An exhibition in Grimsby
1-15 October 2007
Tom Wintringham was born in Grimsby in 1898, he wrote poetry from the trenches of Vimy Ridge in 1917 and stories from the streets of Moscow in 1920, was jailed for seditious writing in 1925, founded the Daily Worker (Morning Star) newspaper in 1930, and the Left Review literary journal in 1934, at the forefront of bringing literature and politics to the masses along with projects such as Penguin Books, Mass Observation, the Left Book Club, and New Writing throughout the thirties. He founded the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War, and commanded the British Batallion, and inspired the Home Guard in WW2 running the Osterley Park training school, he became a household name, responsible for five wartime best-sellers, regular collumns for the Daily Mirror and Picture Post, radio broadcasts and newsreel films.
A friend of WH Auden, Stephen Spender, John Lehmann, Ernest Hemingway, Tom Harrisson, Allen Lane, J.B. Priestley, George Orwell, Roland Penrose, Tom Driberg and Victor Gollancz, he wrote poetry and journalism, politics and children's stories, philosophy and guerrilla manuals.
The exhibition tells the story of his life and times, illustrated by the things he wrote.
The exhibition will be held from 1st - 15th of October 2007 at the Muriel Barker Gallery, at the Fishing Heritage Centre, Great Grimsby. Entry to the Wintringham display is free and open to all, but does not include entry to the Fishing heritage centre's main exhibitions.
Spanish Civil War re-enactment group La Columna will be coming along to give a flavour of the 1930's to Grimsby town centre on 6th October.
Home Guard Socialism:
Stephen Cullen author of Home Guard Socialism: A Vision of a People's Army and A Battalion of Christs: Christian themes and motifs in Great War Writing, discusses Wintringham's vision of a people's army. Dr. Cullen writes on British history and literature for various journals including the Journal of Contemporary History, History, The Historian, and The English Review. He is Research Fellow in the Centre for Educational Development at Warwick University. Friday 5th October, 7.30 at Grimsby Central Library (access by rear door).
Last English Revolutionary:
Hugh Purcell author of Wintingham's biography The Last English Revolutionary, and the editor of We're Going On, Wintringham's collected poems, discusses Wintringham's life and writing. He is a BAFTA winning television and radio producer, and the author The Spanish Civil War (Book of the Year 1978), Revolutionary War, and last years aclaimed biography Lloyd George. He is a Chevalier d'Ordre des Artes et des Lettres and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Friday 12th October, 7.30 at Grimsby Central Library (access by rear door).
Please visit the Tom Wintringham exhibition web site for further information.
