Scrapblog: a Writer from the South-West: Rhys and Plath: Cheriton and Court Green

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Rhys and Plath: Cheriton and Court Green

The mid-Devon landscape

The following poem was written as part of a long sequence inspired by women writers and the Devon landscape. Jean Rhys and Sylvia Plath both lived in mid-Devon for several years and both women wrote at least one of their most famous texts whilst living in the county.

The poem was first published by Shearsman, 75 and 76 and appeared in Tessitura, published 2013.

The photo is not directly linked to either writer or their writing but was taken along the Crediton to Bickleigh road, not far from Cheriton Fitzpaine, where Jean Rhys lived in the 1960's. For me the landscape represents the typical 'sheep-grazed fields' of the mid Devon landscape.

Rhys and Plath: Cheriton and Court Green

these two at least are drawn toward the heart

not by pulsating blood were always set apart

agendas written memories of other coasts

sand-salted air sea-spray shiftings ghosts

pursued animal tracks footsteps they knew

allowed bone instinct renewed

a tug of roots towards our far west coast

each found a home a haven her most

aerial though anchored texts spilled out

over night-time tables dispelling doubt

and fear these hit hardest during days

when sheep grazed fields in Devon space displaced

the given self its fretted folds and pleats

to fractured arteries that beat beat beat.

(from Devon Women)

Jean Rhys completed Wide Sargasso Sea whilst living in Cheriton Fitzpaine; Sylvia Plath worked on Ariel in North Tawton

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I stumbled over your blog when googling Lady Rachel Fane, as I do from time to time, having been interested in this amazing woman for the past 25 years when, like you, I found her in Tawstock Church. Sporadically I have gathered information about her, including visits to both Kent and Northampton archives, always intending one day to write her story, but as is the way of these things, never getting around to it. But anyway - as a fellow Devonian woman writer, I just wanted to say hello and to say how much I am enjoying your blog - and when your book is published I will be in the queue to buy a copy.

Jo Field

Research subjects

Maude Valerie White

Maude Valerie White was during her lifetime one of the country's foremost female composers - and was especially renowned for her many songs (Groves called her song (words by Shelley) 'My Soul is an Enchanted Boat' "one of the best in the language"). White is more or less forgotten now except for one or two recent performances: Felicity Lott has for instance performed several of her songs, including So We'll go No More a Roving on this CD. White was born in France but apparently lived in Torquay at some time during her life and began her musical training there. She evidently had a remarkable life and career and gave an account of it in her book Memories and Friends; see this review of memories of a cheerful musician in a contemporary New York Times gives an account of her book.

Caroline Orger-Reinagle

Caroline Orger-Reinagle died in Tiverton in 1892. As yet I have found no more information about her time in Devon except that she probably lived at 15 Twyford Place (and was a member of the Shelley Society in 1887/8). Born in London in 1817 the pianist-composer spent much of her life in Oxford with her husband, the organist and teacher Alexander Reinagle. Works written under her married name appear not to have survived: these included a cello sonata and 2 piano quartets. However some music composed under her maiden name, Caroline Orger, was published: a piano sonata in A, opus 6 (1850?); some songs - including 3 settings of Adelaide Procter and 4 of Robert Browning; her Tarentella for piano appears to have been her most popular work. You can find here bits of info re some of these works and her treatise on piano playing.

Harriet Abrams

Harriet Abrams (1758-1821), singer and composer. From 1781 for ten years, she was a leading London soloist and appeared amongst others, in the Concerts of Ancient Music. Several of her sisters also sang; one of them, Theodosia, sang with Harriet and they became well-known as a duo (see a print of them performing here) I don't know when she moved to Devon but she died at her home The Braddons, in South Hill, Torquay, in November 1849 and was buried at St Saviour, Tormoham, Devon on 8 November. that year. As yet I haven't found out about her compositions.

The writer Theodosia Garrow, the daughter of Theodosia Abrams also lived at The Braddons, with her parents.

Info. on Abrams is from the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

Thelma Reiss

The cellist Thelma Reiss was born in Plymouth, in 1906. She made her debut with the pianist Joan Black at the Wigmore Hall in 1930. and was then invited to play Elgar Cello concerto at a Promenade Concert. She followed an international career and was at the time acclaimed as one of the foremost women cellists, performing with Myra Hess and broadcasting with the BBC. During the war she played at factories and hospitals. Playing a repertoire from Back to Debussy she was apparently known for her stylish and brilliant playing; but this was enhanced by her projection of a wonderful warm rapport and this endeared her to her audiences. She was forced to retire in 1955 because of a debilitating illness.

(information from Oxford Music Online)

Helen Glatz

Helen Glatz (1908-64) wrote an account of her life and career which was published in The Contemporary Music Review, in 1994. Having been a "penniless refugee" in Hungary during the second world war, she escaped to England with her husband just after the end of the war. Ending up in Devon at Dartington the composer, understandably, found she was now in "absolute heaven on earth". Whilst living and teaching at Dartington Glatz had commissions for many compositions of all kinds. One of these was The Dartington Cycle a work which she set to poetry about Dartington's history, written by Anne Born.

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Sunday, May 11, 2014

Rhys and Plath: Cheriton and Court Green

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