C. H. Sisson
Encyclopedia
Charles Hubert Sisson CH
(22 April 1914 – 5 September 2003) was a British writer, best known as a poet and translator.
, with whom he corresponded regularly.
Sisson was a student at the University of Bristol
where he read English and Philosophy. As a poet he first came to light through the London Arts Review, X
, founded by the painter Patrick Swift
and the poet David Wright
. He reacted against the prevailing intellectual climate of the 1930s, particularly the Auden Group
, preferring to go back to the anti-romantic T. E. Hulme
, and to the Anglican tradition. The modernism of his poetry follows a 'distinct genealogy' from Hulme to Eliot, Pound, Ford Madox Ford and Wyndham Lewis. His novel Christopher Homm experiments with form and is told backwards.
Sisson served in the British Army during World War II
in India
and joined the Ministry of Labour
in 1936. He worked as a civil servant and wrote a standard text The Spirit of British Administration (1959) arising from his work and a comparison with other European methods. Sisson was a 'severe critic of the Civil Service and some of his essays caused controversy'. In his collection The London Zoo he writes this epitaph 'Here lies a civil servant. He was civil/ To everyone, and servant to the devil.'
Sisson was married, in 1937, Nora Gilbertson (d. 2003) and they had two daughters.Obituary Guardian 9 September 2003 In 1993 C.H. Sisson was appointed a Companion of Honour for his services to Literature. He died on 5 September 2003.
Order of the Companions of Honour
The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded by King George V in June 1917, as a reward for outstanding achievements in the arts, literature, music, science, politics, industry or religion....
(22 April 1914 – 5 September 2003) was a British writer, best known as a poet and translator.
Life
Born in Bristol in 1914, C. H. Sisson was noted as a poet, novelist, essayist and an important translator. He was a great friend of the critic and writer Donald DavieDonald Davie
Donald Alfred Davie was an English Movement poet, and literary critic. His poems in general are philosophical and abstract, but often evoke various landscapes.-Biography:...
, with whom he corresponded regularly.
Sisson was a student at the University of Bristol
University of Bristol
The University of Bristol is a public research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom. One of the so-called "red brick" universities, it received its Royal Charter in 1909, although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol, had been in existence since 1876.The University is...
where he read English and Philosophy. As a poet he first came to light through the London Arts Review, X
X (magazine)
X, A Quarterly Review was a British arts review published in London which ran for seven issues between 1959-1962. It was founded and co-edited by Patrick Swift and David Wright...
, founded by the painter Patrick Swift
Patrick Swift
Patrick Swift was an artist born in Dublin, Ireland. Patrick Swift was a painter and key cultural figure in Dublin and London before moving to the Algarve in southern Portugal, where he is buried in the town of Porches...
and the poet David Wright
David Wright (poet)
David John Murray Wright was an author and "an acclaimed South African-born poet".-Biography:Wright was born in Johannesburg, South Africa 23 February 1920 of normal hearing....
. He reacted against the prevailing intellectual climate of the 1930s, particularly the Auden Group
Auden Group
The Auden Group is the name given to a group of British and Irish writers active in the 1930s that included W. H. Auden, Louis MacNeice, Cecil Day-Lewis, Stephen Spender, Christopher Isherwood, and sometimes Edward Upward and Rex Warner...
, preferring to go back to the anti-romantic T. E. Hulme
T. E. Hulme
Thomas Ernest Hulme was an English critic and poet who, through his writings on art, literature and politics, had a notable influence upon modernism.-Early life:...
, and to the Anglican tradition. The modernism of his poetry follows a 'distinct genealogy' from Hulme to Eliot, Pound, Ford Madox Ford and Wyndham Lewis. His novel Christopher Homm experiments with form and is told backwards.
Sisson served in the British Army 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...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and joined the Ministry of Labour
Ministry of Labour
The Ministry of Labour was a British civil service department established by the New Ministries and Secretaries Act 1916. It was renamed the Employment Department in 1988, and finally abolished in 1995...
in 1936. He worked as a civil servant and wrote a standard text The Spirit of British Administration (1959) arising from his work and a comparison with other European methods. Sisson was a 'severe critic of the Civil Service and some of his essays caused controversy'. In his collection The London Zoo he writes this epitaph 'Here lies a civil servant. He was civil/ To everyone, and servant to the devil.'
Sisson was married, in 1937, Nora Gilbertson (d. 2003) and they had two daughters.Obituary Guardian 9 September 2003 In 1993 C.H. Sisson was appointed a Companion of Honour for his services to Literature. He died on 5 September 2003.
Poetry collections
- An Asiatic Romance(Carcanet PressCarcanet PressCarcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt.Carcanet Press is now in its fourth decade. In 2000 it was named the Sunday Times millennium Small Publisher of the Year...
, 1953. Paperback, 1995) - Poems (1959)
- The Spirit of British Administration (1959)
- The London Zoo (1961)
- Numbers (1965), Methuen & Co Ltd
- The Discarnation, or How the Flesh became Word and Dwelt Among Us (1967)
- Metamorphoses, Poems, Methuen, London, 1968
- Roman Poems (1968)
- The Case of Walter Bagehot (1972)
- In the Trojan Ditch: Collected Poems and Selected Translations (Carcanet PressCarcanet PressCarcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt.Carcanet Press is now in its fourth decade. In 2000 it was named the Sunday Times millennium Small Publisher of the Year...
, 1974) - The Corridor(1975), Poem, Mandeville Press, Hitchin (ISBN 0-904533-12-3 )
- Anchises(1976) (ISBN 0-85635-178-4)
- Moon-Rise and Other Poems (1979)
- Exactions (1980),(ISBN 0-85635-332-9 )
- Autobiographical and other papers of Philip MairetPhilip MairetPhilip Mairet was a designer, writer and journalist. He had a wide range of interest: crafts, Alfred Adler and psychiatry, and Social Credit. He was also a translator of major figures including Sartre. He wrote biographies of Sir Patrick Geddes and A. R...
(1981) editor - Modern Poets Five (Faber and FaberFaber and FaberFaber and Faber Limited, often abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in the UK, notable in particular for publishing a great deal of poetry and for its former editor T. S. Eliot. Faber has a rich tradition of publishing a wide range of fiction, non fiction, drama, film and music...
1981) editor Jim Hunter, with Andrew WatermanAndrew WatermanAndrew Waterman is a poet. Born in London in 1940, Waterman grew up in Woodside and Croydon, and at the age of eleven won a scholarship to the Trinity School of John Whitgift...
, Craig RaineCraig RaineCraig Raine is an English poet and critic born in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, England. Along with Christopher Reid, he is the best-known exponent of Martian poetry.-Life:...
, Robert WellsRobert WellsRobert Wells may refer to:* Bob "Hoolihan" Wells , American TV personality* Rob Wells, Canadian musician, songwriter and producer* Robb Wells , Canadian actor and screenwriter* Robby Wells , American college football coach...
, and Andrew MotionAndrew MotionSir Andrew Motion, FRSL is an English poet, novelist and biographer, who presided as Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1999 to 2009.- Life and career :... - Night Thoughts and Other Poems (1983)
- Collected Poems 1943–1983 (Carcanet PressCarcanet PressCarcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt.Carcanet Press is now in its fourth decade. In 2000 it was named the Sunday Times millennium Small Publisher of the Year...
, 1984) (ISBN 0-85635-498-8) - God Bless Karl Marx! (Carcanet PressCarcanet PressCarcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt.Carcanet Press is now in its fourth decade. In 2000 it was named the Sunday Times millennium Small Publisher of the Year...
, 1987) (ISBN 0-85635-710-3) - On the Lookout: A Partial Autobiography (Carcanet PressCarcanet PressCarcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt.Carcanet Press is now in its fourth decade. In 2000 it was named the Sunday Times millennium Small Publisher of the Year...
, 1989) - Selected Poems (Carcanet PressCarcanet PressCarcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt.Carcanet Press is now in its fourth decade. In 2000 it was named the Sunday Times millennium Small Publisher of the Year...
, Paperback 1990) - Nine Sonnets (1991)
- Re-active Anthology: Ghosts in the Corridor No. 2 (1992) with Andrew CrozierAndrew CrozierAndrew Thomas Knights Crozier was a poet associated with the British Poetry Revival.-Life:Crozier was educated at Dulwich College, and later Christ's College, Cambridge. His 1976 book Pleats won the Alice Hunt Bartlett Prize, awarded jointly that year with Lee Harwood...
and Donald DavieDonald DavieDonald Alfred Davie was an English Movement poet, and literary critic. His poems in general are philosophical and abstract, but often evoke various landscapes.-Biography:... - The Pattern (1993), C.H. Sisson, Enitharmon Press (ISBN 1-870612-68-X)
- What and Who C. H. Sisson (Carcanet PressCarcanet PressCarcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt.Carcanet Press is now in its fourth decade. In 2000 it was named the Sunday Times millennium Small Publisher of the Year...
, 1994) - Poems: Selected (Carcanet PressCarcanet PressCarcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt.Carcanet Press is now in its fourth decade. In 2000 it was named the Sunday Times millennium Small Publisher of the Year...
, 1995) - Collected Poems (Carcanet PressCarcanet PressCarcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt.Carcanet Press is now in its fourth decade. In 2000 it was named the Sunday Times millennium Small Publisher of the Year...
, 1998) - Antidotes (Carcanet PressCarcanet PressCarcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt.Carcanet Press is now in its fourth decade. In 2000 it was named the Sunday Times millennium Small Publisher of the Year...
, 2001)
Critical works (books)
- Art and Action, Methuen, 1965. Literary Theory, Criticism
- Case of Walter Bagehot, C.H. Sisson, Faber and Faber 1972 (ISBN 0-571-09501-1)
- David HumeDavid HumeDavid Hume was a Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist, known especially for his philosophical empiricism and skepticism. He was one of the most important figures in the history of Western philosophy and the Scottish Enlightenment...
(1976) - Jonathan Swift: Selected Poems (1977) ed. C.H. Sisson, Carcanet PressCarcanet PressCarcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt.Carcanet Press is now in its fourth decade. In 2000 it was named the Sunday Times millennium Small Publisher of the Year...
, 1990 (ISBN 0-85635-135-0) - Jude the ObscureJude the ObscureJude the Obscure, the last of Thomas Hardy's novels, began as a magazine serial and was first published in book form in 1895. The book was burned publicly by William Walsham How, Bishop of Wakefield, in that same year. Its hero, Jude Fawley, is a working-class young man who dreams of becoming a...
by Thomas HardyThomas HardyThomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a...
(1978) editor (ISBN 978-0-14-043131-5) - Avoidance of Literature: Collected Essays, C.H.Sisson (Carcanet PressCarcanet PressCarcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt.Carcanet Press is now in its fourth decade. In 2000 it was named the Sunday Times millennium Small Publisher of the Year...
, 1979 (ISBN 0-85635-229-2) - PN Review 16 , Sisson, C H (ed) I A Richards, PN Review, Publication Date: 1980
- Collected Poems and Plays, Lewis, Wyndham; Munton, Alan (ed.); C.H. Sisson (intro.), (Carcanet PressCarcanet PressCarcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt.Carcanet Press is now in its fourth decade. In 2000 it was named the Sunday Times millennium Small Publisher of the Year...
, 1981) - English Poetry, 1900-50, ed. C.H. Sisson (Carcanet PressCarcanet PressCarcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt.Carcanet Press is now in its fourth decade. In 2000 it was named the Sunday Times millennium Small Publisher of the Year...
, 1982) - The Rash ACT, Ford, Ford Madox, ed. C.H.Sisson (Carcanet PressCarcanet PressCarcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt.Carcanet Press is now in its fourth decade. In 2000 it was named the Sunday Times millennium Small Publisher of the Year...
, 1982. Paperback 1996)(ISBN 0-85635-399-X ) - The English Sermon (Carcanet PressCarcanet PressCarcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt.Carcanet Press is now in its fourth decade. In 2000 it was named the Sunday Times millennium Small Publisher of the Year...
, 1982) - Anglican Essays (1983)
- The English Novel Ford Madox Ford, ed. C.H. Sisson (Carcanet PressCarcanet PressCarcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt.Carcanet Press is now in its fourth decade. In 2000 it was named the Sunday Times millennium Small Publisher of the Year...
,1983) - A Call Ford Madox Ford, ed. C.H. Sisson (Carcanet PressCarcanet PressCarcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt.Carcanet Press is now in its fourth decade. In 2000 it was named the Sunday Times millennium Small Publisher of the Year...
, 1984) - The Regrets, Joachim Du Bellay; Translator - C.H. Sisson, (Carcanet PressCarcanet PressCarcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt.Carcanet Press is now in its fourth decade. In 2000 it was named the Sunday Times millennium Small Publisher of the Year...
, 1984)(ISBN 0-85635-471-6) - Christina Rossetti (1830–1894) : Selected Poems , Rossetti, Christina Georgina; Sisson, C. H. (editor), (Carcanet PressCarcanet PressCarcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt.Carcanet Press is now in its fourth decade. In 2000 it was named the Sunday Times millennium Small Publisher of the Year...
, 1985) (ISBN 0-85635-533-X) - Ladies Whose Bright Eyes Ford Madox Ford, ed. C.H. Sisson (Carcanet PressCarcanet PressCarcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt.Carcanet Press is now in its fourth decade. In 2000 it was named the Sunday Times millennium Small Publisher of the Year...
, 1988) - In Two Minds: Guesses at Other Writers C.H. Sisson (Carcanet PressCarcanet PressCarcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt.Carcanet Press is now in its fourth decade. In 2000 it was named the Sunday Times millennium Small Publisher of the Year...
, 1990)(ISBN 0-85635-877-0 ) - Selected Writings Jeremy Taylor, ed. C.H. Sisson (Carcanet PressCarcanet PressCarcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt.Carcanet Press is now in its fourth decade. In 2000 it was named the Sunday Times millennium Small Publisher of the Year...
, 1990) - English Perspectives: Essays on Liberty and Government (Carcanet PressCarcanet PressCarcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt.Carcanet Press is now in its fourth decade. In 2000 it was named the Sunday Times millennium Small Publisher of the Year...
, 1992) - Grand Street 45 , Cage; John; Gates, David; Duong Thu Huong; Richter, Gerhard; Sisson, C H, W W Norton, New York, 1993 (ISBN 0-393-30992-4)
- Is There a Church of England? (Carcanet PressCarcanet PressCarcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt.Carcanet Press is now in its fourth decade. In 2000 it was named the Sunday Times millennium Small Publisher of the Year...
, 1993) - Poems and Essays on Poetry Edgar Allan Poe, ed. C.H. Sisson. (Carcanet PressCarcanet PressCarcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt.Carcanet Press is now in its fourth decade. In 2000 it was named the Sunday Times millennium Small Publisher of the Year...
, 1995) - The English Novel (Carcanet PressCarcanet PressCarcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt.Carcanet Press is now in its fourth decade. In 2000 it was named the Sunday Times millennium Small Publisher of the Year...
, 1997)
Collected translations
- Versions and Perversions of Heine (1955) translations
- The Poetry of Catulus, C. H. Sisson (Trans.), The Viking Press, New York, 1966
- The Poetry of Catullus (1966 MacGibbon and Kee, 1966) translator
- The Poetic Art, Horace (Carcanet PressCarcanet PressCarcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt.Carcanet Press is now in its fourth decade. In 2000 it was named the Sunday Times millennium Small Publisher of the Year...
, 1978) - Some Tales Of La Fontaine, La Fontaine, Translated by C.H.Sisson, (Carcanet PressCarcanet PressCarcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt.Carcanet Press is now in its fourth decade. In 2000 it was named the Sunday Times millennium Small Publisher of the Year...
, 1979) - The Divine Comedy, Alighieri, Dante; Sisson, C. H. (translator), (Carcanet PressCarcanet PressCarcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt.Carcanet Press is now in its fourth decade. In 2000 it was named the Sunday Times millennium Small Publisher of the Year...
, 1980) - Song of Roland trans. C.H. Sisson. (Carcanet PressCarcanet PressCarcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt.Carcanet Press is now in its fourth decade. In 2000 it was named the Sunday Times millennium Small Publisher of the Year...
, 1983) - The Aeneid (Translator) (Carcanet PressCarcanet PressCarcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt.Carcanet Press is now in its fourth decade. In 2000 it was named the Sunday Times millennium Small Publisher of the Year...
, 1986) - Collected Translations Carcanet, 1996
- Britannicus, Phaedra, Athaliah by Jean RacineJean RacineJean Racine , baptismal name Jean-Baptiste Racine , was a French dramatist, one of the "Big Three" of 17th-century France , and one of the most important literary figures in the Western tradition...
(1987), Jean Racine; C.H. Sisson (translator), Oxford Paperbacks, 2001(ISBN 0-19-283827-X)