John Ormond: Difference between revisions
changed incorrect spelling of McGuinness |
m Inserted Indications into list of publications; changed Fred to Alfred Janes; removed last paragraph since information included in earlier paragraph |
||
| Line 11: | Line 11: | ||
After graduation in 1945, on the strength of a portfolio of poems sent to the editor Tom Hopkinson, he was offered a 3-month trial at [[Picture Post]] in London, after which he was made a staff writer. |
After graduation in 1945, on the strength of a portfolio of poems sent to the editor Tom Hopkinson, he was offered a 3-month trial at [[Picture Post]] in London, after which he was made a staff writer. |
||
He returned to Swansea in 1949, as a sub-editor on the ''South Wales Evening Post''. During this time, friendships forged with Daniel Jones, [[Vernon Watkins]], |
He returned to Swansea in 1949, as a sub-editor on the ''South Wales Evening Post''. During this time, friendships forged with Daniel Jones, [[Vernon Watkins]], Alfred Janes and other members of Dylan Thomas's Kardomah gang, including Thomas himself, would be a formative influence. However, Watkins' advice that he should not publish a further collection until he was 30 made him hyper-critical of his own poetry. He also destroyed much of it. In January 1955, Tom Hopkinson, now features editor of the News Chronicle, invited him to write verses for the Saturday Picture. Publishing these as John Ormond, thus establishing that as his professional name, he continued to contribute weekly verses for two and a half years. |
||
In July 1955 Ormond began a career with [[BBC]] Wales in Cardiff, working with the fledgling news-service. In 1957 he became head of the BBC Welsh Film Unit where in due course he began his first documentaries. The success of Borrowed Pasture (1960), his portrait of two Polish exiles struggling to eke out a living on a derelict farm in Carmarthenshire immediately established him as a film-maker. It is still regarded as a classic of its time. In 1961, he was appointed as a director and producer of documentary films, which would included studies of Ceri Richards, Kyffin Williams, Dylan Thomas, [[Alun Lewis (poet)|Alun Lewis]] and [[R. S. Thomas]]. |
In July 1955 Ormond began a career with [[BBC]] Wales in Cardiff, working with the fledgling news-service. In 1957 he became head of the BBC Welsh Film Unit where in due course he began his first documentaries. The success of Borrowed Pasture (1960), his portrait of two Polish exiles struggling to eke out a living on a derelict farm in Carmarthenshire immediately established him as a film-maker. It is still regarded as a classic of its time. In 1961, he was appointed as a director and producer of documentary films, which would included studies of Ceri Richards, Kyffin Williams, Dylan Thomas, [[Alun Lewis (poet)|Alun Lewis]] and [[R. S. Thomas]]. |
||
Ormond 'returned' to poetry in the mid-1960s, publishing in the periodical, ''Poetry Wales''. His first major volume, ''Requiem and Celebration'', was published in 1969. His reputation was enhanced in 1973 by the appearance of ''Definition of a Waterfall'' and his inclusion in [[Penguin Modern Poets]]. A volume of selected poems was published in 1987. |
Ormond 'returned' to poetry in the mid-1960s, publishing in the periodical, ''Poetry Wales''. His first major volume, ''Requiem and Celebration'', was published in 1969. His reputation was enhanced in 1973 by the appearance of ''Definition of a Waterfall'' and his inclusion in [[Penguin Modern Poets]]. A volume of selected poems was published in 1987. |
||
His friendships with [[Dylan Thomas]], [[Gwyn Thomas (novelist)|Gwyn Thomas]], [[Ceri Richards]], [[Graham Sutherland]], [[Daniel Jones (composer)|Daniel Jones]], [[Kyffin Williams]], were founded on mutual artistic respect. |
|||
He died in 1990. |
He died in 1990. |
||
| Line 27: | Line 25: | ||
* ''Definition of a Waterfall'' (1973) |
* ''Definition of a Waterfall'' (1973) |
||
* ''Requiem and Celebration'' (1969) |
* ''Requiem and Celebration'' (1969) |
||
* ''Indications'' (1943) |
|||
==Further reading== |
==Further reading== |
||
Revision as of 19:53, 7 July 2019
John Ormond (1923–1990), also known as John Ormond Thomas, was a Welsh poet and film-maker.
Biography
John Ormond Thomas was born on 3 April 1923 in Britain, at Dunvant, near Swansea. He studied philosophy and English at Swansea University, and at the same time studied painting at the Swansea School of Art.
His early verse appeared in various periodicals, including Poetry Folios as Ormond Thomas. As John Ormond Thomas, his work appeared with that of James Kirkup and John Bayliss in Indications (1943), published by the Grey Walls Press.
After graduation in 1945, on the strength of a portfolio of poems sent to the editor Tom Hopkinson, he was offered a 3-month trial at Picture Post in London, after which he was made a staff writer.
He returned to Swansea in 1949, as a sub-editor on the South Wales Evening Post. During this time, friendships forged with Daniel Jones, Vernon Watkins, Alfred Janes and other members of Dylan Thomas's Kardomah gang, including Thomas himself, would be a formative influence. However, Watkins' advice that he should not publish a further collection until he was 30 made him hyper-critical of his own poetry. He also destroyed much of it. In January 1955, Tom Hopkinson, now features editor of the News Chronicle, invited him to write verses for the Saturday Picture. Publishing these as John Ormond, thus establishing that as his professional name, he continued to contribute weekly verses for two and a half years.
In July 1955 Ormond began a career with BBC Wales in Cardiff, working with the fledgling news-service. In 1957 he became head of the BBC Welsh Film Unit where in due course he began his first documentaries. The success of Borrowed Pasture (1960), his portrait of two Polish exiles struggling to eke out a living on a derelict farm in Carmarthenshire immediately established him as a film-maker. It is still regarded as a classic of its time. In 1961, he was appointed as a director and producer of documentary films, which would included studies of Ceri Richards, Kyffin Williams, Dylan Thomas, Alun Lewis and R. S. Thomas.
Ormond 'returned' to poetry in the mid-1960s, publishing in the periodical, Poetry Wales. His first major volume, Requiem and Celebration, was published in 1969. His reputation was enhanced in 1973 by the appearance of Definition of a Waterfall and his inclusion in Penguin Modern Poets. A volume of selected poems was published in 1987.
He died in 1990.
His publications
- John Ormond: Collected Poems", edited by Rian Evans, with an Introduction by Patrick McGuinness (2015)
- Cathedral Builders (1991)
- Selected Poems (1987)
- Definition of a Waterfall (1973)
- Requiem and Celebration (1969)
- Indications (1943)
Further reading
- M. Wynn Thomas, 'Ormond, John (1923 - 1990)', in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004)
- M. Wynn Thomas, John Ormond (1997)
- R. Poole, 'John Ormond's Voices', in Poetry Wales; 16:2 (1980 Autumn), p. 12-24
- R. Jenkins, 'The Anglo-Welsh poet John Ormond', in World Literature Today; 51:4 (1977 Autumn), p. 534-537
- K. Smith, 'John Ormond: Poetry, Broadcasting and film', New Welsh Review, 95 (2012)
References
External links
- Borrowed Pasture (1960) BBC programme page.
