Martin Bell Translates Robert Desnos

Join us in the School of English on 6^th December for an evening of poetry celebrating Martin Bell, Gregory Fellow at the University of Leeds from 1967-69, and launching a posthumous collection of his translations of the French Surrealist poet, Robert Desnos.

Bell was born in Hampshire in 1918. He was the leading member of the 'lost generation' of English poets whose careers were interrupted by the War. He was a prominent member of The Group during the fifties, and a major influence on younger poets like Peter Redgrove and Peter Porter. His poetry reached a wide audience during the sixties through Penguin Modern Poets, and in 1967 he published his Collected Poems,1937-1966, his first and last book. Bell was also a champion and brilliant translator of French Surrealist poets. He died in poverty in Leeds in 1978. His Complete Poems, edited by Peter Porter, was published by Bloodaxe in 1988.

Martin Bell Translates Robert Desnos, edited by Christine McCausland and published by Art Translated, brings together Bell’s glowing translations of Robert Desnos: a poetry that is astonishingly direct, fierce, and tender. Tickets are available here.

The book is distributed by Silverhill Press, priced £9.99. To order a copy, email sales@silverhillpress.co.uk