Many Pounders (particularly UK ones) will remember Gordon Brown, from
Sunderland, who has sadly died this month. He was a longstanding follower
of Pound Conferences, supporter of NPF etc., and corresponded over the
years with a number of distinguished members of this list, on the basis of
his deep appreciation of Pound and his almost encyclopaedic reading of
everything else. He was also a longstanding supporter of all poetry
readings in the NorthEast of England, including the Morden Tower (the
series set up by Connie and Tom Pickard, at which Bunting's Briggflatts
was first performed in 1965) for which he edited _High On The Walls: an
anthology celebrating twenty-five years of poetry readings at Morden
Tower_ (Bloodaxe 1990). He was also a lifelong campaigner on local and
social issues who will be sadly missed within all his communities.
 
An event of the Bunting Centre's Centenary Celebrations (June 23rd-25th)
at which poets and local people will give their own readings of Bunting
poems has been fittingly re-dedicated in Gordon's memory. His family is
offering a copy of his anthology _High On The Walls_ (with contributions
by Heaney, Creeley, Ginsberg and a host of others) to members of this list
who'd like one in his memory. Write (enclosing one pound sterling to cover
post and packing within UK) to his daughter: Rosamunde Brown, 9A Heigham
Grove, Norwich NR2 3DQ, UK. Outside UK: please increase this sum
appropriately to cover post, and enclose sterling only.
 
In my experience, poets and critics are pretty well two-a-penny - but a
good reader, as Mae West may have said, is hard to find.
 
Richard Caddel
Durham