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Charles Causley

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The Grave of Charles Causley in St Thomas Churchyard - geograph.org.uk - 323515

Grave of Charles Causley, Launceston, Cornwall. Photo by Tony Atkin. Licensed under Creative Commons, courtesy Geograph.org.

Charles Stanley Causley, CBE (24 August 1917 - 4 November 2003) was an English poet, schoolmaster and writer.

Life[]

Causley was born at Launceston in Cornwall and was educated there and in Peterborough. His father died in 1924 from long-standing injuries from the First World War. Causley had to leave school at 15 to earn money, working as an office boy during his early years. He served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War, as a coder, an experience he later wrote about in a book of short stories, Hands to Dance and Skylark.

His debut collection of poems, Farewell, Aggie Weston, was published in 1951.[1] Survivor's Leave followed in 1953, and from then until his death Causley published frequently. He worked as a teacher at a school in Launceston, leaving the town seldom and reluctantly, though he twice spent time in Perth as a visiting Fellow at the University of Western Australia, and worked at the Banff School of Fine Arts in Canada, and especially after his retirement which taken early in 1976 [2] was much in demand at poetry readings in the United Kingdom. He made many broadcasts.

An intensely private person, he was nevertheless approachable. He was a friend of such writers as Siegfried Sassoon, A.L. Rowse, Jack Clemo, and Ted Hughes (his closest friend).

Writing[]

Causley's work is noted for its simplicity and directness and for its associations with folklore, especially when linked to his native Cornwall. His work, influenced by W.H. Auden, is intensely original and many consider him to be, as John Betjeman was, a man working outside of the dominant trends of the poetry of his day. Because of this, academia has paid less attention to his work than it might have done. His popularity, particularly among the Cornish, remains high.

Farewell, Aggie Weston [3] (1951) contained his "Song of the Dying Gunner A.A.1":

Farewell, Aggie Weston, the Barracks, at Guz,
Hang my tiddley suit on the door
I'm sewn up neat in a canvas sheet
And I shan't be home no more.

His poems for children were popular, and he used to say that he could have lived comfortably on the fees paid for the reproduction of "Timothy Winters":

"Timothy_Winters"_by_Charles_Causley_(read_by_Tom_O'Bedlam)

"Timothy Winters" by Charles Causley (read by Tom O'Bedlam)

Timothy Winters comes to school
With eyes as wide as a football pool,
Ears like bombs and teeth like splinters:
A blitz of a boy is Timothy Winters.
--first verse

So come one angel, come on ten:
Timothy Winters says "Amen
Amen amen amen amen."
Timothy Winters, Lord. Amen.
--last verse

Recognition[]

Plaque to Charles Causley - geograph.org.uk - 1596716

Charles Causley (1917-2003) plaque on former National School, Launceston, Cornwall. Photo by Derek Harper. Licensed under Creative Commons, courtesy geograph.org.

In 1958, Causley was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and was awarded a CBE in 1986. When he was 83 years old he was made a Companion of Literature by the Royal Society of Literature (he greeted this award with the words: "My goodness, what an encouragement!")

Other awards include the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry in 1967 and a Cholmondeley Award in 1971.

In 1973/74 he was Visiting Fellow in Poetry at the University of Exeter, receiving an honorary doctorate from that university. He was presented with the Heywood Hill Literary Prize in 2000. Between 1962 and 1966 he was a member of the Poetry Panel of the Arts Council of Great Britain. He was twice awarded a travelling scholarship by the Society of Authors. There was a campaign to have him appointed Poet Laureate on the death of John Betjeman, but to the people of his home town, he became "the greatest poet laureate we never had".

He was interviewed by Roy Plomley on Desert Island Discs on 1 December 1979: his music choices included 5 classical selections and 3 others while his chosen book was Boswell's Life of Johnson.[4]

In 1982, on his 65th birthday, a book of poems was published in his honor that included contributions from Ted Hughes, Seamus Heaney, Philip Larkin and 23 other poets, testifying to the respect and indeed love that the British poetry community had for him.

The Charles Causley Trust secured the poet's house in Launceston for the nation in 2006, and is working towards opening the house to the public and providing a programme of heritage activities to promote Causley's life and work.

According to the Norton Anthology of Children's Literature,[5] "[b]ecause his characteristic themes, preoccupations, and freshness of language vary little, it is often difficult to distinguish between his writings for children and those for adults. He himself declared that he did know whether a given poem was for children or adults as he was writing it, and he included his children's poetry without comment in his collected works."[6] W.H. Auden comments on Causley stating that "Causley stayed true to what he called his 'guiding principle' ... while there are some good poems which are only for adults, because they pre-suppose adult experience in their readers, there are no good poems which are only for children.".

In June 2010, the inaugural Charles Causley Festival took place in Launceston, held over a long weekend. The program included literature, music, art and a variety of other activities. A 2nd, expanded Festival took place in the town over a full week, spanning the end of May and the start of June 2011, and broadened its themes still further with a science-based talk from Professor James Lovelock (of 'Gaia Theory' fame) who lives in the district.

Publications[]

Poetry[]

  • Farewell, Aggie Weston. Aldington, Kent, UK: Hand and Flower Press, 1951.
  • Survivor's Leave. Aldington, Kent, UK: Hand and Flower Press, 1953.
  • Union Street (foreword by Edith Sitwell). London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1957.
  • Johnny Alleluia. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1961.
  • Penguin Modern Poets 3 (George Barker, Martin Bell, Charles Causley). Harmondsworth, UK: Penguin, 1962.
  • Underneath the Water. London: Macmillan, 1968.
  • Figure of 8. London: Macmillan, 1969.
  • Collected Poems, 1951-1975. London: Macmillan, 1975.
  • Secret Destinations. London: Macmillan, 1984.
  • Twenty One Poems (illustrated by Robert Tilling). Celandine Press, 1986.
  • A Field of Vision. London: Macmillan, 1988.
  • Penguin Modern Poets 6 (U.A. Fanthorpe, Elma Mitchell, Charles Causley). London & New York: Penguin, 1996.
  • Collected Poems 1951-1997. London: Macmillan, 1997.
  • Collected Poems 1951-2000. London, Picador, 2000.[7]

Plays[]

  • Runaway. Curwen, 1936.
  • The Conquering Hero. Curwen, 1937.
  • Benedict (broadcast 27 April 1939 on BBC Western Region). Frederick Muller, 1938.
  • How Pleasant to Know Mrs. Lear: A Victorian comedy in one act. Frederick Muller, 1948.
  • The Ballad of Aucassin and Nicolette (illustrated by Yvonne Gilbert; music by Stephen Neff). Kestrel, 1981.

Short fiction[]

  • Hands to Dance (short stories). Carroll & Nicholson, 1951.
    • Hands to Dance & Skylark. Robson, 1979.

Juvenile[]

  • Figgie Hobbin: Poems for children (llustrated by Pat Marriott). London Macmillan, 1970
    • U.S. edition (illustrated by Tina Schart Hyman). Walker, 1973. 
    • (illustrated by Gerald Rose). London: Macmillan, 1990. 
    • (illustrated by Tony Ross). London: Macmillan, 2002. 
  • The Hill of the Fairy Calf. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1976.[7]
  • Dick Whittington. Puffin, 1976. 
  • The Animals' Carol. London: Macmillan, 1978.[7]
  • The Last King of Cornwall (illustrated by Krystyne Turska). London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1978. 
  • Early in the Morning: A collection of new poems (with music by Anthony Castro and illustrations by Michael Foreman). Harmondsworth, Middlesex, UK: Viking Kestrel, 1986. 
  • Jack the Treacle Eater (illustrated by Charles Keeping). London: Macmillan Children's, 1987.
    • (illustrated by Tony Ross). London: Macmillan, 2002.
  • The Young Man of Curie, and other poems (illustrated by Michael Foreman). London: Macmillan Children's, 1991.
    • (illustrated by Tony Ross). London: Macmillan, 2002. 
  • Bring in the Holly (illustrated by Lisa Kopper). London: Frances Lincoln, 1992. 
  • All day Saturday, and other poems (illustrated by Anthony Lewis). London: Macmillan Children's, 1994.
    • (illustrated by Tony Ross). London: Macmillan, 2003. 
  • Going to the Fair: Selected poems for children (illustrated by Lianne Payne). London: Puffin, 1996.
  • Selected Poems for Children. London: Macmillan Children's, 1997.
  • The Merry Maid of Zinner (illustrated by Michael Foreman). Orchard, 1999.
  • Collected Poems for Children (illustrated by John Lawrence). London: Macmillan Children's, 2000.
    • reissued as I Had a Little Cat. London: Macmillan, 2009. 

Translated[]

  • 25 Poems by Hamdija Demirovic (translator). Richmond, Surrey, UK: Keepsake Press, 1980.
  • Schondilie (German poem). New Broom Private Press, 1982.
  • King's Children (German ballads). Mid-Northumberland Arts Group, 1986.

Edited[]

  • Peninsula: An anthology of verse from the West country (editor). London, Macdonald, 1957.
  • Rising Early: Story poems and ballads of the 20th century (editor). Leicester, UK: Brockhampton Press, 1964.
  • Dawn and Dusk: Poems of our time (editor). Brockhampton Press, 1972.
  • Modern Folk Ballads. Vista, 1966.
  • In the Music I Hear. Arc, 1970.
  • Oats and Beans and Barley. Arc, 1971.
  • The Puffin Book of Magic Verse (editor). London: Puffin, 1974.
  • The Puffin Book of Salt-Sea Verse (editor). London: Puffin, 1978.
  • The Batsford Book of Stories in Verse for Children (editor). London: B.T. Batsford, 1979.
  • The Sun, Dancing: Christian verse (editor). Harmondsworth, Middlesex, UK: Kestrel, 1982.
"Eden_Rock"_by_Charley_Causley_(read_by_Tom_O'Bedlam)

"Eden Rock" by Charley Causley (read by Tom O'Bedlam)


Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy the Charles Causley Society.[8]

See also[]

References[]

Notes[]

  1. ↑ Aggie Weston
  2. ↑ Guardian obituary; by Wendy Trewin
  3. ↑ Aggie Weston
  4. ↑ "Charles Causley gallery". Charles Causley Society. 
  5. ↑ Zipes, J. et al., eds. (2005) The Norton Anthology of Children's Literature. New York & London: Norton ISBN 0-393-97538; p. 1253.
  6. ↑ Zipes et al.; p. 1253
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Charles Causley (1917-2003), The Poetry Archie. Web, Dec. 28, 2013.
  8. ↑ Bibliography, Charles Causley Society. Web, Dec. 28, 2013.

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