'I am selfish enough to be pleased that she loves me more than anyone else in the world, because that is how I feel about her!' [RA to HD. 9th August 1939].
Catherine Aldington died in France, on 20th July 2010, barely three weeks after her seventy-second birthday. Catha was born
in Marylebone in July 1938. She was the only daughter of Richard Aldington and Netta Patmore, formerly McCulloch. When she was seven months old her parents shipped her out to America on the S. S. Aquitania, arriving in New York on 17th February 1939. By April 1941 they were in Florida before heading for Hollywood, where Catha spent her childhood years. Catha returned to Europe with her
parents in 1946 and settled in Paris over the winter of 1946-1947. The family then moved south to Le Lavandou from August 1947 through to February 1951, during which time Netta returned to England. Catha remained with her father, moving in the spring of 1951 to Montpellier. It was from here that she matriculated at the nearby University of Aix in October 1960. Her father died in July 1962,
after which Catha made her final move to the marshes in the tranquil surroundings of the Camargue, where she met and married Jacques Guillaume. As the direct link to the literary world of her father, Catha did not suffer fools and was always on the alert when approached. A poet herself, Catha was nevertheless reluctant to step into the limelight, and came to terms with being
the daughter of a respected writer by translating his work into French. Her acclaimed translation of Richard Aldington's poem A Dream in the Luxembourg as Reverie dans le Jardin du Luxembourg was published in 1986 by Actes Sud.
Her death, coming so soon after the death of Norman Gates who championed her father, only adds to the greater sense of
loss that surrounds us; she will be sadly missed by a body of international friends. Let us all hope that there will not be a flurry of academic jousting amongst those left behind, and that Catha may be allowed to rest in peace. On a personal level, my friendship with Catha extends back to 1986. I believe we helped each other through some difficult times. We even laid various plans for her to come over to Cornwall, but it was never to be. Over recent years dear Catha endured a prolonged and painful illness, but towards the end she was
ready to go.
Catherine Aldington leaves a widespread family in England, France and Italy but, more significantly, her twin daughters
Karine and Florence and their children. A memorial gathering was held at Mas Les Pellegrins on 23rd July. Friends wishing to pay their respects might write to The family of Catherine Aldington at Mas 'Les Pellegrins,' Quartier Pont Gau, 13460 Saintes Maries de la Mer, France.
David Wilkinson, 22 July 2010.
**********
H.R. Stoneback writes: 'I am establishing a Catherine Aldington
Memorial Fund & Award for graduate students who attend future Aldington
Conferences. All who knew Catha over the years, and all others-- including, of
course, those graduate students who did not have the privilege of knowing her
but were beneficiaries of Aldington Society largesse at the recent Aldington
Conference at Brunnenburg--are invited to send donations in any amount to this
memorial fund.'
For details about donating, please contact
H.R. Stoneback (stoney_sparrow@webtv.net)
or Dan Kempton (kemptond@newpaltz.edu).
Stoneback also announces that the
forthcoming VII International Aldington Society/ III International Imagism
Conference will be held in Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in 2012, and that the
conference will be a dedicated memorial event for Catha.
**********
Following Catha's death, Eric Forbeaux has been appointed literary executor for the Aldington estate. If any members (or,
indeed, other interested parties) have questions about publishing copyrighted material by RA, please contact him at eric.forbeaux@laposte.net.
**********
Along with many other members of the IRAS, I attended the VI Aldington Conference / II Imagism Conference in the northern
Italian Tirol between 20-22 June. The conference venue – Schloss Brunnenburg, the home of Ezra Pound’s daughter Mary de Rachewiltz – was and is spectacular, nestled halfway up the side of a mountainous valley among vineyards. Thankfully, the academic content was also strong enough to mean that the temptation to stare out of the window was kept to a minimum. H.R. Stoneback opened the conference by entering into his ‘anecdotage’, and we were also treated to two poetry readings, organized by John Gery, showcasing some of the
proficient new writing being produced by attendees.
It was pleasing to see new faces attracted
to the conference by the wider focus, and also one or two more representatives
domiciled in the UK, including some long-time NCLS members. John Gery, Max
Saunders and I talked about RA’s poetry from varying viewpoints, and James
Stamant gave a paper on censorship in Death of a Hero. A disappointing aspect of the conference was that there were so
few papers talking directly about RA and his works. While there was clearly an
imperative to talk about Pound with our hostess in mind, one hopes that the
function of the next event as a memorial to Catha will encourage some more
scholarship on Aldington. The fiftieth anniversary of Richard Aldington's
death will also pass a matter of weeks after the likely dates of the 2012
conference; let's make sure that we commemorate both in appropriate manner.
Thanks must go to Mary and Siegfried de
Rachewiltz for their hospitality and good humour throughout our stay. Mary was
present throughout and engaged with the papers, speaking passionately about her
father’s work. Siegfried led us expertly, and poetically, through a tasting of
wines from their own vines, and others from the region; he also very generously
gave a smaller group of us a guided tour of Schloss Tirol, of which he is
director.
Finally, thanks are due as always to Dan
Kempton, H.R. Stoneback, and the New Paltz and ex-New Paltz cohort for their
efforts and endeavours in organizing the conference.
Andrew
Frayn
**********
Correspondent Michael Copp writes: 'While on holiday abroad I always make a
point of trying to find a copy of RA's work in translation. Four years ago I
managed to get hold of the Russian translation of All Men are Enemies in
Yalta. This summer in Lyon I found 'Ci-gît Constance', that is, the French
translation of 'Now Lies She Here', lifted from Soft Answers. The co-translators
were Catherine Aldington and Mario Morisi. I was particularly struck by the
translation of the passage that begins, “The early post-War world seemed to
have been made for Constance.” Catha and her collaborator have captured
perfectly the venom of RA's writing here, where he attacks the shallowness and
selfishness of pampered socialites in the 1920s. The
publishers, Actes Sud, have also published Reverie dans le Jardin du
Luxembourg, Mort d'un Héros, and La Fille du Colonel (see
NCLSN, Vol. 19, No. 3, p.1).'
**********
Correspondent and Website Editor Paul
Hernandez draws our attention to (perhaps, in some cases, reminds us of) the
holdings of the National Portrait Gallery, in which there are eight photographs
of RA taken by Howard Coster. Images of two of these are available on the
internet, one of RA sitting at a jaunty angle across a chair, and another of
him pensive, holding his chin. These photographs have previously appeared in
[[Doyle]] and [[CZ]]. A link to holdings for RA as sitter follows:
http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person.php?search=ss&firstRun=true&sText=aldington&LinkID=mp51514
**********
Correspondent F.-J. Temple writes: 'A reference is made to Aldington's Death
of a Hero, in Creating a History: The case for Lawrence as a civilian
writer, by Carl Krockel (Etudes Lawrenciennes N° 41, Presses Universitaires
de Paris Ouest, 2010).'
**********
Correspondent Temple is also pleased to
inform possible students of Aldington and the members of the NCLSN that he has given
his Durrell-Miller-Aldington archives (correspondence, photos, books, cuttings,
etc,) to the Médiathèque Centrale Emile Zola, 240 rue de l'Acropole, 34000
Montpellier (France). Their website is here: http://mediatheque.montpellier-agglo.com/le-reseau/les-mediatheques/emile-zola/
**********
Biographer Vivien Whelpton writes to tell us
about her progress and projected timeline for her project: 'My hope/aim is for
publication in 2014, the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War,
which not only produced some of his finest work but which had a profound impact
on his subsequent life and work. At present I am working on two or three
chapters about the war period and the years immediately preceding it, with a
view to using them to set about securing a publisher. I hope to have accomplished
this by the end of the year. Then I shall try to gain some funding (either
through a publisher or some other source) to visit the R.A. archives next year.'
**********
The Indian author Mulk Raj Anand wrote a
novel called Death of a Hero, which is available on Google Books. I'm
intrigued to note that not only does the title seem to reference RA's
best-known novel, but also the cover appears to be an homage to Paul Nash's
original cover. Does anyone have any further information about this volume, or
its apparent lineage? Anand wrote a First World War novel of his own, Across
the Black Waters (1940), which details the experience of Indian troops.
**********
Associate Editor David Wilkinson reminds us
that recordings of RA's voice, drawn from the 'entretiens' between RA and correspondent
F-J. Temple, are available at http://www.imagists.org/aldington/resources.html
.
**********
Following on from previous information
about the donation of the archives of C.J. Fox to the library of the University
of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, I note that there is now an online
finding aid: http://library.uvic.ca/site/spcoll/findaids/2007-001.html
.
**********
H.R. Stoneback will offer a personal
reminiscence of Catherine Aldington in the Winter number of the NCLSN.
**********
Our associate editor David Wilkinson
writes: Norman Gates devoted thirty eight years to Aldington scholarship. For
the sake of both men, this must continue. Our thanks go to Andrew Frayn, for
taking on this issue and to those who made contact with him. Michael Copp has
agreed to be Guest Editor for the next issue (due out at the end of the year).
Please send news and comments to him. Those few who may be unfamiliar with
Copp's track record will find the following of interest: Michael Copp, M.St
(Master of Studies in Modernism: English Literature 1890-1939) Dissertation:
'Richard Aldington and the English Dimension to Early Modernism: Perspectives
and Constructions of Imagism'. Publications: An Imagist at War: The Complete
War Poems of Richard Aldington (Fairleigh Dickinson University Press,
Associated University Presses, 2002); Richard Aldington: The Selected War
Poems (Cecil Woolf, 2005); Imagist Dialogues: Letters between Aldington,
Flint and Others, (The Lutterworth Press, 2009). Address: 32 Hunts Hill,
Glemsford, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 7RP, England. Telephone: 01787 280618.
e-mail: mikejcopp@aol.com.
