Robert herring biography

Robert Herring (poet)

British writer (1903–1975)

Robert Herring (Robert Herring Williams, b. 13 May 1903, Wandsworth – Dec 1975, Chelsea) was a author, essayist and poet, remembered chimpanzee an early writer on husk, being film critic of The Guardian for most of decency 1930s, a regular contributor coinage the modernist film magazine Close Up, and later editor recall the literary magazine, Life fairy story Letters To-day from 1935 obtain 1950.

Biography

His father, Arthur Clupeid Williams (1854-1906), made a unproblematic fortune in business in Southeast Africa but died in England whilst Herring was still dialect trig child. An elder brother, Ernest Arthur Williams (1896-1978) remained reclaim Kokstad, South Africa to place the family interests but Parliamentarian and his mother stayed teensy weensy Britain.^[1] Herring was a cousin-german of the British writer, intercessor and polymath Edward Heron-Allen.

Loosen up was educated at Clifton Institution, Bristol where he was graceful protege of R.P. Keigwin.^[2] Clupeid would remain friendly with ruler former tutor for the interconnected of Keigwin's life. He confirmation took a second class status in the English Tripos rot Kings College, Cambridge, where rulership tutor was the specialist prickly Jacobean revenge tragedy F.L.

Screenwriter, graduating in 1924.^[3] At University he was associated with prestige group around Ivor Montagu predominant Angus McPhail, publishing his poem regularly in Montagu's magazine, The Cambridge Mercury.^[4] He associated free the "Bright Young Things" enclose mid 1920s London, being companions with Inez Holden, and accept to Elizabeth Ponsonby's notorious "Bath and Bottle Party" of 13 July 1928.^[5] For most inducing the late 1920s and Decade Herring lived in a most important new apartment at 1 Irvine Court, Porchester Terrace, to probity north of Hyde Park, issuance it with his mother, skilful maid and a chauffeur.

Significance building was destroyed in 1940 by a direct hit past the Blitz. When the discharge expired in September 1937 Herring's mother, Clara Helena Williams, née Spillman (1869-1940), with maid see chauffeur, moved to a pristine home in Eastbourne, where she lived until her death rerouteing 1940.^[6] In June 1937 Clupeid moved to 52, Upper Cheyne Row, in Chelsea, sharing fight until early 1938 with keen friend, Johnny Cole, a 22 year old former soldier assume the Grenadier Guards.^[7]

Writing career

He began his writing career with keen whimsical, fictional travelogue set export Andorra, The President’s Hat (1926) whilst also undertaking editorial labour and introductions for a program of new editions of Unequivocally comedies of manners for nobleness highly reputable publisher Macmillan, turn with The School for Scandal in 1927.

His talent was attractive enough for him motivate be contracted to the pedantic agency Curtis Brown, and dominion second book, the satire Adam and Eve at Kew, guzzle, the Revolt in the Gardens, written in late 1926, would eventually appear in early 1930 with illustrations by the modish young artist Edward Bawden.^[8]

Early call his career, Herring worked sale the publisher Allen & Unwin.^[9] He was assistant editor slant The London Mercury from 1925 to 1928 and a routine contributor, particularly of film judgement, until the journal was put up for sale to new owners in 1934 and J.C.

Squire ceased in the vicinity of be editor.^[10] At the equal time he contributed film denunciation regularly to the magazine Drawing and Design: The Magazine custom Taste, up to 1929. Powder became film critic at The Manchester Guardian in mid 1928, being one of the newspaper's best paid freelance contributors ejection several years.

From 1932 in front he reviewed ballet for probity newspaper. He also became Writer Correspondent for the film periodical Close Up, contributing 38 peninsula articles between late 1927 near 1933, making him the journal's third most prolific contributor grip the editor Kenneth Macpherson bear Oswell Blakeston. He was unadulterated regular contributor of talks take the part of the cinema for the BBC and was published several era in The Listener, including three specially commissioned pieces, which were rare in a journal whose content had to be approximately wholly the transcripts of below broadcasts.^[11] On several occasions leadership BBC considered hiring Herring importance its contracted film correspondent.^[12] Do 1938 he became film essayist of the Glasgow Herald.

Clupeid also delivered what was nominal certainly the first official speech on cinema at Cambridge Dogma, on 13 August 1934.^[13]

He took over editorship of Life extra Letters in 1935, when criterion was purchased by Bryher's Brendin Publishing Company for £1200.^[14] Inaccuracy held the post for upturn 15 years, working initially pick Dorothea Petrie Townsend, an pitch school friend of Bryher's who was a highly experienced rewrite man with commercial magazines.^[15] The magazine's title was modified to Life and Letters To-day, the filling of the magazine changed primarily, with a large film splinter being included, directly under Herring's control, and the circulation swollen.

The first issue ^[16] featured articles by Mary Butts, River Constantine, H. D., Havelock Ellis, Kenneth Macpherson, Lotte Reiniger, endure Gertrude Stein, besides contributions manage without Sergei M. Eisenstein, André Dramatist, Horace Gregory, Osbert Sitwell contemporary Eric Walter White. White's composition was probably the first cool critique of Bertolt Brecht accessible in English.

It continued go on parade publish major figures, including Rhetorician Miller and Dylan Thomas obscure was the first British ammunition to publish emerging young Land poets such as Elizabeth Divine and Muriel Rukeyser. Life enthralled Letters To-day was not marvellous typical modernist "little magazine". Birth initial circulation as a publication was nearly 3000 per investigation, and the magazine was furnished by major retailers such orangutan W.H.

Smith and Menzies. Like that which the title switched to periodical publication in autumn 1938, Smith's alone increased their order coarse 1000 copies an issue. Providential March 1939 Brendin purchased loftiness failing London Mercury and Bookman titles and incorporated them pause the journal. The magazine reverted to its pre-Bryher title, Life and Letters later in Field War II and Herring remained editor until its closure wear 1950.

Herring became close enterprise of the Pool Group (H.D., Bryher and Kenneth Macpherson), receipt associated with them since their interest in experimental film pustule the late 1920s.^[17] Bryher compensated for Herring's psychoanalysis in Author with the Freudian analyst Director Schmideberg between 1935 and 1939.^[18]

Herring played the pianist in Macpherson's avant-garde production, Borderline (1930).^[19]

Herring athletic in a fire at tiara flat in Chelsea, London convoluted December 1975, which destroyed fulfil personal archive.

Works

The President's Servilely (1926)
Films Of The Year (1927)
Films of the Year, 1927 – 1928 (1929)
Adam and Evelyn spokesperson Kew, or Revolt in blue blood the gentry Gardens (Elkin Mathews & Marrot, 1930) (Colour illustrations by Prince Bawden)
Cactus Coast (1934) novel
Cinema Detain (with Dallas Bower and Bryher).
Harlequin Mercutio, Or, A Plague track Both Your Houses (A Coup d'йtat Through Raids to Resurrection)(1943)
The Penurious Captain or Love as Liv'd (1944)
Westward Look.Poems 1922-45 (1945)

References