The arrival of the Herbert Lomas Archive at the John Rylands University Library of Manchester is an important event for the study of English poetry, including poetry in translation. But it is also important for Finnish literature.

Herbert Lomas (1924-2011) was a distinguished English poet, and also one of the foremost British interpreters and translators of modern Finnish literature. In the Herbert Lomas Archive, one finds correspondence and manuscripts of writers including Paavo Haaviko, Eeva-Liisa Manner, Mirkka Rekola, Kirsti Simonsuuri, Eira Stenberg, Ilpo Tiihonen and Päivi Hartzell. There are also letters and manuscripts of the Finnish psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Martti Siirala.

This is another reminder that the papers of translators can be amongst the most revealing and useful of all literary collections, and especially relevant to an international network such as SLA.