Robert Graves has proved to be a challenging subject for his bibliographers, especially so for his contributions to books and pamphlets published by others, these typically taking the form of introductions, prefaces, forewords, poems, letters, essays and other short prose pieces. These first book-form publications of Graves’s work exclude appearances in anthologies, brief quotations and material previously published in his own works. Fred H. Higginson, in 1966, was the first to publish a descriptive bibliography of the works of Graves.[1] Section B of the Higginson bibliography describes sixty-six books (1912-1965) by others with contributions by Graves. William Proctor Williams published a second revised edition of the bibliography in 1987, adding twenty-four entries to Section B, 1926-1982.[2]

My research has turned up forty-one further contributions by Graves to the works of others, spanning the years 1917-1998. Some of these are materials published after the William Proctor Williams edition; several others were published in Spain, a few of which are contributions to gallery catalogues. I have included prospectuses and catalogues of the Seizin Press, published between 1928 and 1935. These ephemeral pieces do not fit neatly into a bibliography, but are clearly the creative work of Graves and Laura Riding.

I am indebted to William Graves for directing my attention to R. M. Graves’s Experiment in Anarchy and to Jenny Nicholson’s Kiss the Girls Good-bye, the latter with an untitled essay by Graves on the military salute. This book, published in 1944, not known to have a contribution by Graves until 2018.

The listing below of contributions by Graves to the works of others adds pieces to the puzzle. I am aware of a few other published works, but to date they have proved elusive.

LIST

W. R. C., T. W. E., D. L. S., eds. Oxford Poetry 1917. Oxford: B. H. Blackwell, 1917. Graves’s contribution is ‘Double Red Daisies’ and ‘Dead Cow Farm’ (pp. 24-25); both poems appeared in Fairies and Fusiliers (A3). Here, ‘Double Red Daisies’ shows minor spelling and punctuation variations from its appearance in A3. ‘Dead Cow Farm’ has a variant reading of the first line, rendered here as ‘It’s told in those old sagas, how’. The standard reading of this line is ‘An ancient saga tells us how’. This seems to be the only publication of this earlier version of the poem. Fairies and Fusiliers and Oxford Poetry 1917 were published within days of each other; the sequence of publication is unknown.

The editors, identified only by their initials on the title-page, are W.R. Childe, T. W. Earp, and Dorothy L. Sayers.

Goupil Gallery. Paintings by the Late Mabel Nicholson. London: William Merchant & Co., 1920. A gallery catalogue (April 1920). Graves’s contribution is ‘Prefatory Note’ (a biographical sketch of Mabel Nicholson) signed ‘R.G.’ (pp. [3] - 4).

Strong, L. A. G., Ed. The Best Poems of 1924. Boston: Small, Maynard and Company, 1925. Graves’s contribution is his poem ‘At the Games’, (pp. 96-105). Published 2 January 1925, this is the first published appearance of the poem.

[Editor not identified.] Tot and Tim Annual. London and Glasgow: Collins’ Clear-Type Press, 1927. Graves’s contribution is the poem ‘The Two Farmers’ (p. 11).

[Editor not identified.] Collins’ Cubs and Brownies’ Annual. London and Glasgow: Collins’ Clear-Type Press, 1927. Graves’s contribution is the poem ‘Mother’s Song in Winter’ (p. 95).

[Graves, Robert and Laura Riding.] The Seizin Press Necessary Books. [London (Hammersmith): The Seizin Press, 1928. A folio sheet folded twice, four leaves connected at the top. This is an advertising piece/prospectus offering Seizin 1: Riding’s Love as Love, Death as Death, and announcing Seizins 2-4.

[Graves, Robert and Laura Riding.] The Seizin Press. Deya, Mallorca, Spain: 1931. A single sheet advertising Seizin 4: No Trouble, by Len Lye; Seizin 5: Though Gently, by Laura Riding; Seizin 6: To Whom Else? by Robert Graves.

[Graves, Robert and Laura Riding.] The Seizin Press. Deya, Mallorca, Spain: 1935. This Seizin Press catalogue was written by Graves and Riding.

Nicholson, Jenny. Kiss the Girls Good-bye. London, New York, Melbourne: Hutchinson & Company, 1944. Contains an untitled essay by Graves on the origins of the military salute, including an anecdote about T. E. Lawrence.

Graves, R. M. Experiment in Anarchy. London: Victor Gollancz, 1949. Robert Graves’s contribution is Sovereign Rights in Palestine, pp. 215-219.

[Editor not identified.] Rutta Rosen. Palma de Mallorca: Galería Sapi, 1951. A gallery catalogue. Graves’s contribution is ‘Ruta Rosen’, an appreciation of the artist on p. [2].

[Editor not identified.] Ross Abrams. Palma de Mallorca: Galerías Costa, 1954. Graves’s contribution is the Foreword in English text on pp. [3-4] and in Spanish text on pp. [5-6].

Reeves, James, Ed. The Merry-Go-Round. Melbourne, London, Toronto: William Heinemann, 1955. Graves’s contribution is eight poems, of which ‘The Pumpkin’ (p. 135) and ‘The Six Badgers’ (p. 141) are first published here.

Bales, Richard. The American Revolution. New York: Columbia Records, 1960. Graves’s contribution is The Case for the Forgotten Loyalists (pp. 33-34, 37-38). Issued as a booklet bound into Columbia Records album ‘The American Revolution’ by Richard Bales. Reprinted in Graves’s The Crane Bag as ‘Forgotten Loyalists’.

Baal-Teshuva, Jacob, Ed. The Mission of Israel. New York: Robert Speller & Sons, 1963. Graves’s contribution is ‘I Discover Israel’ (pp. 183-202). This is the first book-form publication of Graves’s essay.

Luce, Robert B., Ed. The Faces of Five Decades. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1964. Graves’s contribution is ‘Lawrence Vindicated’ (pp. 346-353). This is the first book-form publication of Graves’s essay.

Causley, Charles, Ed. Rising Early. Leicester: Brockhampton Press, 1964. Graves’s contribution is two previously published poems: ‘A Frosty Night’ (p. 15) and ‘The Young Cordwainer’ (pp. 30-31). Here he has added a previously unpublished note on the origins of the latter poem.

[Editor not identified.] Much Ado About Nothing. London: The National Theatre, 1965. Graves’s contribution is ‘Textual Changes’ (pp. [25-26]). A theatre programme. Graves modified some of Shakespeare’s words into modern English.

[Editor not identified.] Unlived Life — A Manifesto Against Factory Farming. Bristol: Campaigners Against Factory Farming, 1965. Graves’s contribution is a three-paragraph statement on factory farming under the title ‘TAIL PIECE’ (p. 26).

Crossley-Holland, Kevin, Ed. Winter’s Tales for Children 3. London, Melbourne Toronto: Macmillan and New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1967. Graves’s contribution is his poem ‘Learn That By Heart’ (p. 42).

Recó, Jordi De’s, Ed. Tales from Majorca. Palma de Mallorca: Editorial Clumba, 1968. Graves’s contribution is the Foreword (p. 5).

Panichas, George A, Ed. Promise of Greatness: The War of 1914-1918. New York: The John Day Company, [1968]. Graves’s contribution is ‘The Kaiser’s War: A British Point of View’ (pp. [3], 4-11).

Novo, Salvador. Adán Desnudo. Mexico: [privately published], 1969. Graves’s contribution, with Laura Villaseñor, is the translation of the poem into English with the title, ‘Naked Adam’.

[Editor not identified.] Sala Pelaires. Palma de Mallorca: Sala Pelairies, 1969. A gallery catalogue. Graves’s text, p. [2] is in Spanish and discusses the importance of Mallorca as a place for tourism, business, and the arts.

Brayne, Elisabeth, Ed. House & Garden Weekend Book. London: Condé Nast, 1969. Graves’s contribution is ‘Houses in My Life’ (pp. 114-119), the first-book-form publication of this essay.

Hampton, Christopher, Ed. Poems for Shakespeare. London: Globe Playhouse Trust Publications, 1972. Graves’s contribution is his poem ‘As He Sat Writing’ (Song for Shakespeare’s Birthday 1972) (p. 63).

Shah, Idries. Cuentos de los Derviches. Buenos Aires: Editorial Paidos, 1972. This book was originally published in English as ‘Tales of the Dervishes’. London: Jonathan Cape, [1967], but without an introduction by Graves.

Dunn, Douglas, Ed. New Poems 1972-1973. London: Hutchinson, [1973]. Graves’s contribution is three poems: ‘The Note’, ‘The Prepared Statement’, and ‘A Dream of Frances Speedwell’ (p. 70). This is the first book-form appearance of ‘The Note’.

Gibson, James, Ed. Let the Poet Choose. London: Harrap, [1973]. Graves’s contribution is two previously published poems: ‘Powers Unconfessed’ and ‘Solomon’s Seal’. Published here for the first time is his introduction to the two poems.

[Editor not identified.] J. Torrents Llado. Palma de Mallorca: Galerias Cosata, 1973. A gallery catalogue. Graves’s contribution is a statement in praise of J. Torrents Llado as a painter (p. [3]).

[Editor not identified.] John Aldridge, R. A. Radlett, Hertfordshire: The Radlett Gallery, 1975. A gallery catalogue. Graves’s contribution is the foreword (p. [2]).

[Editor not identified.] Camilo Kerrigan. Cork, Ireland: Cork Art Society, 1976. A gallery card. Graves’s contribution is a statement about Kerrigan on recto.

Driberg, Tom. Ruling Passions. London: Jonathan Cape, 1977. Graves’s contribution is a letter to Driberg (p. 64).

Briam, John. Teknosis. London: Arlington Books, 1978. Graves’s contribution is the Foreword (pp. 9-10).

Archer, Nathaniel, Ed. The Sufi Mystery. London: Octagon Books, 1980. Graves’s contribution is ‘Tales of the Dervishes’ (pp. 14-15).

This is the first and only publication of this text in English. It was originally published in Spanish in 1974 as an introduction to Idries Shah’s ‘Cuentos de los Derviches’.

Seymour-Smith, Martin. Robert Graves His Life and Work. London, Melbourne, Sydney, Auckland, Johannesburg: Hutchinson, 1982. Graves’s contribution is his poem ‘Assumption Day’ (p. 315).

Douthwaite, Pat. Worshipped Women: An Alphabet of Greek Goddesses. Edinburgh: 369 Gallery, 1982. A gallery catalogue. Graves’s contribution is ‘Pat Douthwaite’ (p. 2).

Vajda, Miklós, Ed. Winged by Their Own Need. Deià, Mallorca: New Seizin Press, 1988. Graves’s contribution is his poem ‘Requirements for a Poem’ (p. 14).

Patai, Raphael. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1992. Graves’s contribution is a series of letters to Raphael Patai 1947-1974 passim; a transcription of a conversation between Graves and Patai on their book The Hebrew Myths and tape-recorded by Patai 20 May 1961 (for the first publication of the conversation see C963 in the Higginson and Williams bibliography), pp. 198-216; ‘Hebrew and European Myth Contrasted’, an address by Graves to the Hillel Foundation, 23 October 1961, pp. 225-240; Graves’s letter to the editor of the Jewish Chronicle concerning his Hillel Foundation address, printed here on p. 265 and is reprinted from C689.1; transcript of an interview by Martha Dean with Graves and Patai, pp. 358-371.

Dalton, C. R. Robert Graves Against the Gannon Cult. Glebe, New South Wales, Australia: Ochre Press, 1998. Graves’s contribution is a series of extracts of letters from Graves to Dalton, passim.

Carl Hahn is a life member of the Robert Graves Society. He is in the final stages of his revised and updated edition of a descriptive bibliography of the works of Robert Graves.