Martin Green (10 July 1932 – 4 February 2015) was an English-born writer, editor and publisher.

Background

Born in

Stockport Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt, Rivers Goyt and River Tame, Greater Manchester, Tame merge to create the River Mersey he ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, England, Green was schooled at A. S. Neill's Summerhill, while his parents fought in the

International Brigades The International Brigades () were soldiers recruited and organized by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front (Spain), Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The International Bri ...

during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. Green co-founded the literary periodical '' Nimbus'' (1951–58) with Tristram Hull and later worked as an editor at

MacGibbon & Kee The British publishing house of Hart-Davis, MacGibbon was formed in 1972 by its parent group, Granada. The parent company had acquired the publishing concern of Rupert Hart-Davis in 1963 and the house of MacGibbon & Kee (founded by James MacGib ...

, where he published, alongside Timothy O'Keeffe, books including

Nell Dunn Nell Mary Dunn (born 9 June 1936) is an English playwright, screenwriter and author. She is known especially for a volume of short stories, '' Up the Junction'', and a novel, ''Poor Cow''. Early years Dunn was born in London the second daughter ...

's ''Up the Junction'' (1963). They went on to form their own publishing house, Martin Brian & O'Keeffe, with the editor Brian Rooney. Here, Green collected and published

Patrick Kavanagh Patrick Kavanagh (21 October 1904 – 30 November 1967) was an Irish poet and novelist. His best-known works include the novel ''Tarry Flynn'', and the poems "On Raglan Road" and "The Great Hunger". He is known for his accounts of Irish life th ...

, following the suggestion of the painter

Patrick Swift Patrick Swift (1927–1983) was an Irish painter who worked in Dublin, London and the Algarve, Portugal. Overview In Dublin he formed part of the Envoy, A Review of Literature and Art, Envoy arts review / McDaid's pub circle of artistic and l ...

and the poet

Anthony Cronin Anthony Gerard Richard Cronin (28 December 1923 – 27 December 2016) was an Irish poet, arts activist, biographer, commentator, critic, editor and barrister. Early life and family Cronin was born in Enniscorthy, County Wexford on 28 Decembe ...

. Green also published books by

Flann O'Brien Brian O'Nolan (; 5 October 19111 April 1966), his pen name being Flann O'Brien, was an Civil Service of the Republic of Ireland, Irish civil service official, novelist, playwright and satirist, who is now considered a major figure in twentieth- ...

Hugh MacDiarmid Christopher Murray Grieve (11 August 1892 – 9 September 1978), best known by his pen name Hugh MacDiarmid ( , ), was a Scottish poet, journalist, essayist and political figure. He is considered one of the principal forces behind the Scottish ...

Francis Stuart Henry Francis Montgomery Stuart (29 April 19022 February 2000) was an Irish writer. He was awarded one of the highest artistic accolades in Ireland, being elected a Saoi of Aosdána, before his death in 2000. His associations with the IRA an ...

Colin MacInnes Colin MacInnes (20 August 1914 – 22 April 1976) was an English novelist and journalist. Early life MacInnes was born in London, England, son of singer James Campbell McInnes and novelist Angela Mackail, who was the granddaughter of the Pr ...

Robert Graves Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was an English poet, soldier, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were b ...

, Frank Sargeson,

Paul Potts Paul Potts (born 13 October 1970) is a British tenor. In 2007, he won the first series of ITV's ''Britain's Got Talent'' with his performance of " Nessun dorma", an aria from Puccini's opera ''Turandot''. As a singer of operatic pop music, P ...

and many other writers. While living in London with his wife, the artist Fiona Green,

Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki (; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who served as the 2nd democratic president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Cong ...

and the (then banned)

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party in South Africa. It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, fir ...

held their meetings in their house in

Fitzrovia Fitzrovia ( ) is a district of central London, England, near the West End. Its eastern part is in the London Borough of Camden, and the western in the City of Westminster. It has its roots in the Manor of Tottenham Court, and was urbanised in ...

. In 1969, with poet

Paul Durcan Paul Francis Durcan (16 October 1944 – 17 May 2025) was an Irish poet who was Ireland Professor of Poetry between 2004 and 2007. Early life and education Paul Francis Durcan was born in Dublin on 16 October 1944. He grew up in Dublin and s ...

, Green started the poetry quarterly ''Two Rivers'', which was published from his home at 28 Tottenham Street, London. The title referred to the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

of London and the Liffey of Durcan's

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Ireland. Green published eight books of his own, as well as four plays, and contributions to numerous other publications including ''The Other Jerome K. Jerome'' (1984) and ''Myles Away from Dublin'' (1985). He had six children and eight grandchildren and lived in

Newlyn Newlyn () is a seaside town and fishing port in south-west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 ''Land's End'' It is the largest fishing port in England. Newlyn lies on the shore of Mount's Bay and for ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, with his cat Nefertiti. Green died on 4 February 2015 in

St Austell Saint Austell (, ; ) is a town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, south of Bodmin and west of the border with Devon. At the 2021 Census in the United Kingdom, census it had a population of 20,900. History St Austell was a village centred ...

, Cornwall, at the age of 82.

References

External links

*Patrick Kavanagh Notes (the first collection of Kavanagh's poems, which Martin Green put together
Letter from Martin Green: "Kavanagh caveat"
in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 8 January 2005. {{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Martin 1932 births 2015 deaths Publishers (people) from London English book editors People from Newlyn Writers from Stockport People educated at Summerhill School 20th-century English businesspeople British magazine founders