John Rodker 1894–1955

I met John Rodker for the first time in 1939, in London, in the house of Freud, who had received so warm a welcome in England after being driven from Vienna by the entry of Hitler.

From the first I was attracted by his character, his charm, and his gentleness, which did not

exclude strength, and was so well expressed by his long, pale face. One felt in his clear, deep eyes the ardour with which he could devote himself to causes which seemed to him to deserve it.

John Rodker was born in Manchester on 18 September, 1894, and at the age of six was brought to London, where he went to school and at the same time helped his father, who kept a corset shop in the East End. He left school at the age of fourteen, but his thirst for knowledge led him to attend evening classes, at which he learned French and German, as well as the rudiments of science; he also became interested in the art of printing. On entering the Civil Service, his literary bent began to assert itself; he spent his spare time writing poems. During the first World War his pacifist convictions caused him to be a conscientious objector, a result of which was one of the works he has left us, Memoris of Other Fronts, a book full of vivid observation.

In 1914 appeared his Poems, and in 1920 his Hymns; in 1923 his novel Montagnes Russes appeared in French, with a eulogistic preface by Edmond Jaloux; this was followed in 1926 by Dartmoor and in 1929 by Trains and Adolphe 1920. This last was his favourite among his works, all of which, however, reflected a character which was both reserved and ardent, intelligent and gentle.

All his friends and admirers, both in England and in France, where he had so many, regretted that in the second part of his life he allowed this creative vein to run dry. He turned away from personal creativeness and devoted himself to publishing and making known the works of others. His breadth of view, his appreciation of others' talents, soon led him to publish works by James Joyce and T