This series contains approximately 1000 letters addressed to Raymond Dexter Havens. The correspondence reflects the long, scholarly career of Havens, and the close, personal ties he maintained with students, colleagues, and friends. The letters span a period of over 30 years, and offer an insight into areas of academic life including teaching, writing, and publishing.

Havens was a respected figure in the field of English Literature, and his advice and opinions were sought by others in that subject area. His recommendations of Hopkins students were important to colleagues who sought candidates for teaching positions throughout the United States. The intricacies of hiring practices are sometimes evident as in the letters of Roy Harvey Pearce.

Havens served as co-editor of Modern Language Notes (1928-1948), and much of the correspondence deals with his efforts to secure reviews and articles. Letters of his colleagues reveal their respect for his comments and criticisms.

Some expression is given to the political climate and events during and after World War II. Students writing from Europe after 1945 comment on the deprivations and attitudes of Europeans. Letters of Mary Louise Benoit-Smullyan, Ed Cleveland, and Ernest Gohn offer a representative view of graduate-student life during this period.

A complete list of correspondents can be found in the Container List.

Raymond Dexter Havens was acknowledged as an eminent scholar of Milton and Wordsworth, but the material in this series demonstrates that his range of interest extended to some modern writers as well. Included are notes and offprints he filed on Willa Cather, Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, Walt Whitman, and the caricaturist, Max Beerbohm.

Of particular interest in this series is the material Havens amassed on the poet laureate, Robert Southey. Biographical articles, photographs, and reviews of works by and about Southey are contained here. Correspondence with booksellers regarding Southey material as well as a sizable amount of catalog slips are included. Havens used this information to acquire books for his personal library, and to compile a bibliography of Robert Southey. A typescript of the bibliography can be found in this series. In 1932, Havens published a note in Review of English Studies (V. 8, p.210-211) in which he cast doubt on the dependability of Cuthbert Southey's bibliography of his father's contributions to periodicals. Havens's research indicates his serious intent to compile a definitive Southey bibliography. Letters of Robert Southey, acquired by Havens, can be found in the Collectors Series.

A collection of monographs annotated by Havens forms the last part of this series. Havens corresponded with authors whose works are among those annotated. Letters of Walter J. Bate and John W. Draper are included in the Correspondence Series.

Raymond Dexter Havens combined the best qualities of writer and scholar as evidenced by his published works. Havens began publishing articles early in his career. A reprint of "Romantic Aspects of the Age of Pope" published in PMLA, 1912, is included in this series. The recognition Havens received as an eminent scholar of English Literature is apparent when his collection of published articles is reviewed. A bound scrapbook entitled "Poor Things but Thine Own" contains additional notes, book reviews, copies of published letters to literary journals, and more reprints of articles, 1912-1932.

In 1941, Havens published The Mind of a Poet. A Study of Wordsworth Thought. A second edition, in two volumes, was published in 1951. Both editions are part of the Writings Series.

Havens regularly attended sessions of the Modern Language Association. As early as 1906, he presented a paper, "The Relation between the Horn Ballads and the Horn Romances" at their meeting. On two occasions, 1923 and 1944, Havens spoke at the University of Rochester. Drafts, notes, and his speeches are included in this series.

A detailed list of materials included in the Writings Series can be found in the Container List.

Study guides, course notes, and bibliographies form part of this series, and offer a perspective on the teaching career of Havens at The Johns Hopkins University.

A poem entitled "Four Professors of English" is included. The author of the poetry is unknown, but the celebrated are Havens, Kemp Malone, Hazleton Spencer, and Stefan Einarsson. Newman I. White, an eminent Shelley scholar, was one of many colleagues who sought out Havens as a reviewer of his work. (See the letters of White in Correspondence, Series 1.) A mimeograph copy of White's review of The Shelley Legend Examined by Robert Metcalf, 1945, is included in this series. It appears to have been circulated to Havens's students. White's review challenged Metcalf's generalizations, but is well documented. A memorial issue of Library Notes, July 1950 was dedicated to White by the Friends of Duke University Library, and is part of the Research Series.

In 1942, Havens became chairman of the English Department. He produced a newsletter which he addressed to "all former graduate students." Havens included informative news of the Department and the University. Apparently, Havens intended to share something consistent and comforting with young men directly involved in the war effort. He reminded them that they were not forgotten at Hopkins. Havens included excerpts from letters of students serving in combat zones which were particularly poignant. Alex Armstrong wrote that a copy of Wordsworth loaned by Havens was lost when the battleship, Chicago, was sunk. Copies of the newsletters, 1943-44, form part of the Hopkins Series.

The impact of World War II necessarily caused a disruption in the academic procedures at The Johns Hopkins University. A "Postwar Planning Committee" was established. Havens was not a member, but he attended meetings and offered recommendations. Havens argued for revisions in the curriculum to maintain the standards and quality of the English Department. Minutes from the meetings in 1943 and the curriculum which Havens proposed conclude the series.

Raymond Dexter Havens's intellectual curiosity and love of scholarship served him well during his career. Within this series are book reviews, literary articles, and correspondence with booksellers which reveal Havens's acquisitions for his personal library.

Original 18th century newspapers collected by Havens are part of the collection. Facsimiles of newspapers which described significant events, particularly in the 17th century, are included: the execution of Guy Fawkes in The Weekely Newes, January 31, 1606, a report of the Plague in The Newes, July 6, 1665, the death of Cromwell in The Gazette, September 9, 1658.

An important part of this series is the holographic letters of Henry James, Robert Southey, Joseph Warton, and Thomas Warton which were acquired by Havens. A letter of Robert Southey to Humphrey Senhouse, October 19, 1808, formed the basis of an article, "A Project of Wordsworth's," Research in English Studies, Volume 5, 1929.

The personal items which form this series suggest the close integration of Havens's personal life with his teaching and writing career.

An autograph album (1925-1932) contains holographic inscriptions signed by contemporary writers Stephen Vincent Binet, Padriac Colum, Robert Frost, Lizette Woodworth Reese, Donald Ogden Stewart, and others. It is of some interest to note that Donald Ogden Stewart wrote the screenplay for The Philadelphia Story in 1940, and the character portrayed by Cary Grant is named R. Dexter Havens.

In 1940, Journal of English Literary History published a volume dedicated to Havens. The contributors were friends and students. Two copies of The Havens Volume are included, one inscribed to Edward T. Norris and one to Warren Seipp.

A certificate of election as a Fellow of AAAS, a notice for the commission of Havens's portrait, the bequests of Havens, and an obituary notice are the final items in this series.