Jack Beeching
Encyclopedia
Jack Beeching born John Charles Stuart Beeching, was an English poet
.
, Sussex
, England, on May 8, 1922, and died in Palma de Mallorca
, Spain, on December 27, 2001. He served in the Fleet Air Arm
during World War II
. He married Gwendoline (Inez) Mathews in the early 1940s. This marriage produced one son, Matthew (1946). They were divorced in 1948. He married author and translator Amy Brown in 1950 and had a son, John, and a daughter, Laura. They were divorced in 1970, and he shared the rest of his life with Charlotte Mensforth, the painter. He had four children.
In 1956, he suffered serious chest injuries in an automobile accident. As a result, he had severe respiratory problems that forced him to live in warmer climates.
circa 1970, and reflected in his obituary in The Independent
thirty years later, whose author speaks also of Beeching's 'disciplined metre, subtle half-rhyme and a luxuriant syntax which expressed at times distinctly "difficult" metaphysical concerns'. His writing in old age was perhaps at least as strong and trenchant as that of any of his peers of a similar age.
Although he continued to write until his death, during the second half of his life his work fell into neglect. This neglect was partly attributable to his having to live, because of his damaged lung, abroad in drier climates, including Greece
, Turkey
, Guatemala
, Lucca
, Genoa
, Menton
, and Majorca. It was a life of near-poverty in tiny apartments.
He was published in Penguin Modern Poets
No. 16 in 1970, and near the end of his life brought out a collection, Poems 1940-2000 (Art Ojo Nuevo). He was a novelist and writer of historical books, but stated "Poetry is my avocation
; the other forms of writing are a means of livelihood".
Beeching translated poetry from French and Spanish, and wrote several plays for the London stage. He contributed to The New York Times
and The Times
.
The Arts Council of Great Britain
gave him their Award to a Living Artist in 1967, and he was later granted a Civil List
pension for "services to literature".
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
.
Life
Beeching was born in HastingsHastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, England, on May 8, 1922, and died in Palma de Mallorca
Palma de Mallorca
Palma is the major city and port on the island of Majorca and capital city of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. The names Ciutat de Mallorca and Ciutat were used before the War of the Spanish Succession and are still used by people in Majorca. However, the official name...
, Spain, on December 27, 2001. He served in the Fleet Air Arm
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He married Gwendoline (Inez) Mathews in the early 1940s. This marriage produced one son, Matthew (1946). They were divorced in 1948. He married author and translator Amy Brown in 1950 and had a son, John, and a daughter, Laura. They were divorced in 1970, and he shared the rest of his life with Charlotte Mensforth, the painter. He had four children.
In 1956, he suffered serious chest injuries in an automobile accident. As a result, he had severe respiratory problems that forced him to live in warmer climates.
Career
Beeching's poetry is considered moving, original, clear-sighted, compressed, and funny. This was a view expressed by the editor of Qualm in 2003, a high opinion shared by the editors at PenguinPenguin Books
Penguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
circa 1970, and reflected in his obituary in The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
thirty years later, whose author speaks also of Beeching's 'disciplined metre, subtle half-rhyme and a luxuriant syntax which expressed at times distinctly "difficult" metaphysical concerns'. His writing in old age was perhaps at least as strong and trenchant as that of any of his peers of a similar age.
Although he continued to write until his death, during the second half of his life his work fell into neglect. This neglect was partly attributable to his having to live, because of his damaged lung, abroad in drier climates, including Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, Lucca
Lucca
Lucca is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plainnear the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca...
, Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, Menton
Menton
Menton is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.Situated on the French Riviera, along the Franco-Italian border, it is nicknamed la perle de la France ....
, and Majorca. It was a life of near-poverty in tiny apartments.
He was published in Penguin Modern Poets
Penguin Modern Poets
Penguin Modern Poets was a series of 27 poetry books published by Penguin Books in the 1960s and 1970s, each containing work by three contemporary poets . The series was begun in 1962 and published an average of two volumes per year throughout the 1960s...
No. 16 in 1970, and near the end of his life brought out a collection, Poems 1940-2000 (Art Ojo Nuevo). He was a novelist and writer of historical books, but stated "Poetry is my avocation
Avocation
An avocation is an activity that one engages in as a hobby outside one's main occupation. There are many examples of people whose professions were the ways that they made their livings, but for whom their activities outside of their workplaces were their true passions in life...
; the other forms of writing are a means of livelihood".
Beeching translated poetry from French and Spanish, and wrote several plays for the London stage. He contributed to The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
and The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
.
The Arts Council of Great Britain
Arts Council of Great Britain
The Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. The Arts Council of Great Britain was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England , the Scottish Arts Council, and the Arts Council of Wales...
gave him their Award to a Living Artist in 1967, and he was later granted a Civil List
Civil list
-United Kingdom:In the United Kingdom, the Civil List is the name given to the annual grant that covers some expenses associated with the Sovereign performing their official duties, including those for staff salaries, State Visits, public engagements, ceremonial functions and the upkeep of the...
pension for "services to literature".
Works
- Personal and Partisan Poems (poetry), Fred Ball, 1940.
- Aspects of Love (poetry), A. Swallow, 1950.
- Paper Doll (novel), HeinemannHeinemann (book publisher)Heinemann is a UK publishing house founded by William Heinemann in Covent Garden, London in 1890. On William Heinemann's death in 1920 a majority stake was purchased by U.S. publisher Doubleday. It was later acquired by commemorate Thomas Tilling in 1961...
, 1950. - Truth Is a Naked Lady (poetry), Myriad, 1957.
- Let Me See Your Face (novel), Heinemann, 1959.
- The Dakota Project, Delacorte, 1968.
- Penguin Modern Poets 16 (1970). Jack Beeching, Harry GuestHarry GuestHarry Guest is a British poet born in Wales. He was educated at Malvern College and read Modern Languages at Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge. He wrote a thesis on Mallarmé at the Sorbonne...
and Matthew Mead. - The Polythene Maidenhead (poetry), Penguin, 1970.
- (Editor and author of introduction) R. HakluytRichard HakluytRichard Hakluyt was an English writer. He is principally remembered for his efforts in promoting and supporting the settlement of North America by the English through his works, notably Divers Voyages Touching the Discoverie of America and The Principal Navigations, Voiages, Traffiques and...
, Voyages and Discoveries: The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation, Penguin, 1972. - The Chinese Opium Wars, Hutchinson, 1975, Harcourt, 1976.
- An Open Path: Christian Missionaries, 1515-1914, HutchinsonHutchinson (publisher)Hutchinson & Co. was an English book publisher, founded in 1887. The company merged with Century Publishing in 1985 to form Century Hutchinson, and was folded into the British Random House Group in 1989, where it remains as an imprint in the Cornerstone Publishing division...
, 1979, Ross-Erikson, 1982. - (With Dominique Grandmont) Images au Miroir: Mirror Images (in French and English), Piccolo Press, 1979.
- Death of a Terrorist (novel), Constable, 1981.
- The Galleys at Lepanto, Hutchinson, 1982, ScribnerCharles Scribner's SonsCharles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing a number of American authors including Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Stephen King, Robert A. Heinlein, Thomas Wolfe, George Santayana, John Clellon...
, 1983. - Twenty-five Short Poems, Piccolo Press, 1982.
- Tides of Fortune, Hutchinson,1988
- The View from the Balloon, with drawings by Charlotte Mensforth, Piccolo, 1990.
- Poems (1940-2000), Art Ojo Nuevo, 2001.