Chris Torrance (1941 – 21 August 2021)[1] was a poet associated with the British Poetry Revival of the 1960s, mainly known for long poetry cycle The Magic Door published as a series of volumes over 30 years.[2]
Biography
Born in Edinburgh in 1941, Torrance grew up in London and moved to Pontneddfechan, Wales in 1970. He taught an extramural creative writing course at University College Cardiff for 25 years. He performed literary cabaret with the poetry and music group Poetheat, which he co-founded in 1985 with composer Chris Vine, later called Heat Poets.[3]
His work shows the influence of the Beats, especially Gary Snyder and William Burroughs and an interest in the matter and monuments of ancient Britain, including such 'magical' or religious phenomena as ley lines. He also expressed an admiration for the writings of Charles Olson and David Jones. He is one of the poets discussed in William Rowe's Three Lyric Poets (Northcote House, 2009).[4]
His major work was the ongoing Magic Door sequence, of which eight books have been published to date by various publishers. The ninth volume, Path was prepared for publication in 2008 but was not released.[5] In 2017 Torrance noted that there were a further three volumes in the pipeline. A collected edition of the first eight books was published in 2017 as The Magic Door by Test Centre with an introduction by Phil Maillard. The sequence follows his life at Glyn y Mercher Isaf, recording his practical activities, his love life, and his engagement with nature, mythology, geology and history. He develops the concept of a landscape filled with powers - ley lines and standing stones, pagan gods and spirits, and focuses on the nearby standing stones of Maen Madoc and Maen Llia and the 19th century house of Glan yr Afon which incorporates geological oddities and an elaborate stone archway. Torrance died on 21 August 2021 at the age of 80.[3] The Glasfryn Project plans to publish some of his work posthumously.
The Magic Door sequence based on the collected edition[6]
Sequence
Title
Initial published numbering
Date of first publication
1
Acrospirical Meanderings In a Tongue of the Time
none
1973
2
The Magic Door
Book I
1975
3
Citrinas
Book II
1977
4
The Diary of Palug's Cat
Book III
1980
5
The Book of Brychan
Book IV
1982
6
Cylinder Fragments of the Twentieth Century
none
1982
7
The Slim Book / Wet Pulp
Book V
1986
8
Southerly Vector
Book VI
1996
9
Path
planned as Book VII
Partly published in The Wobbly Chair (2003)
10
not known
(not yet published)
11
not known
(not yet published)
Selected publications
The Magic Door sequence
Torrance, Chris; Torrance, Val (1973) Acrospirical Meanderings in a Tongue of the Time, London, Albion Village Press
Torrance, Chris; Torrance, Val (1975), The magic door : a cycle. Book 1, London, Albion Village Press, OCLC60053688
Citrinas (The Magic Door, Book II) (1977), London, Albion Village Press
The diary of Palug's Cat (The Magic Door, Book III) (1980), Newcastle upon Tyne, Galloping Dog Press', ISBN0-904837-24-6; also Swansea, Stone Lantern Audiobook on tape oclc=20672978
The Book of Brychan (The Magic Door, Book IV) (1982), Newcastle upon Tyne, Galloping Dog Press; illustrations and cover design by Robin Campbell
Cylinder Fragments of the Twentieth Century (1982), Neath, Cwm Nedd Press, ISBN978-0-906244-12-8
The Slim Book/Wet Pulp (The Magic Door, Book V) (1986), Swansea, Stone Lantern Press
Southerly Vector/The Book Of Heat – Further Books of the Magic Door (1996), Neath, Cwm Nedd Press, ISBN0-906244-27-7
Path (The Magic Door, Book 7) (prepared by Heaventree Press, 2008, but not released)
Torrance, Chris (1968), Green orange purple red, and other poems, London, Ferry Press; cover drawing by David Jenkins, ISBN978-0-900851-01-8, OCLC30296691
