary poetry that exists. The material in the collection includes 592 boxes of original typescripts, editorial work, correspondence, and examples of marketing, business and financial records dating from the 1970’s to the present day. These records represent authors and books that have won virtually every major literary award given to poetry, including the T.S. Elliot Prize, Pulitzer Prize and Nobel Prize.  Bloodaxe is also known for its work with translated collections and American poetry, and have published responsively to cultural change in Britain, publishing some of the finest writers in the British-Caribbean and South-Asian diaspora.   Another significant achievement is that Bloodaxe publish more female writers than any other British poetry publisher, at a 50:50 male:female ratio.  The company has opened up poetry to thousands of new readers and the material held in the archive demonstrates how Bloodaxe Books has been able to achieve this.

Date Range of Material
1978 – Current

Size of Collection
103 linear metres

Collection Reference Code
GB186/BXB

How To Order Items From This Collection
# First, use the finding aid below to search through a list of the individual items we have within this collection.
# If you find an item you would like to consult in the Special Collections reading room, simply make a note of the reference number and title of the item(s) you are interested in (for example GB186/BXB/2/3/9 They Made Tyneside Great).
# You can then place your order by linking to our request form.

Finding Aid
A catalogue for the Bloodaxe Books archive is available via Archives Hub.

Handy Links

Guide to finding and using Archives and Rare Books

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