Understand the Weapon, Understand the Wound

Collected Writings

Cornford John

Born in 1915 in Cambridge, England, Rupert John Cornford was a committed communist who fought in defence of Madrid during the Spanish Civil War and was killed in uncertain circumstances at Lopera, near Cordoba in 1936. Though his life was tragically brief, he documented his experiences of the conflict through poetry, letters to family and his lover, and political and critical prose which spoke out against the fascist regime and its ideologies. Edited by key US literary figure Jonathan Galassi, and with a new afterword, Cornford's eclectic writings are presented together in this compelling collection which provides a fascinating insight into one of the most brutal and bloody conflicts of our time.

About the Author

Rupert John Cornford (1915-1936) was an English poet, communist and Charles Darwin's great-grandson. He was a member of the International Brigades and died while fighting fascism during the Spanish Civil War. Born in Cambridge, Cornford was educated at Stowe School and Trinity College. As an undergraduate he joined the Communist Party of Great Britain and from 1933 was directly involved in Communist Party work in London. At the start of the Spanish Civil War he briefly served with the POUM militia and then with a machine-gun unit of the Commune de Paris Battalion, and fought in defence of Madrid. He was killed in uncertain circumstances at Lopera, near Cordoba in 1936. A memorial volume to Cornford was published in 1938. Jonathan Galassi born in Seattle, is the President and Publisher of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, one of the eight major publishers in New York. He is a translator and poet and his honours include a 1989 Guggenheim Fellowship and being an honorary chairman of the Academy of American Poets.

Reviews

"Cornford's life speaks for itself in a way that burns the imagination. The fact that Cornford lived is an important lesson to the leaders of democracies. It shows that people will live and die and fight for democracy if it gives them the justice and freedom which are worth fighting for" – Stephen Spender

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