Material relating to Michael Chaplin's education, career and other involvements throughout his life, as well as material relating to his father Sid Chaplin. Predominantly consists of typescripts, notes, outlines, editorial correspondence and publicity material relating to work for the theatre, radio, television, as well as pieces of prose, which Michael Chaplin wrote or produced. Also consists of publications relating to Michael Chaplin's involvement with cultural institutions in Newcastle including The People's Theatre, the Live Theatre and The Literary and Philosophical Society.

Papers relating to Sid Chaplin's writing career and other involvements throughout his life. Typescripts of published novels, short stories, poetry, plays and articles; typescripts of unpublished novels, short stories, poetry, plays and articles; working drafts of typescripts, published typeset copies; television and radio dramatisations; diaries 1930-1985, notebooks 1930-1984; newspaper cuttings; correspondence 1939-1990, in particular correspondence with David Higham Associates 1949-1989, BBC 1947-1987, various publishers: Phoenix House 1946-1962, Eyre and Spottiswoode 1959-1978, Pergamon Press and Ben Owen 1950-1984, Alan Plater 1963-1985, Alex Glasgow 1970-1982, Stan Barstow 1961-1984, Basil Bunting 1983-1984, Norman Nicholson 1950-[1982], John Bate 1944-1985, various Russian and French correspondence, particularly with Professor Valentina Ivashova 1964-1985; material relating to the English Speaking Union of America trip to USA, 1955 and subsequent correspondence with Dorothy Goodfellow 1960-1985.

Contains the personal archive of poet Vincenza Holland including notebooks; diaries; published and unpublished material; and correspondence with poets local to the North East. Includes drafts of her poetry collection 'Mrs Turnbull's Tree' which was published by Bloodaxe Books in 1990.

Between 1966-73 Holland lived abroad with her family. First in newly independent Lesotho - a country surrounded by apartheid South Africa - but also for 18 months on Corfu. Holland was politically and socially engaged in what was happening around her, and her archive contains many collected documents, cuttings and ephemera relating to her travels.

The personal papers of local poet Barry MacSweeney (1948-2000), who was an important figure in the Modern Poetry Revival, include manuscripts and published works, correspondence, literature reviews, poetry publications, photographs and newspapers articles.The correspondence includes a range of MacSweeney's friends, fellow poets and family including material from Clive Bush, Pete Bland, Tim Fletcher, Nicholas Johnson, Jackie Litherland, Maggie O'Sullivan, Eric Mottram, Elaine Randall, Jeremy Prynne and Chris Torrence.