John Rety
Encyclopedia
John Rety, born Janos Réty (8 December 1930, Budapest
– 3 February 2010) was a Hungarian-British anarchist, poet
, publisher and chess-player.
broke out, he was separated from his Jewish parents in 1944, carried messages for the Resistance, and saw his grandmother shot in front of him in the last days of the war. In 1947, after performing an anti-war play on the steps of the Budapest parliament, he left for a holiday with his aunt in Britain, and was forced to stay after the aunt burnt his passport.
After a job translating for a Czech publisher who spoke no English, he started a Soho underground paper, Intimate Review, with contributions from young writers including Doris Lessing
, Bill Hopkins
, Laura del Rivo, Frank Norman
, Alan Owen, Cressida Lindsay and Bernard Kops
. Feliks Topolski
and Ralph Steadman
produced artwork. In 1953 he published a comic epistolary novel, Supersozzled Nights. After the threat of libel action forced Intimate Review to close, he co-edited other short-lived publications, Cheshire Cat and Fortnightly: Rety was the first to publish Colin Wilson
. After meeting his partner Susan Johns in 1958, they opened a second-hand furniture shop in Camden High Street
, and Rety also tried his hand at becoming a painter.
Politically involved in the anti-nuclear Committee of 100, from 1964 to 1969 he edited the anarchist weekly Freedom, increasing its circulation and smoothing over sectarianism in British anarchism with his cheerfully inclusive editorial approach. (At the time, he later confessed, he'd never read any of the anarchist classics - and though he later found Kropotkin
readable, he could never really understand Proudhon or Bakunin.) He was active against the Vietnam War
, participating in the Grosvenor Square
demonstration as well as a thirteen-day fast at Speaker's Corner. Initially convinced of the innocence of Stuart Christie
, accused of carrying explosives to assassinate General Franco, Rety helped coordinate a international solidarity campaign, despite a personal feeling of betrayal on learning the truth.
In 1982 he co-founded the Torriano Meeting House in Kentish Town
, hosting weekly poetry readings. Stephen Spender
and Adrian Mitchell
were among the hundreds of poets who performed at Torriano. A 2003 anthology included the work of Dannie Abse
, John Arden
, Oliver Bernard
, John Heath-Stubbs
and Dilys Wood. The anthology appeared with his Hearing Eye Press, founded in 1987, which ultimately published over 150 books. He also became poetry editor of the Morning Star: an anthology of work which appeared there, Well Versed, went into two editions.
As a chess player, reaching a FIDE rating of 2034, he played for Middlesex and London University as well as representing England in the European Senior Chess Championship
. For most of his life he travelled as an English chess master on a stateless person's document, but finally gained a British passport in his late seventies, after Hungary joined the EU.
Rety's partner and two children survived him: his daughter Emily is editor of Peace News
.
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
– 3 February 2010) was a Hungarian-British anarchist, poet
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...
, publisher and chess-player.
Life
Rety attended an English nursery school in Budapest. A child when World War IIWorld 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...
broke out, he was separated from his Jewish parents in 1944, carried messages for the Resistance, and saw his grandmother shot in front of him in the last days of the war. In 1947, after performing an anti-war play on the steps of the Budapest parliament, he left for a holiday with his aunt in Britain, and was forced to stay after the aunt burnt his passport.
After a job translating for a Czech publisher who spoke no English, he started a Soho underground paper, Intimate Review, with contributions from young writers including Doris Lessing
Doris Lessing
Doris May Lessing CH is a British writer. Her novels include The Grass is Singing, The Golden Notebook, and five novels collectively known as Canopus in Argos....
, Bill Hopkins
Bill Hopkins
G.W. Hopkins was a British composer, pianist and music critic.Hopkins was born in Prestbury, Cheshire and educated at Rossall School, Lancashire; his mother's learning difficulties meant she was unable to look after him, and he was raised by aunts...
, Laura del Rivo, Frank Norman
Frank Norman
Frank Norman was a British novelist and playwright.His reputation rests on his first memoir Bang to Rights and his musical play Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be , but much of the remainder of his work remains fresh and readable...
, Alan Owen, Cressida Lindsay and Bernard Kops
Bernard Kops
Bernard Kops is a British Dramatist, poet and novelist, born in the East End of London in 1926.His first play, The Hamlet of Stepney Green, was produced at the Oxford Playhouse in 1957...
. Feliks Topolski
Feliks Topolski
Feliks Topolski RA was a Polish-born British expressionist painter and draughtsman.- Life :Felix Topolski was born on 14 August 1907 in Warsaw...
and Ralph Steadman
Ralph Steadman
Ralph Steadman is a British cartoonist and caricaturist who is perhaps best known for his work with American author Hunter S. Thompson.-Personal life:Steadman was born in Wallasey, Cheshire, and brought up in Towyn, North Wales...
produced artwork. In 1953 he published a comic epistolary novel, Supersozzled Nights. After the threat of libel action forced Intimate Review to close, he co-edited other short-lived publications, Cheshire Cat and Fortnightly: Rety was the first to publish Colin Wilson
Colin Wilson
Colin Henry Wilson is a prolific English writer who first came to prominence as a philosopher and novelist. Wilson has since written widely on true crime, mysticism and other topics. He prefers calling his philosophy new existentialism or phenomenological existentialism.- Early biography:Born and...
. After meeting his partner Susan Johns in 1958, they opened a second-hand furniture shop in Camden High Street
Camden High Street
Camden High Street is a short stretch of road in Camden Town, in London, England. It is part of the route from central London to Hampstead. It is the local high street and features major music venues at either end...
, and Rety also tried his hand at becoming a painter.
Politically involved in the anti-nuclear Committee of 100, from 1964 to 1969 he edited the anarchist weekly Freedom, increasing its circulation and smoothing over sectarianism in British anarchism with his cheerfully inclusive editorial approach. (At the time, he later confessed, he'd never read any of the anarchist classics - and though he later found Kropotkin
Kropotkin
Peter Kropotkin was a Russian prince and anarchist.Kropotkin may also refer to:*Pyotr Nikolayevich Kropotkin , Soviet/Russian geologist, tectonician, and geophysicist*Mount Kropotkin, a peak in Antarctica...
readable, he could never really understand Proudhon or Bakunin.) He was active against the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, participating in the Grosvenor Square
Grosvenor Square
Grosvenor Square is a large garden square in the exclusive Mayfair district of London, England. It is the centrepiece of the Mayfair property of the Duke of Westminster, and takes its name from their surname, "Grosvenor".-History:...
demonstration as well as a thirteen-day fast at Speaker's Corner. Initially convinced of the innocence of Stuart Christie
Stuart Christie
Stuart Christie is a Scottish anarchist writer and publisher. Christie is best known for being arrested as an 18-year old while carrying explosives to assassinate the Spanish dictator General Franco. He was later alleged to be a member of the Angry Brigade, but was acquitted of related charges...
, accused of carrying explosives to assassinate General Franco, Rety helped coordinate a international solidarity campaign, despite a personal feeling of betrayal on learning the truth.
In 1982 he co-founded the Torriano Meeting House in Kentish Town
Kentish Town
Kentish Town is an area of north west London, England in the London Borough of Camden.-History:The most widely accepted explanation of the name of Kentish Town is that it derived from 'Ken-ditch' meaning the 'bed of a waterway'...
, hosting weekly poetry readings. Stephen Spender
Stephen Spender
Sir Stephen Harold Spender CBE was an English poet, novelist and essayist who concentrated on themes of social injustice and the class struggle in his work...
and Adrian Mitchell
Adrian Mitchell
Adrian Mitchell FRSL was an English poet, novelist and playwright. A former journalist, he became a noted figure on the British anti-authoritarian Left. For almost half a century he was the foremost poet of the country's anti-Bomb movement...
were among the hundreds of poets who performed at Torriano. A 2003 anthology included the work of Dannie Abse
Dannie Abse
Daniel Abse, better known as Dannie Abse , is a Welsh poet.-Early years:Abse was born in Cardiff, Wales to a Jewish family. He is the younger brother of politician and reformer Leo Abse and the eminent psychoanalyst, Wilfred Abse...
, John Arden
John Arden
John Arden is an award-winning English playwright from Barnsley . His works tend to expose social issues of personal concern. He is a member of the Royal Society of Literature....
, Oliver Bernard
Oliver Bernard
Oliver Bernard is an English poet and translator. Bernard is most famous for translating Rimbaud into English as part of the Penguin classics collection....
, John Heath-Stubbs
John Heath-Stubbs
John Francis Alexander Heath-Stubbs OBE was an English poet and translator, known for his verse influenced by classical myths, and the long Arthurian poem Artorius .- Biography :...
and Dilys Wood. The anthology appeared with his Hearing Eye Press, founded in 1987, which ultimately published over 150 books. He also became poetry editor of the Morning Star: an anthology of work which appeared there, Well Versed, went into two editions.
As a chess player, reaching a FIDE rating of 2034, he played for Middlesex and London University as well as representing England in the European Senior Chess Championship
European Senior Chess Championship
The European Senior Chess Championship is a chess tournament for senior chess players organised by the European Chess Union . Men can participate if they are 60 or over by January 1 of the year the tournament starts. For women the age requirement is 50 or over. The format of the tournament is 9...
. For most of his life he travelled as an English chess master on a stateless person's document, but finally gained a British passport in his late seventies, after Hungary joined the EU.
Rety's partner and two children survived him: his daughter Emily is editor of Peace News
Peace News
Peace News is a pacifist magazine first published on 6 June 1936 to serve the peace movement in the United Kingdom. From later in 1936 to April 1961 it was the official paper of the Peace Pledge Union , and from 1990 to 2004 was co-published with War Resisters' International.-History:Peace News was...
.
External links
- Four-part interview with Ian BoneIan BoneIan Bone , is a prominent British anarchist and an active publisher of anarchist newspapers and tabloids, such as Class War and The Bristolian...
- Utopia & Praxis May68-May08 - In conversation with John Rety
- Hearing Eye Press