John Lehmann
John Lehmann was an influential English poet, publisher, and literary critic born in 1907 in Bourne End, Buckinghamshire. He was educated at Eton and Cambridge, where he was introduced to the Bloomsbury Group, shaping his literary connections. Lehmann's early work included poetry influenced by the Georgian poets, and he served as the general manager of Hogarth Press, founded by Leonard and Virginia Woolf, where he established the journal New Writing. In 1946, he founded his own publishing firm, J. Lehmann, which published notable authors like Jean-Paul Sartre and Saul Bellow until 1952. He later became the editor of the London Magazine and published two volumes of autobiography that capture English life between the wars. While Lehmann was reticent about his personal life, his literary contributions included notable studies of Virginia Woolf and a return to poetry in his later years. His work earned him various accolades, including the Queen's Silver Jubilee Medal and an appointment as a commander in the Order of the British Empire, and he passed away in 1987.
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John Lehmann
Poet
- Born: June 2, 1907
- Birthplace: Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, England
- Died: April 7, 1987
- Place of death:
Biography
John Lehmann was born in Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, England, in 1907, the son of Rudolph Lehmann, an editor of the English humor magazine, Punch, and a member of Parliament. Lehmann’s sister Beatrix was a well-known actress, and his sister Rosamund was a popular novelist. Lehmann was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge University, where he received a B. A. in 1930. At Cambridge he became friends with Julian Bell, the son of Vanessa and Clive Bell, and through them he became acquainted with the writers of the Bloomsbury group.
Lehmann’s first book of poems, A Garden Revisited, and Other Poems, was influenced by a group of writers known as the Georgian poets. In 1931, Lehmann became general manager of Hogarth Press, a publishing house founded by Leonard and Virginia Woolf, with whom he had a tempestuous working relationship. During his tenure at Hogarth Press, he also founded and edited the journal New Writing, which introduced the work of a number of important young writers. During the 1930’s and 1940’s, Lehmann continued to write poetry as well as fiction and literary criticism. In 1946, he left Hogarth Press and founded his own publishing firm, J. Lehmann, which survived until 1952; his publishing house released more than two hundred volumes, including work by Jean-Paul Sartre and Saul Bellow. Lehmann left the publishing house to became editor of London Magazine, a position he held until 1961.
By 1960, Lehmann had published the first volumes of his autobiography, The Whispering Gallery: Autobiography I and I Am My Brother: Autobiography II. The volumes have been praised for their vivid portrayal of English life between the world wars and for their pictures of important writers, such as the Woolfs. They are less revealing about Lehmann’s private life, a reticence that probably stemmed from his reluctance to reveal his homosexuality. After 1961, Lehmann turned his attention to literary criticism and biography. His memoir, Thrown to the Woolfs: Leonard and Virginia Woolf and the Hogarth Press, and a biography of poet Rupert Brooke have been particularly praised, as have his studies of Virginia Woolf, Lewis Carroll, and Edward Lear. In the midst of this period of scholarship, however, Lehman returned to poetry, publishing some of his best work in The Reader at Night, and Other Poems.
Lehmann’s career was marked by his great versatility, productivity, and devotion to fostering the cause of literature. He received a number of prizes and awards, including the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Medal and appointment as commander in the Order of the British Empire. He died in 1987.