Special Collections: Canadian Literature
About the Collection
UBC began collecting materials related to Malcolm Lowry with the first deposit of his papers with Rare Books and Special Collections by his widow, Margerie Lowy, in 1961. Since that initial deposit, UBC has collected published and archival materials by and about Malcolm Lowry from a variety of friends and family of the Lowrys, Lowry scholars and collectors, and auctions. The breadth and depth of UBC’s collection of Malcolm Lowry materials draws scholars and enthusiasts from around the world. Prominent among them is UBC's own Professor Emeritus Dr. Sherrill E. Grace, who published the collected letters of Malcolm Lowry in her book, Sursum Corda!: The Collected Letters of Malcolm Lowry. UBC has also sent representatives to several Malcolm Lowry conferences, including the 1984 London Conference on Malcolm Lowry.
BC 1614-669
UBC’s Malcolm Lowry holdings are divided between the circulating collections of the UBC Library, UBC Open Collections, Rare Books and Special Collections, and University Archives. In the Library's circulating collection, one can find published works by Malcolm Lowry, including Under the Volcano and his collected letters, published works of criticism about Lowry’s works. UBC Open Collections holds a collection of theses and dissertations pertaining to Malcolm Lowry’s life and works. RBSC holds the Malcolm Lowry Manuscripts Collection and several other collections, fonds, and papers relating to Lowry. RBSC also holds Lowry’s Personal Library Collection, as well as a small collection of published works by Lowry, including a clothbound hardcover first edition of Ultramarine, which are too rare, fragile, or valuable to be in regular circulation.
Featured Materials
In Ballast to the White Sea by Call Number: PR9296.O95 I5 2014ISBN: 9780776622088Publication Date: 2014A recently rediscovered novel based in part on Lowry's life recounts the story of a Cambridge undergraduate who aspires to be a writer but has come to believe that both his book and, in a sense, his life have already been "written."
Malcolm Lowry by Call Number: PR9296.O95 Z7165 2009ISBN: 1846312280Publication Date: 2010-02-15Malcolm Lowry described Liverpool as "that terrible city whose main street is the ocean". Born on the Wirral side of the river Mersey, Lowry's relationship to the Merseyside of his youth informs all of his writing and Liverpool itself continued to hold tremendous significance for him, even though he never returned. Published in conjunction with a festival and exhibition at Liverpool's Bluecoat arts centre celebrating Lowry's centenary, this beautifully produced book showcases a variety of creative and critical approaches to Lowry and his work, and includes twelve specially commissioned pieces of new writing. There is a particular focus on place and on journeys; contributors write from the UK, Europe, Canada and Mexico, and reflect both on Lowry's "voyage that never ends" and on their own journeys with and through Lowry's work. The book also demonstrates the richness of Lowry's influence on contemporary visual artists and includes full colour illustrations throughout. It will be an indispensable companion for anyone interested in the creative legacy of Malcolm Lowry's life and work.
Strange Comfort by Call Number: PR9296.O95 Z6677 2009ISBN: 9780889226180Publication Date: 2009-12-01Strange Comfort collects the best of Sherrill Grace's many published essays on the novelist and writer Malcolm Lowry, along with new pieces that incorporate her contemporary approach to his work. There are essays on Under the Volcano, on some of the stories in Hear us O Lord from heaven thy dwelling place, and on Lowry's most important themes: endless voyaging, the creative role and identity of the artist, the nightmare of history, the pressures of memory and the urgent need to protect the garden of our world.
Related Archival Holdings
- Malcolm Lowry Manuscripts CollectionThe collection consists of material created by Malcolm Lowry and others, including Lowry's wife Margerie Bonner Lowry, Earle Birney, William Templeton, and Harvey Burt, among others, pertaining to Lowry's life and work. It includes correspondence, signed autograph letters and postcards, multiple drafts of manuscripts, poems, phonograph records, clippings, reviews, articles, essays, typescripts, unpublished material and photographs.
- Muriel C. Bradbrook fondsThe fonds consists of sixty-six letters (1962-1975) between Bradbrook and several individuals pertaining to the life of Malcolm Lowry.
- J. Howard Woolmer fondsThe fonds consists of correspondence, drafts and research material arising from the publication of his two publications, "A Malcolm Lowry Catalogue" and "Malcolm Lowry: A Bibliography".
- Paul Tiessen fondsThe collection consists of letters created or received by Paul Tiessen regarding the movie-going practices and environments of Malcolm Lowry.
- Sherrill Grace fondsThe fonds consists of textual, graphic and audio-visual material from Grace’s academic research on topics including Malcolm Lowry, Sharon Pollock, Tom Thompson, the Canadian North, Canadian art, and Mina Hubbard. This fonds is housed at UBC Archives.
- Robert Duncan fondsThe fonds consists of records related to Robert Duncan’s role as producer of the National Film Board of Canada’s documentary "Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry" (1976).
- Hilda Thomas fondsThe fonds contains records from Thomas's time as a professor at the University of British Columbia, including her research on Malcolm Lowry.
- Philip J. Thomas fondsThe fonds reflects Philip J. Thomas’ involvement with the folk song community. This includes his research into British Columbian folk songs and his publications on the subject.
- UBC Library fondsThe fonds contains records relating to the acquisition of Malcolm Lowry materials from 1961 to the present, bibliographies of Lowry materials, Lowry conference materials, information about the Malcolm Lowry Microfilming Project, and correspondence between the heads of UBC RBSC and Lowry scholars.
Digital Collections
- Malcolm Lowry in UBC Library's Framed Works CollectionIn addition to the extensive photographic holdings that are part of the Malcolm Lowry Manuscripts Collection, there are digitized versions of two paintings, one photograph, and one sketch of Malcolm Lowry in the UBC Library Framed Works Collection.
- Theses and DissertationsUBC's institutional repository cIRcle retains digitized copies of masters and doctoral theses and dissertations. Because UBC has one of the largest collections of materials relating to Malcolm Lowry, many theses and dissertations in cIRcle are related to Malcolm Lowry's life and works.
Colocating this Collection
Want to explore this collection but don't know where to start? We've created some links that can help you discover the material in this collection.
Subject Headings
Lowry, Malcolm, 1909-1957--Bibliography
Lowry, Malcolm, 1909-1957--Correspondence
Lowry, Malcolm, 1909-1957--Criticism and Interpretation
Lowry, Malcolm, 1909-1957. Under the volcano
Books from Malcolm Lowry's Personal Collection
Malcolm Lowry's Personal Library Collection
UBC Library holds a number of works from Malcolm Lowry's own collection. They can be found by searching "Malcolm Lowry's Personal Library Collection" in the UBC Library Catalogue.
Related Resources
- ABC BookWorld entry for Malcolm Lowry
This website provides extensive reference information for books and authors pertaining to British Columbia. - A Hypertextual & Illustrated Companion to Malcolm Lowry's Under the VolcanoThis website, intended to be a widely available non-profit venture, complements Chris Ackerley's earlier A Companion to 'Under the Volcano' (Vancouver: UBC Press, 1984), co-authored with Lawrence J. Clipper, and his later "Plenty of Obscure Points": A Supplement to A Companion to 'Under the Volcano' (Malcolm Lowry Review 49 & 50 (Fall 2001 & Spring 2002)).
- Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry
This feature-length Oscar®-nominated documentary focuses on Malcolm Lowry, author of one of the major novels of the 20th century, Under the Volcano. But while Lowry fought a winning battle with words, he lost his battle with alcohol. Shot on location in four countries, the film combines photographs, readings by Richard Burton from the novel and interviews with the people who loved and hated Lowry, to create a vivid portrait of the man.
National Film Board: Donald Brittain & John Kramer, 1976, 99 min 20 s.
Malcolm Lowry at Other Institutions
- Library and Archives Canada (LAC)Several fonds in the LAC collection contain materials relating to Malcolm Lowry. the Vernon van Sickle fonds includes correspondence from Malcolm Lowry, and the Donald Brittain fonds includes files on Brittain's work on Lowry-related projects for the National Film Board (NFB).
- University of VictoriaThe collection consists of a three-volume set of Shakespeare’s Works (J. Payne Collier, Lupton Pub. New York, n.d.) previously owned by Malcolm Lowry and heavily annotated by him. UBC microfilmed Lowry’s Shakespeare in 1995.
- McGill UniversityThe collection includes early and variant editions of Malcolm Lowry’s published works and translations of Under the Volcano. There are books and periodicals containing contributions by Lowry, books by his wife, and books and periodicals mentioning him or containing reviews and criticism. The collection also contains correspondence between poet and friend of Lowry’s, Earle Birney, and Thomas J. Jackson concerning the preparation of a bibliography (unpublished) of Lowry’s work (1966-1970).
- University of Texas, Harry Ransom CenterThe collection, held in the Harry Ransom Center, consists of a manuscript for Under the Volcano and related correspondence, 1940-1956. Copies of some of the University of Texas Lowry holdings are included in the UBC Malcolm Lowry Papers.
- Liverpool John Moore UniversityBluecoat Library ran annual programming, including events and exhibitions, related to Malcolm Lowry between 2009, the centenary of Lowry’s birth, and 2020. They maintain a digital collection of event materials.
- New York Public LibraryThe New York Public Library's Archives and Manuscripts division holds materials related to Malcolm Lowry and Lowry's first wife Jan Gabrial. The Jan Gabrial papers contain correspondence to and from Malcolm Lowry and typescripts, edited by Jan Gabrial, of In Ballast to the White Sea by Lowry.