John Malcolm Brinnin letters to John Matthew O’Shea

Poet and biographer John Malcolm Brinnin was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on September 13, 1916. Brinnin, who was also a critic, anthologist, and teacher, taught at Vassar, Boston University, the University of Connecticut, and Harvard. Brinnin was the first person to bring Welsh poet Dylan Thomas to the United States and was responsible for all of Dylan Thomas's reading tours in this country. John Malcolm Brinnin Letters to John Matthew O’Shea consists of fifty-four letters written by Brinnin, between 1977 and 1991, to his friend John O’Shea, who was a companion to Truman Capote during the 1970s. When the first letters available in this collection were written, Brinnin was coping with the illness of his long-time friend Bill Read, who died in June 19, 1978. In his letters Brinnin reflected on his situation and inquired about O’Shea’s life with his friend Truman Capote.This collection complements thirteen letters written by John O’Shea to Brinnin, which are available in the John Malcolm Brinnin Papers (Ms 103).