File contains an undated No. 7191 "Monterery" drawing spiral sketch book, containing pencil drawings by Kenneth Leslie, with artwork created presumably in the late 1930s or early 1940s. The sketchbook is largely blank, however, there are pencil drawings on the first three pages. The first is a 45° side-on portrait of "R. Currie" signed by Leslie. The second is an untitled study of a woman's face as she leans forward. The third is also untitled, the beginnings of a rural scene with a cabin at the end of a roadway.
File contains a typed draft manuscript (with a few inked corrections) of a sermon delivered by Kenneth Leslie, likely in the early 1940s, entitled "God and the Intellectual". File addresses the role of colleges in teaching metaphysics, before moving on to the threat posed by "the sickness of America [and the] whole modern world. [...] Call it transcendentalism. Call it idealism" during the Second World War, wherein the motto "transcendentalism : greed' was the antiphonal change for the burying of [early] New England", much as it has been in the run-up to war, and the efforts to prevent the acceptance of "absolute ideas as substitutes for organic thinking", as in fascism, which demands "all or nothing" answers.
File contains two undated promotional leaflets (likely from the late 1930s or early 1940s, promoting Kenneth Leslie poetry readings and discussions. The earliest of the two leaflets, on off-white paper, is entitled "Kenneth Leslie / Poetry Readings -- Discussions / Mr. Leslie / Reads His Own Poetry / Discusses Contemporary Poetry / Helps you Develop Your Poetry" and contains a small portrait of a youthful Leslie wearing a fedora. It contains testimonials from Charles G.D. Roberts, Robert Norwood, and Lawrence H. Conrad on the verso. The second leaflet, printed on yellow paper, also undated, but after 1938, is entitled "Kenneth Leslie : Singer-Composer / Poet", contains a portrait of Leslie to the upper left corner, with a short bibliography (ending in "By Stubborn Stars". The front contains words promoting Leslie's talent from 'Voices', 'London Times', Sir Charles Roberts, 'N.Y. Herald Tribune', 'Halifax Chronicle', Reverend Sister Maura, 'Charlottetown Guardian', and Shaemas O'Sheel, while the verso has further testimonials under the heading "What they say of Kenneth Leslie's poetry...." with the sub-headings "In London, England", "In Toronto", "In New York", and "In Charlottetown".
File contains a draft of an undated (presumably spring 1943) letter to be sent to American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, written by Kenneth Leslie. The file addresses concerns raised by the Textbook Commission about a "most regretful anti-Semitic foot note" that appeared in the Roman Catholic version of the New Testament that was issued to all "Catholic personnel of the Army". The offending passage, that the Commission requested be removed from all editions, appeared on page 559: "the Jews are the Synagogues of Satan". The First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, had previously been an ardent admirer of Kenneth Leslie's work, giving invaluable endorsements to Leslie on several occasions.
File contains an undated, untitled fragment (lacking the first of seven pages) of a sermon delivered by Kenneth Leslie at Abyssinian Baptist Church, Harlem, New York. The sermon was likely given October 24th, 1943, entitled "God -- Empty Church", a later version of which appeared in the December 1943 issue of The Protestant. File addresses the threat posed by both the Papacy and Martin Luther to the Baptists, stating that Luther was not "for the people" and that "Baptists ... were massacred with the people by both Luther and the Pope". File expresses the notion that since the success of the Russian Revolution and communism, "the opportunity for free religion is here, [...as] religion has not, nor can be free under capitalism". File also addresses the role in Leslie's 'The Protestant' (The pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., was serving on the editorial board of 'The Protestant' at this time) in ensuring the opportunity for free religion in a American capitalist socioeconomic system that prevents it.
File contains a draft typed manuscript, undated (but probably from 1943) written by Kenneth Leslie. File consists of a letter to American liberals and those who wish "the world had joined together against Fascism", rallying them to join the Protestant's Textbook Commission to Eliminate Anti-Semitic Statements in American Textbooks.
File contains two fragments of radio interviews (one dated March 14, 1940, the other undated) involving Kenneth Leslie. The first, titled "Radio Script : Leslie-Merchant" -- discusses Leslie's involvement in the Protestant Digest, and Protestantism in general. The second untitled and undated fragment discusses science and mathematics.
File contains a bound notebook used by Kenneth Leslie for the purposes of writing musical notations and scores, presumably from the 1930s. The notebook is largely blank, with only four pages used by Leslie. The first page contains an untitled melody fragment four bars long in the F-major key, written in pencil, with notations in both bass and treble. The second page contains a fragment of a song entitled "Sheep and Lambs", with music by Kenneth Leslie and words by Katharine Tynan (misspelled "Katherine"), with treble notations, in 3/4 metre and the F-major key. The third entry is a song entitled "So It Rises So It Soars", with words and music by Leslie, written in G-major key, the first two lines being "Builder of my growing soul / Found in deeply as you must". The fourth and final entry is an eight-bar fragment, in G-major, following a leaf that was torn out.
File contains a handwritten manuscript of a song entitled "My love she walks not with me", with words and music by Kenneth Leslie, undated (but written presumably in the mid-1930s, after the collapse of his first marriage). The song is written in F-major, contains 24 bars of music in treble, and begins with the lines "The fragrance of the hawthorn and the rose after rain / Makes my misery completer". Music and words are written on only one page.
File contains Kenneth Leslie's personal copy of his collection of poems, 'Such a din!', published in 1936. Leslie used this copy as a working copy when compiling his anthology of poems, 'O'Malley to the Reds and other poems" in 1972. File contains inked corrections, additions, and excisions in Leslie's hand (addition of dedications -- largely to Robert Norwood -- for a few poems, as well as a few title and spelling changes, with poems not be included in the anthology crossed out).
File contains a typed letter unsigned by Kenneth Leslie, written on March 19, 1931 to be sent to Mary Davis of Summit, New Jersey. File addresses outlining an evening of Gaelic dance and music, organized by Kenneth and his first wife, Elizabeth Moir, mentioning the potential of his three young daughters assisting in the dancing. The goal of the program is to display the "instrumental music, song, and dance, expressive of the classic culture of Gaeldom. File also contains a facsimile of Leslie's letter.
File contains an undated typed manuscript entitled "The social aspect of the idea of truth and reality", presumably written in 1915, by Kenneth Leslie, when he was a student at Harvard University. File addresses Leslie's notions of perception, conception, and interpretation.
File contains an undated (presumably 1913 or 1914, while a student at the University of Nebraska) typed manuscript entitled "The problem of the bridge", written by Kenneth Leslie, and submitted to his professor as part of a course in philosophy. The "bridge" of which Leslie writes is discussing the "problem of metaphysical knowledge". File discusses the Eleatics, Aristotle, Descartes, Spinoza, Locke, Berkeley, Hume and Kant in relation to metaphysical knowledge.
