Autograph Letter Signed by O'Conor to Mrs [J. M.] Patterson, Secretary to The Royal Society of Literature, regarding a reading of John Masefield's poems.

Irish actor (1916-2001). 2 pages, 8vo. In good condition though creased along one edge. Accompanying this item are a typescript (1 page, 8vo, in good condition, annotated in ink) headed 'MASEFIELD READINGS', listing 13 items alternatively allocated to 'O'Conor' and 'Day Lewis', and two typewritten slips of paper listing some of the officers of the Royal Society of Literature, one of which has corrected details of the Don Carlos Coloma Memorial Lecture on the reverse. In the letter O'Conor complains that [Masefield's Collected Poems 'seem riddled with misprints'. He asks Patterson to provide him with the correct version of two passages, adding 'And would it be politic to suggest to Sir Basil Blackwell that the extract from Dauber could be cut by, say, 2 or 3 verses' as 'it gets a bit repetitive', suggesting which verses to omit. He asks her for a quick answer, and looks forward to seeing her 'on the 18'. The Society conferred the title Companion of Literature on Masefield in 1961.