The Roy Fisher Archive is the single largest collection of materials related to the life and work of this important British poet.

The Archive contains a large number of workbooks, notebooks, and diaries covering the writer’s entire adult life. These include the workbook containing what survives of The Citizen (late 1959), the two workbooks used for the composition of A Furnace (1984-85), and an entire workbook devoted to a series of Odes from materials left over from A Furnace, which were subsequently abandoned, though a few individual poems from the project did reach print. There are also workbooks with the drafts of short poems many of which were never published. Alongside the writing undertaken in these volumes, there are a great many notebooks with dated entries forming a set of commonplace books or a running commentary addressing his literary and other interests. There are also a great many private diaries.

These holdings also contain a large number of manuscripts, typescripts and printed proofs relating to the revision of City, the composition of The Ship’s Orchestra, the gathering of poems for putative collections which did not reach print, especially from the first decade of Fisher’s work when many of his poems remained unpublished or only appeared in small magazines.

There is a large collection of correspondence relating to the poetry world of the decades from the later 1950s through to Fisher’s death, including letters relating to the small press poetry and limited-edition art publishing scene, as well as some personal and family-related correspondence. There are letters and cards from poets and writers such as Dannie Abse, John Ash, Robert Bly, Alan Brownjohn, Basil Bunting, Jim Burns, Richard Caddel, David Chaloner, Bob Cobbing, Cid Corman, Andrew Crozier, Donald Davie, Maura Dooley, Douglas Dunn, Elaine Feinstein, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Allen Fisher, Allen Ginsberg, Michael Hamburger, Georgina Hammick, Lee Harwood, Adrian Henri, Geoffrey Hill, Anselm Hollo, John James, August Kleinzahler, Philip Larkin, Tom Leonard, Denise Levertov, David Lodge, John Matthias, Bernardette Meyer, Barry McSweeny, Matthew Mead, Adrian Mitchell. Edwin Morgan, Andrew Motion, Eric Mottram, Douglas Oliver, Maggie O’Sullivan, Brian Patten, Tom Paulin, Tom Pickard, Omar Pound, J. H. Prynne, Carl Rakosi, Tom Raworth, Christopher Reid, Denise Riley, Peter Riley, Peter Robinson, Michael Shayer, Robert Sheppard, Jon Silkin, Charles Simic, Ken Smith, Raymond Souster, Anthony Thwaite, Charles Tomlinson, Chris Torrance, John Tranter, Gael Turnbull, Robert Vas Dias, John Wain, Jeffrey Wainwright, Michelene Wandor and John Wilkinson.

Correspondence with editors of presses and magazines include letters from Neil Astley, Peter Barry, Fred Beake, Asa Benveniste, Simon Cutts, Tony Frazer, Sara Golden, Robert Hampson, Michael Horowitz, Eddie Linden, Tom Maschler, Stuart Mills, Stuart and Deirdre Montgomery, Michael Schmidt, Jackie Simms, Romily Waite, John Welch, Nigel Wheale, and Jonathan Williams.

There is also correspondence with the following artists: Ronald King, Tom Phillips, and Ian Tyson, as well as a large collection of materials related to Fisher’s career as a jazz musician.

Accompanying the archive is a collection of magazines, journals, small press publications and prospectuses including materials related to Location Press, Island Press, Ferry Press, Writers Forum, Tarasque Press, and Wild Hawthorn Press, as well as items from his personal collection.