''Close Up'' was an influential

literary magazine A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry, and essays, along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letter ...

devoted to film, published by the

Pool Group The Pool Group were a trio of filmmakers and poets consisting of Hilda Doolittle, Kenneth Macpherson and Bryher (Annie Winifred Ellerman). Their work has been studied by poetry and film historians as well as by scholars of mysticism, feminism and ...

between 1927 and 1933. "It was the brain child of

Kenneth Macpherson Kenneth Macpherson (27 March 1902 – 14 June 1971) was a Scottish-born novelist, photographer, critic, and film-maker, the son of Scottish painter John 'Pop' Macpherson and Clara Macpherson, and descended from six generations of artists. It i ...

, a young man of independent means, not a little talent, and quite a lot of personal charm". The monthly magazine, founded at the group's 'headquarters' in

Territet Territet (Montreux) is a locality which is part of the Montreux commune, in the Vaud canton, Switzerland. Geography Territet is located between the city center of Montreux and the village of Veytaux, within the municipality of Montreux, on t ...

, Switzerland would be dedicated to "independent cinema and cinema from around the world". The first issue was published in July 1927 and described itself on the front cover as an "international magazine devoted to film art". Macpherson was editor-in-chief, with Bryher as assistant editor, and

Hilda Doolittle Hilda Doolittle (September 10, 1886 – September 27, 1961) was an American modernist poet, novelist, and memoirist who wrote under the name H.D. throughout her life. Her career began in 1911 after she moved to London and co-founded the ...

("H.D.") and

Oswell Blakeston Oswell Blakeston was the pseudonym of Henry Joseph Hasslacher (1907–1985), a British writer and artist who also worked in the film industry, made some experimental films, and wrote extensively on film theory. He was also a poet and wrote in non-f ...

making regular contributions. The publication was truly international with correspondents reporting on productions worldwide, with major literary and cinematic figures contributing articles on the latest film theory ( René Crevel,

Dorothy Richardson Dorothy Miller Richardson (17 May 1873 – 17 June 1957) was a British author and journalist. Author of ''Pilgrimage'', a sequence of 13 semi-autobiographical novels published between 1915 and 1967—though Richardson saw them as chapters of o ...

, Sergei Eisenstein, Hans Sachs, Harry Potamkin) and advertising revenue coming from Paris, Berlin, and New York. Macpherson "dictated the tone and direction of the publication, contributing articles that defined the role of the director and defended the integrity of cinema and its right to be considered as art". ''Close Up'' would discard the vulgar entertainment films coming out of Britain and Hollywood, preferring the avant-garde productions from Germany and the Soviet Union. Blakeston, the most prolific of the magazine's writers, would mock British lack of imagination and general ineptitude. Editorial offices opened in 1928 at 24 Devonshire Street, and from April 1930 at 25 Litchfield Street, off

Charing Cross Road Charing Cross Road is a street in central London running immediately north of St Martin-in-the-Fields to St Giles Circus (the intersection with Oxford Street) and then becomes Tottenham Court Road. It leads from the north in the direction of ...

, London, above

Anton Zwemmer Anton Zwemmer (1892–1979) was a Dutch-born British bookseller, book distributor, art dealer, publisher and collectorChloe RendallZwemmer's modernistarchives.com. Retrieved 20 February 2021. who founded Zwemmer's Bookshop and the Zwemmer Gallery ...

's bookshop and gallery. The Academy cinema at 165 Oxford Street, which was dedicated to showing Continental and 'Unusual' art-house films, frequently advertised in its pages. The magazine reduced in frequency from monthly to quarterly, eventually fizzling out in 1933 when Macpherson departed. A printed slip was attached to the flyleaf of the final December issue, requesting that in future all letters and orders should be addressed to Mr. A. Zwemmer, 87 Charing Cross Road.

Publication details

[Volume I
/nowiki>, Nos. 1-6">olume I">[Volume I
/nowiki>, Nos. 1-6 July–December 1927
Volume II, Nos. 1-6
January–June 1928
Volume III, Nos. 1-6
July–December 1928
Volume IV, Nos. 1-6
January–June 1929
Volume V, Nos. 1-6
July–December 1929
Volume VI, Nos. 1-6
January–June 1930
Volume VII, Nos. 1-6
July–December 1930
Volume VIII, Nos. 1-4
March, June, September & December 1931
Volume IX, Nos. 1-4
March, June, September & December 1932
Volume X, Nos. 1-4
March, June (p. 109), September (p. 227) & December (p. 309) 1933

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * *

External links

*
Close Up – A Magazine Devoted To The Art Of Films
(Ayer Co. Pub.(1988) {{ISBN">0-405-00732-9 Film magazines published in the United Kingdom Defunct literary magazines published in the United Kingdom English-language magazines Magazines established in 1927 Magazines disestablished in 1933 Monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom Quarterly magazines published in the United Kingdom