Fantasy Press (poetry)
Encyclopedia
The Fantasy Press was an English
publisher
of poetry
between 1951 and 1959.
The company was established by Oscar Mellor
in Swinford, Oxfordshire
primarily to finance his work as a surrealist
artist, but gained a high profile through discovering a series of poets who became major figures of The Movement
.
Poets who had early works published by the Fantasy Press include Elizabeth Jennings
, Thom Gunn
, and Philip Larkin
.
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...
publisher
Publishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
of poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
between 1951 and 1959.
The company was established by Oscar Mellor
Oscar Mellor
Oscar Mellor was an English surrealist artist and publisher of poetry. An associate of the Birmingham Surrealists in the 1940s, he founded the Fantasy Press in the 1950s, publishing works by poets such as Philip Larkin, Kingsley Amis and Thom Gunn.Although he became best known as a publisher, he...
in Swinford, Oxfordshire
Swinford, Oxfordshire
Swinford in the English county of Oxfordshire is a small settlement in the civil parish of Cumnor. It lies on the road between Eynsham and Farmoor on the south bank of the River Thames near Swinford Toll Bridge. In 1974 it was transferred from Berkshire....
primarily to finance his work as a surrealist
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
artist, but gained a high profile through discovering a series of poets who became major figures of The Movement
The Movement (literature)
The Movement was a term coined by J. D. Scott, literary editor of The Spectator, in 1954 to describe a group of writers including Kingsley Amis, Philip Larkin, Donald Davie, D.J. Enright, John Wain, Elizabeth Jennings, Thom Gunn, and Robert Conquest...
.
Poets who had early works published by the Fantasy Press include Elizabeth Jennings
Elizabeth Jennings
Elizabeth Jennings was an English poet.-Life and career:Jennings was born in Boston, Lincolnshire. When she was six, her family moved to Oxford, where she remained for the rest of her life. Couzyn, Jeni Contemporary Women Poets. Bloodaxe, pp. 98-100. There she later attended St Anne's College...
, Thom Gunn
Thom Gunn
Thom Gunn, born Thomson William Gunn , was an Anglo-American poet who was praised both for his early verses in England, where he was associated with The Movement and his later poetry in America, even after moving toward a looser, free-verse style...
, and Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin
Philip Arthur Larkin, CH, CBE, FRSL is widely regarded as one of the great English poets of the latter half of the twentieth century...
.