William Plomer

William Plomer – Life, Work, and Literary Vision

Discover the life and legacy of William Plomer (1903–1973), a South African–British novelist, poet, editor, and librettist. Explore his biography, major works, themes, and memorable quotes.

Introduction

William Charles Franklyn Plomer (born December 10, 1903 – died September 1973) was a writer of remarkable versatility: novelist, poet, literary editor, memoirist, and librettist. Though born in South Africa to British parents and later living most of his life in England, Plomer retained a sensibility shaped by multiple geographies and identities. He is often associated with modernist experiment, cross-cultural awareness, and a quietly ethical voice in his confrontation with race, identity, and art.

Plomer’s stature is sometimes overshadowed by more canonical modernists, but he played a pivotal role as editor, intermediary, and supporter of other writers, and produced a body of work rich in nuance, range, and imaginative empathy.

Early Life and Background

William Plomer was born in Pietersburg (then in the Transvaal Colony, South Africa) on December 10, 1903, to British parents.

Though born in South Africa, Plomer spent parts of his youth in England. His education, literary formation, and much of his adult life took place in Britain, giving him a hybrid identity—both Anglo and African in sensibility.

From adolescence, he showed literary ambition. At age 21, he completed his first novel Turbott Wolfe (published 1925), which stirred controversy in South Africa for its treatment of interracial relationships.

Literary and Intellectual Journey

South Africa, Voice, and Controversy

Plomer’s early work took root in South Africa, confronting its racial and social orthodoxies. Turbott Wolfe challenged bounds by depicting interracial love and by critiquing colonial postures of “benevolence.” Voorslag (Whiplash) in 1926, intending it as a platform for literary dissent and racial critique (publishing in English, Afrikaans, even some Zulu); though, due to financial and political pressures, the magazine had a short life.

In 1926, Plomer left South Africa permanently and spent a period (October 1926 to March 1929) in Japan, a time of personal and creative growth. His exposure to East Asia informed later literary work. Sado.

England and Literary Integration

In 1929 Plomer relocated to England, entering British literary circles. His friendship with Virginia and Leonard Woolf eased his integration, and he published Sado (1931) and The Case Is Altered (1932) via Hogarth Press.

Plomer also built a strong editorial career. He worked as a reader and literary adviser at Jonathan Cape (from the late 1930s onward), and was influential in recognizing and shaping works by other authors, including Ian Fleming (Fleming dedicated Goldfinger to Plomer).

During World War II Plomer served in Naval Intelligence.

Poetry, Memoirs, and Librettos

Plomer was prolific in multiple genres. His poetic output, short stories, novels, memoirs, literary criticism, and librettos speak to his broad talent.

He collaborated with composer Benjamin Britten to write librettos for Gloriana (1953), Curlew River (1964), The Burning Fiery Furnace (1966), and The Prodigal Son (1968).

His memoirs include Double Lives (1943), At Home (1958), and a posthumous revision The Autobiography of William Plomer (1975).

His Collected Poems (first edition 1960) remains a key compendium.

Themes, Style & Literary Significance

Cross-Cultural Identity & Hybridity

Plomer lived across cultural boundaries: South Africa and England, Asia and Europe. He described himself as “Anglo-African-Asian” in later years, pointing to a layered identity not reducible to a single national or racial frame. His work often reflects this multiplicity: displacement, encounters, the tension of belonging and alienation.

Racial Conscience & Subtle Critique

While not a polemicist, Plomer’s early works engaged racial issues gently but unflinchingly. Turbott Wolfe challenged settler myths; his magazine Voorslag attempted to critique race in both English and Afrikaans modes. He often preferred moral weight over melodrama.

Formal Precision & Resonance

Plomer’s prose and poetry are known for their economy, clarity, attention to image, and understated lyricism. His stylistic discipline and selectivity mark him as a craftsman more than a showy stylist. Literary critics have appreciated his bridging of modernist experimentation with moral sensibility.

The Writer as Mediator

Plomer’s role as editor, introducer, encourager is part of his legacy. His capacity to help others—and to connect different voices—mirrors his own poetic aspiration: to “connect the seemingly unconnected.”

Recognition & Honors

• Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1951.

• Awarded honorary D.Litt by Durham University (1959).

• Won the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry (1963).

• Named CBE (Commander of the British Empire) in 1968.

• His children’s work The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper’s Feast (in collaboration) won the Whitbread Award (1973).

His recognition was widespread among literary circles though he never became a household name.

Selected Quotations

Here are a few of William Plomer’s resonant lines and reflections:

“Creativity is the power to connect the seemingly unconnected.”

“It is a function of creative men to perceive the relations between thoughts, or things, or forms of expression that may seem utterly different, and to be able to combine them into some new form.”

“The commonplace needs no defence, / Dullness is in the critic's eyes, / Without a licence life evolves / From some dim phase its own surprise …”

“Patriotism is the last refuge of the sculptor.”

“To keep a diary is to attempt a difficult literary form. Its effectiveness is likely to derive from a special blend of honesty and appetite for life …”

These lines reflect Plomer’s reflective temper, attention to aesthetic relation, and modest ambition.

Challenges, Ambiguities & Critical Debate

• Though Plomer often alluded to same-sex love in his works (for example in Sado), he never publicly embraced an openly gay identity in his lifetime. Biographical accounts differ on how open he lived.

• His stature is sometimes criticized as secondary: he lacked the bold radicalism or the avant-garde renown of his peers—perhaps partly because he mediated rather than rebelled loudly.

• His role as editor and mediator sometimes overshadowed his role as originator; his own work is often more quietly admired than celebrated.

• His dual national and cultural identity sometimes complicates how critics classify him—South African writer, British writer, expatriate, or cosmopolitan modernist.

Legacy and Influence

William Plomer’s legacy resides in both his oeuvre and his literary relationships. He served as a bridge between writers and traditions. His editorial work helped bring others into public view.

In South African literature, Turbott Wolfe is sometimes foregrounded as an early critique of racial inequality. In British literary culture, his contributions as poet, critic, and librettist are well regarded. His collaborations with Britten, his aesthetic pains, and his integrity in quietly sustaining literary life remain influential models.

Durham University houses a Plomer Collection of his papers and books, preserving his intellectual heritage. National Portrait Gallery, London.

Lessons from William Plomer’s Life & Work

1. Multiplicity of identity fosters depth
   Plomer’s sense of being Anglo-African-Asian encouraged him to see across boundaries rather than flatten them.

2. The quiet path has power
   His influence was more often indirect—editing, mediating, mentoring—yet sustained and durable.

3. Artistic connection is relational
   His famous dictum about creativity as connecting suggests that the literary life is as much about dialogue as about self-expression.

4. Integrity over spectacle
   While many of his contemporaries sought shock or flamboyance, Plomer’s aesthetic often works through subtlety, restraint, and moral attention.

5. Longevity in many genres
   He reminds us that writing need not be confined to one mode: poetry, fiction, memoir, opera librettos all intertwine in his career.

Conclusion

William Plomer remains a fertile, somewhat underappreciated figure in 20th-century letters. His life straddled continents and cultures; his work merges formal care with moral imagination. He sought to be a mediator—between races, traditions, and literary voices—and in that ambition lies a compelling example.