Meary James Thurairajah Tambimuttu (15 August 1915 – 23 June 1983) was a

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

, editor, critic and publisher, who for many years played a significant part on the literary scenes of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. He founded in 1939 the respected literary magazine ''

Poetry London ''Poetry London'' is a literary periodical based in London. Published three times a year, it features poems, reviews, and other articles. Profile Adopting the title of an earlier bimonthly publication which ran from 1939 to 1951, ''Poetry London' ...

'', which "soon became the best known poetry periodical in England, and Tambimuttu became widely known as a skillful editor.""Tambimuttu, 67, Dies; Indian Poet and Editor"
''The New York Times'' (Obituaries), 24 June 1983. Four issues of ''Poetry London–New York'' were published in the 1950s; the fifth in 1960. Among those published by Tambimuttu were

Lawrence Durrell Lawrence George Durrell (; 27 February 1912 – 7 November 1990) was an expatriate British novelist, poet, dramatist, and travel writer. He was the eldest brother of naturalist and writer Gerald Durrell. Born in India to British colonial p ...

Kathleen Raine Kathleen Jessie Raine CBE (14 June 1908 – 6 July 2003) was a British poet, critic, and scholar, writing in particular on William Blake, W. B. Yeats and Thomas Taylor. Known for her interest in various forms of spirituality, most prominently ...

W. H. Auden Wystan Hugh Auden (; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry was noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in ...

Gavin Ewart Gavin Buchanan Ewart FRSL (4 February 1916 – 23 October 1995) was a British poet who contributed to Geoffrey Grigson's ''New Verse'' at the age of seventeen. Life Ewart was born in London and educated at Wellington College, before entering ...

, Jack Kerouac,

Gregory Corso Gregory Nunzio Corso (March 26, 1930 – January 17, 2001) was an American poet and a key member of the Beat movement. He was the youngest of the inner circle of Beat Generation writers (with Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William S. Burrou ...

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...

, Roy Campbell,

Robin Skelton Robin Skelton (12 October 1925 – 22 August 1997) was a British-born academic, writer, poet, and anthologist. Biography Born in Easington, Yorkshire, Skelton was educated at the University of Leeds and Cambridge University. From 1944 to 1947, ...

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, and many other notable writers. In 1955 Tambimuttu was described by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' as "probably the best-known contemporary Sri Lankan Tamil poet". He created two publishing houses, Editions Poetry London (established in 1943) and Lyrebird Press (1968), both of which published major works.

Biography

Tambimuttu was born in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), had his primary education at the premier Catholic institution

St. Joseph's College, Colombo , motto_translation = In Knowledge and Virtue , location = T. B. Jayah Mawatha, Colombo 10 , country = Sri Lanka , coordinates = , caption = School Facade , pushpin_m ...

, and attended university in Colombo before leaving for

at the age of 22. He arrived in 1938, and a year later he began to publish ''

'', a small magazine that was to be important in the next decade, in particular during the war years. Tambi, as he was called by his friends, met

at this time in connection with the small magazine that Durrell published in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, ''Delta'' (developing from ''The Booster''). As well as editing 14 volumes of ''Poetry London'', Tambi was also involved in book publishing, writing his own poetry and short fiction, as well as being a regular participant in the

BBC radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

broadcasts ''Talking To India'' during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. In July 1943 he set up the publishing house Editions Poetry London, which published

Elizabeth Smart Elizabeth Ann Gilmour (née Smart; born November 3, 1987) is an American child safety activist and commentator for ABC News. She gained national attention at age 14 when she was abducted from her home in Salt Lake City by Brian David Mitchell. ...

's ''

By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept ''By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept'' is a 1945 novel in prose poetry by the Canadian author Elizabeth Smart (1913–1986). The work was inspired by Smart's passionate affair with the British poet George Barker (1913–1991). Genes ...

'',

David Gascoyne David Gascoyne (10 October 1916 – 25 November 2001) was an English poet associated with the Surrealist movement, in particular the British Surrealist Group. Additionally he translated work by French surrealist poets. Early life and surrealis ...

''Poems 1937-1942'',

's ''Cefalu'',

Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, social criticism, philosophical ref ...

's ''The Cosmological Eye'' and ''Sunday After the War'',

Vladimir Nabokov Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (russian: link=no, Владимир Владимирович Набоков ; 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin (), was a Russian-American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Bor ...

's ''The Real Life of Sebastian Knight'',

' ''Alamein to Zem Zem'', and

Cleanth Brooks Cleanth Brooks ( ; October 16, 1906 – May 10, 1994) was an American literary critic and professor. He is best known for his contributions to New Criticism in the mid-20th century and for revolutionizing the teaching of poetry in American higher ...

' ''Modern Poetry and the Tradition''. Other poets published in ''Poetry London'' are a veritable "who's who" of late

modernist poetry Modernist poetry refers to poetry written between 1890 and 1950 in the tradition of modernist literature, but the dates of the term depend upon a number of factors, including the nation of origin, the particular school in question, and the biases ...

. In 1943, Tambimuttu commissioned the young artist

Lucian Freud Lucian Michael Freud (; 8 December 1922 – 20 July 2011) was a British painter and draughtsman, specialising in figurative art, and is known as one of the foremost 20th-century English portraitists. He was born in Berlin, the son of Jewis ...

to illustrate a book of poems by Nicholas Moore entitled The Glass Tower. It was published the following year by Editions Poetry London and comprised, among other drawings, a stuffed zebra and a palm tree. Tambimuttu returned to Ceylon in 1949, and in 1952 moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, where he worked as an editor, launching ''Poetry London – New York'' (1956–60), the last issue 5 including American

Beat poets Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ...

. He returned to

in 1968 and founded the Lyrebird Press. He died in London, aged 67. Archives of Tambimuttu's correspondence and papers are dispersed, but the largest collections are at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

and the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

.Chris Becket (notes)
"Tambimuttu and the Poetry London Papers at the British Library: Reputation and Evidence"
''Electronic British Library Journal'', 2009. Most of Tambimuttu's own works are difficult to access, and his earliest works published before he came to London are lost. His greatest influence was as an editor and publisher, especially during the 1940s. T. S. Eliot,

, Dylan Thomas count among his influences, while he influenced Lawrence Durrell,

Nicholas Moore Nicholas Moore (16 November 1918 – 26 January 1986) was an English poet, associated with the New Apocalyptics in the 1940s, whose reputation stood as high as Dylan Thomas’s. He later dropped out of the literary world. Biography Moore wa ...

Gavin Maxwell Gavin Maxwell FRSL FZS FRGS (15 July 19147 September 1969) was a British naturalist and author, best known for his non-fiction writing and his work with otters. He wrote the book ''Ring of Bright Water'' (1960) about how he brought an otter ...

, and George Barker.

Works

Poetry

* ''Natarajah: A Poem for Mr. T. S. Eliot's Sixtieth Birthday'' ( 1948), PL Pamphlets * ''Out of this War'' ( 1941), The Fortune Press

Editions

* ''T. S. Eliot: A Symposium'' compiled by Richard March and Tambimuttu ( 1948), Editions Poetry London * ''Poetry in Wartime: An Anthology'' (

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in w ...

), Faber and Faber * ''India Love Poems'' (

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

), Editions Poetry London

Notes

External links

Page at One Hundred Tamils

published in the collection: T. Wignesan. Rama and Ravana at the Altar of Hanuman: On Tamils, Tamil Literature & Tamil Culture. Allahabad:Cyberwit.net, 2008, 750p. & at Chennai: Institute of Asian Studies, 2007, 439p.
Tambimuttu Archive
at Northwestern University Library

at the British Library: Reputation and Evidence

at the British Library *http://www.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/makingbritain/content/meary-james-tambimuttu
The Papers of Meary James Thurairajah Tambimuttu
at the British Library *https://findingaids.library.northwestern.edu/agents/people/2358 {{DEFAULTSORT:Tambimuttu 1915 births 1983 deaths Sri Lankan Tamil poets Sri Lankan Christians 20th-century poets British people of Sri Lankan Tamil descent Sri Lankan emigrants to the United Kingdom Book publishers (people) 20th-century British poets People from Colombo Sri Lankan expatriates in the United States