Jack Clemo (1916–1994)

Jack Clemo is a writer, primarily a poet, far too little known in the US. I met Clemo in the UK in 1988; deaf and blind, he was an extraordinary man. He lived then in the "bedsit' in Plymouth, later destroyed, ironically enough, by a china clay company (see below).

This is from the Wikipedia entry on Clemo:

Reginald John Clemo (Jack Clemo) (March 11, 1916 - July 25, 1994) was a British poet and writer, strongly associated both with his native Cornwall and his Christian belief. His work is visionary and inspired by the Cornish landscape. He was the son of a clay-kiln worker, and his mother, Eveline Clemo (née Polmounter, died 1977), was a dogmatic Nonconformist.

He was born near St Austell, and had no formal schooling after age 13. He became deaf around age 20, and blind in 1955 (19 years later). His early work was published in the local press; he first received recognition in connection with the Festival of Britain.

The massive china clay mines and works around which he grew up feature strongly in his work.

His former home was demolished by the Goonvean china clay company on September 6, 2005 to make way for laboratories. This has provoked much anger locally and from fans of the poet.

There is a small museum of his life and works at Trethosa chapel which is run by volunteers.

His literary papers, including manuscripts of prose and poetry works, are held by the University of Exeter.

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