Richard Caddel
Encyclopedia
Richard Caddel was a poet, publisher and editor who was a key figure in the British Poetry Revival
.
and grew up in Gillingham, Kent
. He studied music at the University of Newcastle, but changed to English after meeting poets Basil Bunting
and Tom Pickard
. He helped Tom and Connie Pickard organise the seminal Morden Tower
poetry readings.
Caddel's work was influenced by Bunting, by the Americans Lorine Niedecker
, Louis Zukofsky
, Robert Creeley
and William Carlos Williams
, and by the English landscape tradition as represented by John Clare
.
He published a number of small pamphlets, most of which were collected in three books; Sweet Cicely (1983), Uncertain Time (1990) and Larksong Signal (1997) A volume of selected poems, Magpie Words, appeared in 2002. His final book, Writing In The Dark, was published in late 2003.
With his wife Ann, Caddel ran Pig Press, through which he published a number of the more interesting avant-garde British
, Irish
and American poets of the latter half of the 20th century.
Caddel edited Bunting's Uncollected Poems in 1991 and his Complete Poems in 1994. With Peter Quartermain, he edited the anthology Other: British And Irish Poetry Since 1970 (1998). He served as Director of the Basil Bunting Poetry Centre at Durham University
for a number of years up to his death.
A lifelong asthma
tic, Caddel died of leukaemia on April 1, 2003.
British Poetry Revival
The British Poetry Revival is the general name given to a loose poetry movement in Britain that took place in the 1960s and 1970s. The revival was a modernist-inspired reaction to the Movement's more conservative approach to British poetry.-Beginnings:...
.
Biography
Caddel was born in BedfordBedford
Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
and grew up in Gillingham, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. He studied music at the University of Newcastle, but changed to English after meeting poets Basil Bunting
Basil Bunting
Basil Cheesman Bunting was a significant British modernist poet whose reputation was established with the publication of Briggflatts in 1966. He had a lifelong interest in music that led him to emphasise the sonic qualities of poetry, particularly the importance of reading poetry aloud...
and Tom Pickard
Tom Pickard
Tom Pickard is a poet, radio and film maker who was an important initiator of the movement known as the British Poetry Revival....
. He helped Tom and Connie Pickard organise the seminal Morden Tower
Morden Tower
The Morden Tower in Back Stowell Street on the West Walls of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a Grade 1 listed building. For the last 45 years Connie Pickard has been custodian of Morden Tower, and has made it a key fixture of Newcastle's alternative cultural life...
poetry readings.
Caddel's work was influenced by Bunting, by the Americans Lorine Niedecker
Lorine Niedecker
Lorine Faith Niedecker was a Wisconsin poet and the only woman associated with the Objectivist poets...
, Louis Zukofsky
Louis Zukofsky
Louis Zukofsky was an American poet. He was one of the founders and the primary theorist of the Objectivist group of poets and thus an important influence on subsequent generations of poets in America and abroad.-Life:...
, Robert Creeley
Robert Creeley
Robert Creeley was an American poet and author of more than sixty books. He is usually associated with the Black Mountain poets, though his verse aesthetic diverged from that school's. He was close with Charles Olson, Robert Duncan, Allen Ginsberg, John Wieners and Ed Dorn. He served as the Samuel P...
and William Carlos Williams
William Carlos Williams
William Carlos Williams was an American poet closely associated with modernism and Imagism. He was also a pediatrician and general practitioner of medicine, having graduated from the University of Pennsylvania...
, and by the English landscape tradition as represented by John Clare
John Clare
John Clare was an English poet, born the son of a farm labourer who came to be known for his celebratory representations of the English countryside and his lamentation of its disruption. His poetry underwent a major re-evaluation in the late 20th century and he is often now considered to be among...
.
He published a number of small pamphlets, most of which were collected in three books; Sweet Cicely (1983), Uncertain Time (1990) and Larksong Signal (1997) A volume of selected poems, Magpie Words, appeared in 2002. His final book, Writing In The Dark, was published in late 2003.
With his wife Ann, Caddel ran Pig Press, through which he published a number of the more interesting avant-garde British
British literature
British Literature refers to literature associated with the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and Channel Islands. By far the largest part of British literature is written in the English language, but there are bodies of written works in Latin, Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Scots, Cornish, Manx, Jèrriais,...
, Irish
Irish poetry
The history of Irish poetry includes the poetries of two languages, one in Irish and the other in English. The complex interplay between these two traditions, and between both of them and other poetries in English, has produced a body of work that is both rich in variety and difficult to...
and American poets of the latter half of the 20th century.
Caddel edited Bunting's Uncollected Poems in 1991 and his Complete Poems in 1994. With Peter Quartermain, he edited the anthology Other: British And Irish Poetry Since 1970 (1998). He served as Director of the Basil Bunting Poetry Centre at Durham University
Durham University
The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
for a number of years up to his death.
A lifelong asthma
Asthma
Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...
tic, Caddel died of leukaemia on April 1, 2003.
Poetry
- Heron, Makaris, 1973.
- Quiet Alchemy, Ceolfrith Press, 1976.
- Burnt Aces and the Shangri-Las, Ceolfrith Press, 1978.
- Baby Days and Moon Diaries, Galloping Dog Press, 1979.
- Shelter, Oasis Books, 1979.
- A Short Climate-Atlas of the Soul, Figs, 1982.
- Sweet Cicely: New and Selected Poems, Taxus Press, 1983
- Summer Poems, Taxus Press, 1986.
- Fantasia in the English Choral Tradition, Slug Press, 1986.
- Against Numerology, North and South, 1988.
- Uncertain Time, Galloping Dog Press, 1990.
- Larksong Signal, Shearsman Press, 1997.
- Underwriter, Maquette Press, 1998.
- For the Fallen, Wild Honey Press, 2000.
- Monksnailsongs, with Tony Baker, Wild Honey Press, 2002.
- Magpie Words: Selected Poems 1970-2000, West House Books, 2002.
- Writing in the Dark, West House Books, 2003.
Prose
- The Wire Book, X Press, 1977.
- Wine Tales, with Lee HarwoodLee HarwoodLee Harwood is a poet associated with the British Poetry Revival.-Life:Travers Rafe Lee Harwood was born in Leicester to maths teacher Wilfred Travers Lee-Harwood and Grace Ladkin Harwood, who were then living in Chertsey, Surrey...
, Galloping Dog Press, 1984. - Deadly Sins, Taxus Press, 1984.
Editor
- Blocks from the Collection of Roger Tomlin, Arc Press, 1979.
- Pete Laver: Offcomers, Pig Press, 1985.
- Basil Bunting: A Note on Briggflatts, Basil Bunting Poetry Archive, 1989.
- Twenty-Six New British Poets, New American Writing, 1991.
- Basil Bunting: Uncollected Poems, Oxford University Press, 1991.
- The Complete Poems: Basil Bunting, Oxford University Press (Oxford, England), 1994.
- Other: British and Irish Poetry Since 1970, with Peter Quartermain, University Press of New England (Hanover, NH), 1999.