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ToolsTruscott, Harriet (2025) Poet, friend and activist: Stanley Richardson and the Arden Society for Artists and Writers Exiled in England, 1938-40. Brief Encounters, 9 (1). ISSN 2514-0612
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Abstract
At this time of global conflict, I look back to the 1930s to examine how a young poet and postgraduate student took action to support writers and artists fleeing fascism in Europe. While Stanley Richardson and his organisation, the Arden Society, are almost forgotten today, the list of people they aided includes many significant writers, among them one of Spain’s leading twentieth-century poets, Luis Cernuda. In turn, Richardson developed his own understanding of the social and political role of poetry. This article discusses how Stanley Richardson left a potential academic career and created the Arden Society for Artists and Writers in Exile. Originally intended to help refugees in Britain develop networks that would allow them to continue their work, Arden Society members quickly took on additional roles, including assisting refugees in court and attempting to bring anti-Nazi writers to safety. Previous scholarship discusses Stanley Richardson as part of a European literary network, including his friendships with Federico García Lorca and Cernuda. This article explores how social and artistic networks can become a basis for political action. Moreover, I consider how, within contemporary debates on the role of poetry in wartime, Stanley developed his own approach to the balance of art, ‘truth’ and propaganda.
| Item Type: | Article |
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| Additional Information: | Acknowledgements This article has drawn heavily on archival materials. As Roger Tinnell wrote in his 2011 article on Stanley Richardson, the increasing amount of digitised material allows scholars to locate relevant resources from around the world. Since the publication of his research, considerably more has become available. My thanks are due to James Valender, who first introduced me to Richardson and whose foundational research I draw on; to Adam Crowther of St John’s College, Cambridge; to Sophie Tregarthen-Leisk of Lawrences Auctioneers; to the archives of the Royal Armouries; to Grant Young of UEA for his invaluable research assistance; and to all those libraries and archives who have made their resources available via digital catalogues. |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | sdg 16 - peace, justice and strong institutions ,/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/peace_justice_and_strong_institutions |
| Faculty \ School: | Faculty of Arts and Humanities > School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing |
| Related URLs: | |
| Depositing User: | LivePure Connector |
| Date Deposited: | 19 May 2026 12:30 |
| Last Modified: | 19 May 2026 12:30 |
| URI: | https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/103094 |
| DOI: | 10.24134/be.225 |
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