I've been writing a PhD in English Literature for a very long time, on the poet Laura Riding. I began in Cambridge in 1994, was interrupted by M.E./Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in 1997, and picked it up again 6 years ago as my energy allowed, and I've been chipping away at it since then.

Well, I am finally nearing completion now, and am looking forward to stepping into the world beyond it. This will complete a circle more than 20 years in the making, and I cannot tell you how important it is to me to see it finished and to move on. It is quite simply momentous!

Why am I telling you this? Because I need help to bring it home. To give the thesis the original content it needs to pass, I must make a research trip to study manuscript sources – letters, poem drafts, handwritten papers, that kind of stuff. These are held in New York State, in the NY public library, Cornell and Yale Universities.

Because of my years in the wilderness, I don’t have the means to afford it, and so I need help to make the trip, which I plan to take in September of this year. I need to go for 2 weeks, and I estimate my total costs will be between £2000-£2500.

Anything you can give will be deeply appreciated. You have my heartfelt thanks....

Help me bring it home!