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'''Charles Bernard Spencer''' (1909 &ndash; 1963) was an English poet, translator, and editor.<br />
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He was born in [[Madras]], [[India]] and educated at [[Marlborough College]] and [[Corpus Christi College, Oxford]]. At Marlborough he knew [[John Betjeman]] and [[Louis MacNeice]];<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=BSP |title=Spencer, Bernard (writer) |url=https://collections.reading.ac.uk/special-collections/collections/bernard-spencer-collection-writer/ |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=University of Reading, Special Collections |language=en-GB}}</ref> at [[Oxford]] [[Stephen Spender]], Arthur Calder-Marshall, Isaiah Berlinand<ref name=":0" /> he also came across [[W. H. Auden]]. He edited ''Oxford Poetry'' in 1930-1931. He was not, however, drawn far into what was soon known as the [[Auden Group]]; he is identified much more with the type of poetry later exemplified by [[Lawrence Durrell]], and is for some critics the stand-out in the [[Cairo poets]]. His potential was never quite fulfilled, partly because of poor health{{what?|date=October 2023}}.<br />
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After graduation, he made a living from teaching and writing, marrying the actress [[Norah Gibbs]] in 1936. At that time he was collaborating on [[Geoffrey Grigson]]'s ''New Verse''. In [[World War II]] he worked for the [[British Council]], in [[Greece]] and then [[Egypt]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Leviston |first=Frances |date=29 May 2011 |title=Complete Poetry, Translations and Selected Prose by Bernard Spencer – review |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/may/29/complete-poetry-bernard-spencer-review |access-date=2024-05-31 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> There he edited the ''Personal Landscape'' magazine.<ref name=":0" /><br />
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After the war he continued to work for the [[British Council]], being posted to [[Italy]]. Norah died in 1947, of [[tuberculosis]]. He himself was ill for a time.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024 |title=Bernard Spencer, Author |url=https://www.bloodaxebooks.com/ecs/category/bernard-spencer |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=Bloodaxe Books}}</ref> Through other postings he wrote little.<br />
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He was married again in 1961, to [[Anne Marjoribanks]] by whom he had a son Piers in 1963.<ref name=":0" /> He died in [[Vienna]], apparently in an accident,<ref name=":0" /> while once more in bad health.<br />
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A conference on Spencer's life and work was held at the [[University of Reading]] in October 2009, with an exhibition of manuscripts and other personal effects.<ref>The Bernard Spencer Conference, [[University of Reading]], October 2009</ref> His ''Complete Poetry, Translations and Selected Prose'' edited by [[Peter Robinson (poet)|Peter Robinson]] was published by [[Bloodaxe Books]] in February 2011.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/personpage.asp?author=Bernard+Spencer |title=Author Page > Bernard Spencer |publisher=Bloodaxe Books |date=1963-09-11 |accessdate=2014-02-06 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222174118/http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/personpage.asp?author=Bernard+Spencer |archivedate=2014-02-22 }}</ref><br />
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==Works==<br />
*''Aegean Islands and Other Poems'' (1946)<br />
*''The Twist in the Plotting ''(1960)<br />
*''With Luck Lasting'' (1963)<br />
*''Collected Poems'' (1965) edited by [[Alan Ross]]<br />
*''Collected Poems'' (1981) edited by [[Roger Bowen]]<br />
*''Complete Poetry, Translations and Selected Prose'' (2011) edited by [[Peter Robinson (poet)|Peter Robinson]]<br />
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==References==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
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{{Authority control}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, Bernard}}<br />
[[Category:1909 births]]<br />
[[Category:1963 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:People educated at Marlborough College]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century English poets]]<br />
[[Category:British people in British India]]</div>DelmarPrisco