Peter Jones: The Quiet Architect of Modern Poetry Publishing
Peter Jones, who has died at the age of 96, was an unacknowledged presence in many poetry lovers' libraries, yet his influence on literary publishing was profound. As the editor of the Penguin collection Imagist Poetry, first published in 1972 and still in print as a Penguin Modern Classic since 2001, his work reached a global audience, including through a Chinese translation.
Key Roles in Literary Institutions
Peter played essential roles in the magazine PN Review and in Carcanet Press, the literary publishers founded in 1969 at Pin Farm, South Hinksey, Oxford. According to Mark Fisher in Letters to an Editor (1989), Peter shared "the labour and the risks," even surrendering his teacher's pension to help finance these projects. Beyond Imagist Poetry, he authored Fifty American Poets in 1980, introducing English readers to challenging writers and ensuring their publication.
Early Life and Career
Born and raised in Walsall, Staffordshire, Peter was the son of Elsie (nee MacFarlane) and Austin Jones. He witnessed the glow from the bombing of Coventry in 1940 from his bedroom window. After national service in the RAF from 1947 to 1949, he attended Keble College, Oxford, on a scholarship to study English.
At Keble, he met the future poet Geoffrey Hill, another scholarship boy. Peter's father was a colliery accountant, while Hill's was a local policeman. Both felt a sense of not belonging at Oxford, and their friendship, as described by Peter's widow Alison Elizabeth Lister, "grew out of that shared displacement and lasted a lifetime." They were nicknamed Tweedledum and Tweedledee at Keble, and their weekly phone calls remained sacrosanct until Hill's death in 2016.
Editorial Contributions and Personal Life
Peter's editorial focus at PN Review and Carcanet was on American poetry. He developed a passion for Hilda Doolittle, who published as "HD," and introduced her Tribute to Freud (1971). He brought her collections Trilogy and Hermetic Definition—a favorite rediscovery—as well as the Collected Poems to the press. His last editorial collaboration was the critical anthology British Poetry Since 1970, published in 1980.
Before his publishing career, Peter was a well-loved English teacher at Christ's Hospital school in West Sussex, known for his theatre productions. Notable actors like Roger Allam began their careers under his guidance, and John Pine credited Peter with starting his acting career by casting him in roles others doubted he could perform.
Peter married Alison in 1984, and their son Laurence was born severely disabled in 1985. The family moved to Elston, Nottinghamshire, in 1991. At age 74, Peter earned a second first-class degree in English from Nottingham University, aiming "to stave off boredom." His final home was in Cropwell Butler, where he managed "amazingly well," according to Alison, until near the end of his life.
Legacy and Survivors
Peter Jones is survived by his wife Alison and son Laurence. His dedication to poetry and publishing left an indelible mark, from his early teaching days to his editorial work that brought American voices to the forefront of English literary circles.
