Full title: ‘Necessary Salt’: A 20th-Century (Non-Jewish) Poet’s Long and Surprising Involvement with Jews, Judaism and Jewish Life.

Charles Causley (1917-2003), a well-known and well-loved figure in modern English poetry, is often stereotyped as a ‘leading Christian poet’. Recent research, however, reveals unexpected patterns of connections with, and insights into, Judaism, Jewish life and culture. These include: unsettling events pre-1939 and during his wartime service in the Royal Navy; mentoring emerging Jewish poets like Karen Gershon, Fay Zwicky and Norman Levine; and influences from the Old Testament and Martin Buber.

Eventually, Causley was occasionally invited as a guest to services, communal events and family occasions in the nearby Jewish community around Exeter. His Launceston home still contains key objects reflecting many of these facets. In this talk, Causley’s growing awareness and understanding of the Jewish world and experience emerges through archival material from Exeter University and elsewhere, illuminating key moments. It culminates with his poem ‘Seder’ an outsider’s powerful and sensitive reflection on the nature and rituals of that ceremony, linking them with Jewish life over millennia, most especially in his own lifetime.

Speaker

Mike Cooper is US-born, to a secular Jewish family. From high school in Manhattan, he came to Exeter University for his undergraduate English degree. There, he briefly encountered Causley as Poet-in-Residence. Living in the UK ever since, and now a dual national, Mike is a Trustee-Director of the Causley Trust. Following his career in education, he researched extensively in Causley’s archive at Exeter towards an MbyRes -- where he discovered some material for this talk.

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