Leonard Clark | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | September 1981 |
Occupation(s) | Poet, writer, editor, educator |
Years active | 1923—1981 |
Leonard Clark (1 August 1905 – September 1981) was an English poet, writer, editor, and educator. [1] Though his works do occasionally mention Devon and Yorkshire, they always return to the Forest of Dean. [1] His pieces center around people and places familiar to him from, as well as the nature of, his hometown Cinderford. [1]
Clark was born on 1 August 1905 in Saint Peter Port, Guernsey to a governess out of wedlock. [1] He was sent to live with widow Sarah Annie George and her sons Allan, George, and Frederick in Cinderford in the Forest of Dean. [1] [2] [3] [4] The family regularly attended St. Stephen's Church. [1] Though he came to consider Sarah Annie, Allan, George, and Frederick his family, he struggled with feeling like an outside throughout his life. [1] Clark attended Bilson Primary School and Double View School (now Heywood Community School) before earning a scholarship to Monmouth School in Monmouth, Wales; he was unable to continue his education at Monmouth due to financial constraints. [1] In his final year of school, Clark met Forest poet F.W. Harvey, who served as his mentor and helped him write and publish a collection of poetry in 1923. [1]
Clark worked as a pupil teacher with the goal of eventually becoming an educator. [1] He taught from 1922—1928 in Gloucestershire before earning his Certificate in Education from Bangor Normal College in 1930. [3] [4] He then moved to London, where he taught from 1930—1936. [3] In 1936, he became an Inspector of Education [HMI], a position he held until his retirement in 1970. [1] [4] [3] [2] In this role, he worked in Devon, Yorkshire, and London. [3] Clark married Florence Tobias in 1933 at St. Stephen's Church; Harvey served as his best man. [1] In the late 1930s, the couple moved to Plymouth. [1] Their newborn son Robin died in 1939 and they divorced shortly after. [1] Clark had at least one more son. [1]
Clark wrote more than 50 books of poetry, prose, anthologies, and essays of his own and edited more than 20 more during his career. [1] [4] Some of his best known works are The Hearing Heart, Singing in the Streets: Poems for Christmas, and English Morning and Other Poems. [2] He wrote a biography of Alfred Williams in his early years and edited collections by Andrew Young, Walter de la Mare, and Ivor Gurney. [3] [1] He also edited the Longman's Poetry Library series, was consulting editor for Chatto & Windus' children's poetry books and to Thornhill Press, and contributed frequently to The Citizen and the Dean Forest Mercury. [1] [3] [4]
In 1966, Clark was awarded an OBE. [1] He was also a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and received the Children's Literature Association's award for "his critical article Poetry and Children" published in 1978. [1] [3] In 1970, he was made a knight of St. Sylvester. [4] He was on the Literature Panel of the Arts Council and on the Westminster Dioceses School Panel. [1]
Clark died in September 1981 at his London home. [4] [5] [1] [2] His son scattered half his ashes from the viewpoint in Symonds Yat and interred the other half in St. Stephen's Church. [1] A plaque marks his resting place. [1]
In 2018, Tom Cousins painted a mural on the side of a Cinderford bakery featuring Clark along with fellow Forest poets Winifred Foley and Harry Beddington. [6] [7] His poem Stillborn is written in the voice of a mother who has lost her child and wonders: "[did] you [reject] us?" [1] It is still used in support groups for families of stillborn babies. [1]
Poetry
Children's stories
Anthologies and compilations
Prose
Edited books
Biographies
Leonard Clark | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | September 1981 |
Occupation(s) | Poet, writer, editor, educator |
Years active | 1923—1981 |
Leonard Clark (1 August 1905 – September 1981) was an English poet, writer, editor, and educator. [1] Though his works do occasionally mention Devon and Yorkshire, they always return to the Forest of Dean. [1] His pieces center around people and places familiar to him from, as well as the nature of, his hometown Cinderford. [1]
Clark was born on 1 August 1905 in Saint Peter Port, Guernsey to a governess out of wedlock. [1] He was sent to live with widow Sarah Annie George and her sons Allan, George, and Frederick in Cinderford in the Forest of Dean. [1] [2] [3] [4] The family regularly attended St. Stephen's Church. [1] Though he came to consider Sarah Annie, Allan, George, and Frederick his family, he struggled with feeling like an outside throughout his life. [1] Clark attended Bilson Primary School and Double View School (now Heywood Community School) before earning a scholarship to Monmouth School in Monmouth, Wales; he was unable to continue his education at Monmouth due to financial constraints. [1] In his final year of school, Clark met Forest poet F.W. Harvey, who served as his mentor and helped him write and publish a collection of poetry in 1923. [1]
Clark worked as a pupil teacher with the goal of eventually becoming an educator. [1] He taught from 1922—1928 in Gloucestershire before earning his Certificate in Education from Bangor Normal College in 1930. [3] [4] He then moved to London, where he taught from 1930—1936. [3] In 1936, he became an Inspector of Education [HMI], a position he held until his retirement in 1970. [1] [4] [3] [2] In this role, he worked in Devon, Yorkshire, and London. [3] Clark married Florence Tobias in 1933 at St. Stephen's Church; Harvey served as his best man. [1] In the late 1930s, the couple moved to Plymouth. [1] Their newborn son Robin died in 1939 and they divorced shortly after. [1] Clark had at least one more son. [1]
Clark wrote more than 50 books of poetry, prose, anthologies, and essays of his own and edited more than 20 more during his career. [1] [4] Some of his best known works are The Hearing Heart, Singing in the Streets: Poems for Christmas, and English Morning and Other Poems. [2] He wrote a biography of Alfred Williams in his early years and edited collections by Andrew Young, Walter de la Mare, and Ivor Gurney. [3] [1] He also edited the Longman's Poetry Library series, was consulting editor for Chatto & Windus' children's poetry books and to Thornhill Press, and contributed frequently to The Citizen and the Dean Forest Mercury. [1] [3] [4]
In 1966, Clark was awarded an OBE. [1] He was also a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and received the Children's Literature Association's award for "his critical article Poetry and Children" published in 1978. [1] [3] In 1970, he was made a knight of St. Sylvester. [4] He was on the Literature Panel of the Arts Council and on the Westminster Dioceses School Panel. [1]
Clark died in September 1981 at his London home. [4] [5] [1] [2] His son scattered half his ashes from the viewpoint in Symonds Yat and interred the other half in St. Stephen's Church. [1] A plaque marks his resting place. [1]
In 2018, Tom Cousins painted a mural on the side of a Cinderford bakery featuring Clark along with fellow Forest poets Winifred Foley and Harry Beddington. [6] [7] His poem Stillborn is written in the voice of a mother who has lost her child and wonders: "[did] you [reject] us?" [1] It is still used in support groups for families of stillborn babies. [1]
Poetry
Children's stories
Anthologies and compilations
Prose
Edited books
Biographies