Charles Wrey Gardiner (1901 – 13 March 1981) was an English writer and poet, editor and publisher, born in Plymouth.

Gardiner was a noted and well-connected literary figure, particularly in London in the years around Second World War, though very much in the tradition of the literary amateur.

Personal life

Gardiner read History at Exeter College, Oxford, but left without taking a degree after marrying his cousin, Betty. The couple then toured the West Country in a caravan. After divorce, Gardiner moved to Paris, where he married his second wife, Susanne, a pianist. After the Second World War he married and had at least one child with Cynthia Kortright. His fourth wife, Diana, was the widow of the Fitzrovian writer Julian MacLaren-Ross.

Publishing

His significance in publishing came with his editorship of the magazine Poetry Quarterly. He became its assistant editor in 1939, with its first edition published in Spring 1940 and continuing until 1953. These are:

  • Volume 1 (1943) - Edited by Alex Comfort and John Bayliss - including a special 50-page surrealist section
  • Volume 2 (1944) - Edited by Alex Comfort and John Bayliss
  • Volume 3 (1945) - Edited by Fred Marnau
  • Volume 4 (1946) - Edited by Fred Marnau
  • Volume 5 (1949) - Edited by Charles Wrey Gardiner

Publications

  • The Colonies of Heaven (1938, autobiography)
  • Laid in Sharp Scorpions: Poems (1941)
  • The Chained Tree (1941, poems)
  • The Last Refuge (1941, poems)
  • The Once-Loved God (1943, autobiography)
  • The Gates of Silence (1944, poems)
  • The Dark Thorn (1946, autobiography)
  • Carrots (1946, by Jules Renard, translated by G. W. Stonier )
  • Sharp Scorpions (1946, poems)
  • Lament for Strings (1947, poems)
  • A Season of Olives (1948, first novel)
  • The Flowering Moment (1949, poems)
  • The Answer to Life is No (1960, autobiography)
  • His Poems (1980)

References

  • Emory Library page
  • Finding aid to Charles Wrey Gardiner papers at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.