| Description | A collection of 290 items, predominantly comprising correspondence from Jack Clemo to Derek Savage, but also including a small number of photocopied newspaper cuttings and manuscript and typescript drafts of poems. Many of the letters are addressed to both Derek Savage and his wife Connie (Constance Kiernan). This collection also includes four letters from Frank Baron to Derek Savage. Subjects covered within the correspondence includes: writing, literature, religion, health, financial issues, relationships, family, friends, and travel. This collection provides insight into the close friendship that developed between Jack Clemo and Derek Savage, as well as their impact on each other's literary works, and their involvement within the literary network of the South West of England. |
| Admin History | Reginald John 'Jack' Clemo (1916-1994) was a poet who was born in Cornwall. As a child he experienced two periods of blindness, and by the age of 19 he had lost almost all of his hearing. He left school at the age of 12. He began to write at the end of his schooldays, but for many years his only vehicle for publishing his verse and stories was a local newspaper. In 1948, he published a novel, 'Wilding Graft'. This was followed in 1949 by an autobiography, 'Confession of a Rebel', and in 1951, by his first volume of poetry, 'The Clay Verge'. Further volumes of poetry in 1961 'The Map of Clay', and in 1967 'Cactus on Carmel', furthered his reputation as a poet. He published a theological volume, 'The Invading Gospel' in 1958. By 1955, he was totally blind and, although periodically he was able to faintly hear music, he could no longer recognise speech. He continued to write and publish. His later works include 'The Echoing Tip' (1971) and 'Broad Autumn' (1975). He was awarded a Civil List Pension in 1961 in recognition of his literary achievements. In 1981, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Exeter. In 1968, he married Ruth Peaty (1923-2007), a laundry worker from Weymouth.
Derek Savage (published as DS Savage) was a poet, critic and pacifist. Born in Harlow, Essex on 06 March 1917, Savage grew up in Cheshunt, Hertforshire and attended Hertford Grammar School and Latymer School, Edmonton. Following college, Savage worked in a bookshop and then relocated briefly to Sussex before moving back to London with his wife, Constance Kiernan, to work as a clerk for the TGWU. A pacifist from the age of 13, the Savages moved to Bromsash, Herefordshire to join a pacifist market-gardening community in 1944. In 1947, the couple relocated to Mevagissey in Cornwall, where Savage reviewed books (mainly for the Spectator and Time and Tide), acted as general secretary of the Anglican Pacifist Fellowship (1960-62) and worked on behalf of Amnesty International and Christian Aid. He died 14 October 2007. (Source: www.theguardian.com/news/2007/nov/21/guardianobituaries.booksobituaries) |