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Martin Seymour-Smith

October 21, 2023

Martin Roger Seymour-Smith (24 April 1928 – 1 July 1998) was a British poet, literary critic, and biographer.

Biography Edit

Seymour-Smith was born in London and educated at Highgate School and St Edmund Hall, Oxford, where he was editor of Isis and Oxford Poetry.[1][2] His father Frank was a chief librarian who supplied books to Robert Graves, and who published the survey An English Library, an Annotated List of 1300 Classics in 1943,[3] followed by What Shall I Read Next: a Personal Selection of Twentieth Century English Books in 1953.[4] His mother Marjorie wrote poetry and published under the name of Elena Fearn.[5]

He began as one of the most promising of Anglophone post-war poets, but became better known as a critic, writing biographies of Robert Graves (whom he met first at age 14 and maintained close ties with), Rudyard Kipling and Thomas Hardy, and producing numerous critical studies. The poet and critic Robert Nye stated that Seymour-Smith was "one of the finest British poets after 1945."[6] Others to praise his poetry included Robert Graves, C. H. Sisson, Geoffrey Grigson and James Reeves.

He married in 1952 while spending a working holiday in Mallorca where Robert Graves employed Janet de Granville as a translator and he was a tutor to Graves' son. Graves was a witness at the wedding.[7]

Seymour-Smith came to prominence in 1963, as the editor of the first twentieth-century edition of Shakespeare's Sonnets to use the 'original' spelling. Characteristically, his commentary concerned Shakespeare's sexuality, which upset many. Later, his Fallen Women (1969) and Sex and Society (1975) would become 'standard plundering material for more famous works' as the author good-humouredly claimed. He had known Alex Comfort, who was then writing The Joy of Sex (1972), from their schooldays at Highgate School and the two often swapped notes.

Seymour-Smith's Poets Through their Letters Vol 1 (Wyatt to Coleridge) was acclaimed for its scholarship, but sold poorly. Hence, Volume 2 was never published.

His two volumes of poetry Tea with Miss Stockport (1963) and Reminiscences of Norma (1971), were praised by many, including Peter Porter. But an apparent creative silence till his last collection, Wilderness (1994), led to a decline in his reputation with the reading public during the 1980s.

The Guide to Modern World Literature is an encyclopaedic attempt to describe all major 20th-century authors, in all languages. The book is over 1450 pages long. Cyril Connolly said of the first (1973) edition: "I'm very much afraid he will prove indispensable!" His criticism of Lawrence Durrell singled out his poetry as his real achievement; John Fowles, Muriel Spark, C. P. Snow, Malcolm Bradbury and Ted Hughes received the first adverse criticism of their reputations in this book. The stature of Anthony Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time (1951–1976) as the greatest fictional post-war achievement was asserted: a view endorsed by Kingsley Amis and Hilary Spurling. He also predicted that T. S. Eliot's Four Quartets would not survive as a great poem by 2000.

The polyglot Seymour-Smith further used the book to champion writers he regarded as under-rated, such as James Hanley, Laura Riding, Wyndham Lewis, Roberto Arlt, Pio Baroja, Rayner Heppenstall and Jose Maria Arguedas, while attacking those he felt were overvalued, such as George Bernard Shaw, W. H. Auden and as mentioned above, T. S. Eliot. Seymour-Smith also disparaged Harold Pinter, Margaret Atwood,[8] and Tom Stoppard, whom he thought over-rated.

In 1981, The New Astrologer was published, Seymour-Smith's only book on this subject.[9]

Anthony Burgess likened Seymour-Smith to Samuel Johnson due to his many literary surveys from The Guide to Modern World Literature in 1975 onwards.[6]

When the 2013 new edition of the Oxford Companion of Modern Poetry was published, he was notably not included.[10]

Private life Edit

He married Janet de Glanville who was a translator and his and Robert Graves' collaborator. When he was asked how he managed to read so much he admitted that he hadn't. Janet had. They were rarely apart and she died two months after he did.[7]

Selected publications Edit

  • The Guide to Modern World Literature, Hodder & Stoughton, London (1975)
  • Who's Who in 20th Century Literature, Mcgraw-Hill, Columbus, OH. (1977) ISBN 0-07-056350-0
  • Novels and Novelists: A Guide to the World of Fiction, St. Martins Press, London (1980) ISBN 0-312-57966-7
  • A Reader's Guide to Fifty European Novels, Rl Innactive Titles (1980) ISBN 0-389-20138-3
  • Robert Graves: His Life and Work, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC., London (1982) ISBN 0-7475-2205-7
  • The New Astrologer, Macmillan Pub Co., London (1983) ISBN 978-0-02-081940-0
  • The New Guide to Modern Literature, Peter Bedrick Books, New York (1985) ISBN 0-87226-000-3
  • The 100 Most Influential Books Ever Written, MJF Books – Fine Communications, New York (1998) ISBN 1-56731-678-6
  • Collected Poems 1943–1993, Greenwich Exchange (2006)
  • The Poems of Martin Seymour-Smith, Rún Press (2014)

References Edit

  1. ^ Mark Wormald "Seymour-Smith, Martin" in Ian Hamilton (ed) The Oxford Companion to Twentieth Century Poetry, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994, p.487
  2. ^ Woodcock, George (1 April 1983). Twentieth Century Fiction. Springer. ISBN 978-1-349-17066-1.
  3. ^ Frank Seymour-Smith. An English Library (1943), archive.org
  4. ^ What Shall I Read Next (1953), Google Books
  5. ^ "PN Review Print and Online Poetry Magazine – Martin Seymour-Smith: The Article the DNB Will Not Print – Robert Nye – PN Review 144". pnreview.co.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  6. ^ a b Nye, Robert. Obituary: Martin Seymour-Smith, The Independent (1998)
  7. ^ a b Matthew, H. C. G.; Harrison, B., eds. (23 September 2004), "The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography", The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford: Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/70189, retrieved 15 August 2023
  8. ^ "Poisoned Pens". Dovegreyreader scribbles. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  9. ^ Jenner, Simon. Martin Seymour-Smith. Obituary. "In 1981, he had been a student of astrology for more than twenty-five years when he published his only astrology book, The New Astrologer." . Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 22 April 2015. (retrieved 17 August 2011)
  10. ^ Newey, Adam (2 August 2013). "The Oxford Companion to Modern Poetry edited by Ian Hamilton and Jeremy Noel-Tod – review". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 15 August 2023.

External links Edit

  • Ebooks and Martin Seymour-Smith by Robert Nagle. A writer envisions Seymour-Smith's classic New World of Modern Literature as an Ebook. Contains generous quotes. Accessed at 2018 March.
  • Simon Jenner.
  • Robert Nye. Obituary: Janet Seymour-Smith, The Independent, 16 September 1998 (She died two months after her husband.)

October 21, 2023
martin, seymour, smith, martin, roger, seymour, smith, april, 1928, july, 1998, british, poet, literary, critic, biographer, contents, biography, private, life, selected, publications, references, external, linksbiography, editseymour, smith, born, london, edu. Martin Roger Seymour Smith 24 April 1928 1 July 1998 was a British poet literary critic and biographer Contents 1 Biography 2 Private life 3 Selected publications 4 References 5 External linksBiography EditSeymour Smith was born in London and educated at Highgate School and St Edmund Hall Oxford where he was editor of Isis and Oxford Poetry 1 2 His father Frank was a chief librarian who supplied books to Robert Graves and who published the survey An English Library an Annotated List of 1300 Classics in 1943 3 followed by What Shall I Read Next a Personal Selection of Twentieth Century English Books in 1953 4 His mother Marjorie wrote poetry and published under the name of Elena Fearn 5 He began as one of the most promising of Anglophone post war poets but became better known as a critic writing biographies of Robert Graves whom he met first at age 14 and maintained close ties with Rudyard Kipling and Thomas Hardy and producing numerous critical studies The poet and critic Robert Nye stated that Seymour Smith was one of the finest British poets after 1945 6 Others to praise his poetry included Robert Graves C H Sisson Geoffrey Grigson and James Reeves He married in 1952 while spending a working holiday in Mallorca where Robert Graves employed Janet de Granville as a translator and he was a tutor to Graves son Graves was a witness at the wedding 7 Seymour Smith came to prominence in 1963 as the editor of the first twentieth century edition of Shakespeare s Sonnets to use the original spelling Characteristically his commentary concerned Shakespeare s sexuality which upset many Later his Fallen Women 1969 and Sex and Society 1975 would become standard plundering material for more famous works as the author good humouredly claimed He had known Alex Comfort who was then writing The Joy of Sex 1972 from their schooldays at Highgate School and the two often swapped notes Seymour Smith s Poets Through their Letters Vol 1 Wyatt to Coleridge was acclaimed for its scholarship but sold poorly Hence Volume 2 was never published His two volumes of poetry Tea with Miss Stockport 1963 and Reminiscences of Norma 1971 were praised by many including Peter Porter But an apparent creative silence till his last collection Wilderness 1994 led to a decline in his reputation with the reading public during the 1980s The Guide to Modern World Literature is an encyclopaedic attempt to describe all major 20th century authors in all languages The book is over 1450 pages long Cyril Connolly said of the first 1973 edition I m very much afraid he will prove indispensable His criticism of Lawrence Durrell singled out his poetry as his real achievement John Fowles Muriel Spark C P Snow Malcolm Bradbury and Ted Hughes received the first adverse criticism of their reputations in this book The stature of Anthony Powell s A Dance to the Music of Time 1951 1976 as the greatest fictional post war achievement was asserted a view endorsed by Kingsley Amis and Hilary Spurling He also predicted that T S Eliot s Four Quartets would not survive as a great poem by 2000 The polyglot Seymour Smith further used the book to champion writers he regarded as under rated such as James Hanley Laura Riding Wyndham Lewis Roberto Arlt Pio Baroja Rayner Heppenstall and Jose Maria Arguedas while attacking those he felt were overvalued such as George Bernard Shaw W H Auden and as mentioned above T S Eliot Seymour Smith also disparaged Harold Pinter Margaret Atwood 8 and Tom Stoppard whom he thought over rated In 1981 The New Astrologer was published Seymour Smith s only book on this subject 9 Anthony Burgess likened Seymour Smith to Samuel Johnson due to his many literary surveys from The Guide to Modern World Literature in 1975 onwards 6 When the 2013 new edition of the Oxford Companion of Modern Poetry was published he was notably not included 10 Private life EditHe married Janet de Glanville who was a translator and his and Robert Graves collaborator When he was asked how he managed to read so much he admitted that he hadn t Janet had They were rarely apart and she died two months after he did 7 Selected publications EditThe Guide to Modern World Literature Hodder amp Stoughton London 1975 Who s Who in 20th Century Literature Mcgraw Hill Columbus OH 1977 ISBN 0 07 056350 0 Novels and Novelists A Guide to the World of Fiction St Martins Press London 1980 ISBN 0 312 57966 7 A Reader s Guide to Fifty European Novels Rl Innactive Titles 1980 ISBN 0 389 20138 3 Robert Graves His Life and Work Bloomsbury Publishing PLC London 1982 ISBN 0 7475 2205 7 The New Astrologer Macmillan Pub Co London 1983 ISBN 978 0 02 081940 0 The New Guide to Modern Literature Peter Bedrick Books New York 1985 ISBN 0 87226 000 3 The 100 Most Influential Books Ever Written MJF Books Fine Communications New York 1998 ISBN 1 56731 678 6 Collected Poems 1943 1993 Greenwich Exchange 2006 The Poems of Martin Seymour Smith Run Press 2014 References Edit Mark Wormald Seymour Smith Martin in Ian Hamilton ed The Oxford Companion to Twentieth Century Poetry Oxford Oxford University Press 1994 p 487 Woodcock George 1 April 1983 Twentieth Century Fiction Springer ISBN 978 1 349 17066 1 Frank Seymour Smith An English Library 1943 archive org What Shall I Read Next 1953 Google Books PN Review Print and Online Poetry Magazine Martin Seymour Smith The Article the DNB Will Not Print Robert Nye PN Review 144 pnreview co uk Retrieved 3 February 2019 a b Nye Robert Obituary Martin Seymour Smith The Independent 1998 a b Matthew H C G Harrison B eds 23 September 2004 The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Oxford Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 ref odnb 70189 retrieved 15 August 2023 Poisoned Pens Dovegreyreader scribbles Retrieved 13 January 2018 Jenner Simon Martin Seymour Smith Obituary In 1981 he had been a student of astrology for more than twenty five years when he published his only astrology book The New Astrologer Martin Seymour Smith Archived from the original on 28 September 2007 Retrieved 22 April 2015 retrieved 17 August 2011 Newey Adam 2 August 2013 The Oxford Companion to Modern Poetry edited by Ian Hamilton and Jeremy Noel Tod review The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 15 August 2023 External links EditEbooks and Martin Seymour Smith by Robert Nagle A writer envisions Seymour Smith s classic New World of Modern Literature as an Ebook Contains generous quotes Accessed at 2018 March Simon Jenner Biography of Martin Seymour Smith Robert Nye Obituary Janet Seymour Smith The Independent 16 September 1998 She died two months after her husband Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Martin Seymour Smith amp oldid 1170497965, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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