Charles Wrey Gardiner (1901 – 13 March 1981) was an English writer and poet, editor and publisher, born in

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

. Gardiner was a noted and well-connected literary figure, particularly in London in the years around

Second World War 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 opposin ...

, though very much in the tradition of the literary amateur.

Personal life

Gardiner read History at

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth-oldest college of the un ...

, but left without taking a degree after marrying his cousin, Betty. The couple then toured the

West Country The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Gloucesters ...

in a caravan. After divorce, Gardiner moved to Paris, where he married his second wife, Susanne, a pianist. After the

he married and had at least one child with Cynthia Kortright.Charles Wrey Gardiner papers, 1942-1967: "Biographical Note"

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

. Retrieved 19 August 2013. His fourth wife, Diana, was the widow of the Fitzrovian writer Julian MacLaren-Ross."Charles Wrey Gardiner." Times ondon, England18 March 1981: 16. The Times Digital Archive. Retrieved 5 September 2016.

Publishing

His significance in publishing came with his editorship of the magazine ''Poetry Quarterly''. He became its assistant editor in 1939, with its first edition published in Spring 1940 and continuing until 1953. Towards the end of 1940 he established the Grey Walls Press, in

Billericay Billericay ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Basildon, Essex, England. It lies within the London Basin and constitutes a commuter town east of Central London. The town has three secondary schools and a variety of open spaces. It is ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

. ''Lyra: An anthology of new lyric'' (1942), edited by

Alex Comfort Alexander Comfort (10 February 1920 – 26 March 2000) was a British scientist and physician known best for his nonfiction sex manual, ''The Joy of Sex'' (1972). He was an author of both fiction and nonfiction, as well as a gerontologist, ...

and

Robert Greacen Robert Greacen (1920–2008) was an Irish poet and member of Aosdána. Born in Derry, Ireland, on 24 October 1920, he was educated at Methodist College Belfast and Trinity College Dublin. He died on 13 April 2008 in Dublin, Ireland. Greacen's ...

, was a representative

poetry anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

published by Grey Walls, containing new writing of the time. Gardiner is also notable as a supporter of

Kenneth Patchen Kenneth Patchen (December 13, 1911January 8, 1972) was an American poet and novelist. He experimented with different forms of writing and incorporated painting, drawing, and jazz music into his works, which have been compared with those of Will ...

, whose ''Outlaw of the Lowest Planet'' he published in 1946, with an introduction by

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 ...

and a preface by Alex Comfort. Grey Walls subsequently merged with Falcon Press, the publishing company run by Peter Baker MP. Initially, this gave the company new capital but it later involved Grey Walls in Baker's bankruptcy. He was imprisoned for fraud and the Press went out of business. As a writer and poet, his works include his poetry as well as four published (and one unpublished - ''The Octopus of Love'') autobiographies.

''New Road''

''New Road. New Directions in Art & Writing'' was a series of anthologies published by Grey Walls Press, the first two of which were edited by

and

John Bayliss John Bayliss (1919–2008) was a British poet and significant literary editor of the World War II period; later in life, he became a civil servant. He was born in Gloucestershire, and was an undergraduate at St Catharine's College, Cambridge. He ...

. Orwell, George
''Collected Essays 1940-1943'' (Google eBook)
Retrieved 19 August 2013. These are: * Volume 1 (1943) - Edited by Alex Comfort and John Bayliss - including a special 50-page ''surrealist section'' * Volume 2 (1944) - Edited by Alex Comfort and John Bayliss * Volume 3 (1945) - Edited by Fred Marnau * Volume 4 (1946) - Edited by Fred Marnau * Volume 5 (1949) - Edited by Charles Wrey Gardiner

Publications

*''The Colonies of Heaven'' (1938, autobiography) *''Laid in Sharp Scorpions: Poems'' (1941) *''The Chained Tree'' (1941, poems) *''The Last Refuge'' (1941, poems) *''The Once-Loved God'' (1943, autobiography) *''The Gates of Silence'' (1944, poems) *''The Dark Thorn'' (1946, autobiography) *''Carrots'' (1946, by

Jules Renard Pierre-Jules Renard (; 22 February 1864 – 22 May 1910) was a French author and member of the Académie Goncourt, most famous for the works ''Poil de carotte'' (Carrot Top, 1894) and ''Les Histoires Naturelles'' (Nature Stories, 1896). Among ...

, translated by G. W. Stonier ) *''Sharp Scorpions'' (1946, poems) *''Lament for Strings'' (1947, poems) *''A Season of Olives'' (1948, first novel) *''The Flowering Moment'' (1949, poems) *''The Answer to Life is No'' (1960, autobiography) *''His Poems'' (1980)

References

External links

Emory Library pageFinding aid to Charles Wrey Gardiner papers at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardiner, Wrey 1901 births 1981 deaths Businesspeople from Plymouth, Devon 20th-century English poets Writers from Plymouth, Devon English publishers (people)