Randall Swingler

Randall Swingler MM (28 May 1909 – 1967) was an English poet, writing extensively in the 1930s in the communist interest.

His was a prosperous upper middle class Anglican family near Nottingham, with an industrial background in the Midlands and earlier aristocratic roots in Scotland. His uncle and godfather was Randall Davidson, the Archbishop of Canterbury (1903 - 1928) and he was the cousin of the writer Sir Walter Scott. He was educated at Winchester College, and New College, Oxford. He was an accomplished flautist playing regularly with the professional London orchestras. He was later much involved in musical collaboration as a librettist, writing song cycles with Benjamin Britten, Alan Bush, Alan Rawsthorne, and Constant Lambert. Among several notable pieces, Swingler co-wrote Ballad Of Heroes with Britten and the poet W. H. Auden and wrote a new version of the English lyrics of the Polish revolutionary song Whirlwinds of Danger.

He was married to the concert pianist and tutor at the Guildhall, Geraldine Peppin. His son in law was the composer Edward Williams.

He joined the Communist Party of Great Britain in 1934. His numerous ventures as a literary entrepreneur included: the setting up of Fore Publications (1938); the magazines Left Review (to 1938), Arena, Seven (taken over in wartime, mainly for the paper stock), Our Time; and the publishing of the Key Books, and later Key Poets series. These proved more influential than his Blake-flavoured verse, which has consistently been criticised (and scarcely defended, except by Andy Croft).

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