Brocard Sewell
Encyclopedia
Michael Seymour Sewell (1912–2000), usually now known by his religious name Brocard Sewell, was a British Carmelite friar and literary figure.
He was born in Bangkok
, and brought up in Cornwall
, England
. He was educated at Weymouth College, leaving at 16. He became a Catholic
convert in 1931. He was as a young man involved with H. D. C. Pepler in craft printing.
He became a Carmelite friar
in 1952. In a subsequent career as editor, publisher, printer and writer, he commemorated and wrote up a number of lesser literary lights: Arthur Machen
, Frederick Rolfe
, Montague Summers
, Marc-André Raffalovich
, John Gray
, Olive Custance
, Henry Williamson
. He also wrote on distributist figures and the Eric Gill
and Ditchling
circle. As noted by Oswald Mosley biographer Stephen Dorril, Sewell was himself a member of the Distributist League and the British Union of Fascists. He engaged during the 1960s in a high-profile controversy, speaking out against the Catholic Church's teachings on contraception
.
He was born in Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
, and brought up in Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He was educated at Weymouth College, leaving at 16. He became a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
convert in 1931. He was as a young man involved with H. D. C. Pepler in craft printing.
He became a Carmelite friar
Friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders.-Friars and monks:...
in 1952. In a subsequent career as editor, publisher, printer and writer, he commemorated and wrote up a number of lesser literary lights: Arthur Machen
Arthur Machen
Arthur Machen was a Welsh author and mystic of the 1890s and early 20th century. He is best known for his influential supernatural, fantasy, and horror fiction. His novella The Great God Pan has garnered a reputation as a classic of horror...
, Frederick Rolfe
Frederick Rolfe
Frederick William Rolfe, better known as Baron Corvo, and also calling himself 'Frederick William Serafino Austin Lewis Mary Rolfe', , was an English writer, artist, photographer and eccentric...
, Montague Summers
Montague Summers
Augustus Montague Summers was an eccentric English author and clergyman. He is known primarily for his scholarly work on the English drama of the 17th century, as well as for his idiosyncratic studies on witches, vampires, and werewolves, in all of which he professed to believe...
, Marc-André Raffalovich
Marc-André Raffalovich
Marc-André Raffalovich was a French poet and writer on homosexuality, best known today for his patronage of the arts and for his lifelong relationship with the poet, John Gray.-Early life:...
, John Gray
John Gray (poet)
John Gray was an English poet whose works include Silverpoints, The Long Road and Park: A Fantastic Story. It has often been suggested that he was the inspiration behind Oscar Wilde's fictional Dorian Gray....
, Olive Custance
Olive Custance
Olive Eleanor Custance was a British poet. She was part of the aesthetic movement of the 1890s, and a contributor to The Yellow Book....
, Henry Williamson
Henry Williamson
Henry William Williamson was an English naturalist, farmer and prolific author known for his natural and social history novels. He won the Hawthornden Prize for literature in 1928 with his book Tarka the Otter....
. He also wrote on distributist figures and the Eric Gill
Eric Gill
Arthur Eric Rowton Gill was a British sculptor, typeface designer, stonecutter and printmaker, who was associated with the Arts and Crafts movement...
and Ditchling
Ditchling
Ditchling is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. The village is contained within the boundaries of the South Downs National Park; the order confirming the establishment of the park was signed in Ditchling....
circle. As noted by Oswald Mosley biographer Stephen Dorril, Sewell was himself a member of the Distributist League and the British Union of Fascists. He engaged during the 1960s in a high-profile controversy, speaking out against the Catholic Church's teachings on contraception
Contraception
Contraception is the prevention of the fusion of gametes during or after sexual activity. The term contraception is a contraction of contra, which means against, and the word conception, meaning fertilization...
.
Works
- Arthur Machen: Essays by Adrian Goldstone, C. A. and Anthony Lejeune, Father Brocard Sewell, Maurice Spurway, Wesley D. SweetserWesley D. SweetserDr Wesley Duaine Sweetser was an English critic.Born in National City, California, USA, he attended the University of Colorado where he gained a Ph.D. in 1958 for a thesis on Welsh writer Arthur Machen...
, Henry WilliamsonHenry WilliamsonHenry William Williamson was an English naturalist, farmer and prolific author known for his natural and social history novels. He won the Hawthornden Prize for literature in 1928 with his book Tarka the Otter....
... Llandeilo: St Albert's Press, 1960 editor - Corvo, 1860–1960: A Collection of Essays by Various Hands. Saint Albert's Press, Aylesford, 1961 Cecil Woolf and Brocard Sewell (eds.)
- Two Friends: John Gray and Andre Raffalovich. Aylesford: Saint Albert's Press, 1963
- New Quests For Corvo, 1965, editor with Cecil Woolf
- Montague SummersMontague SummersAugustus Montague Summers was an eccentric English author and clergyman. He is known primarily for his scholarly work on the English drama of the 17th century, as well as for his idiosyncratic studies on witches, vampires, and werewolves, in all of which he professed to believe...
: A Memoir (1965) as Joseph Jerome - My Dear Time's Waste Aylesford, Kent: Saint Albert's Press, 1966
- Footnote to the Nineties: A Memoir of John Gray & André Raffalovich, 1968
- The Vatican Oracle, 1970
- Cecil Chesterton, 1975
- Olive Custance: Her Life and Work.London: The Eighteen Nineties Society, 1975
- A Check-list of Books, Pamphlets, Broadsheets, Catalogues, Posters etc., printed by H.D.C. Pepler at Saint Dominic's Press, Ditchling, Sussex between the years 1916 and 1936. A.D. Ditchling Press, Sussex, 1979
- Three Private Presses: Saint Dominic's Press, the Press of Edward Walters, Saint Albert's Press Christopher Skelton, 1979
- Henry WilliamsonHenry WilliamsonHenry William Williamson was an English naturalist, farmer and prolific author known for his natural and social history novels. He won the Hawthornden Prize for literature in 1928 with his book Tarka the Otter....
: the Man, the Writings, 1980 - Like Black Swans: Some People and Themes. London: Tabb House, 1982
- In the Dorian Mode: A Life of John Gray, 1866–1934, 1983
- Frances Horovitz, Poet: A Symposium. Aylesford PressAylesford PressThe Aylesford Press was a book publishing company based in Upton, Cheshire, England....
, 1987 - Three Essays (1988) Father Vincent McNabb; A Modern Hand-Printer — Edward Walters; Voyage To A Beginning - the Introduction to Colin Wilson's autobiography
- Cancel all our Vows: Brother Joseph Gardiner and the Servants of Christ the King (1988)
- GK's Weekly: An Appraisal (1990)
- Tell Me Strange Things: A Memorial to Montague SummersMontague SummersAugustus Montague Summers was an eccentric English author and clergyman. He is known primarily for his scholarly work on the English drama of the 17th century, as well as for his idiosyncratic studies on witches, vampires, and werewolves, in all of which he professed to believe...
. Upton: The Aylesford Press, 1991 - The Habit of a Lifetime: An Autobiography. Padstow, Tabb House, 1992.
- The Selected Poems of Olive Custance 1995 editor
- Saint Dominic's Press. A Bibliography 1916–1937. Lower Marston: Whittington Press, (1995) Michael Taylor and Brocard Sewell.