08 February 2010 - John Rety Obituary

John Rety was an energetic and deeply engaged publisher; a force for good in the world of poetry publishing. It is with regret and a heavy heart that we learnt of his recent death.

Born in Hungary in 1930 and a former editor of the anarchist newspaper Freedom, he later became a well-loved figure in the world of poetry and helped to nurture and support hundreds of poets. He began to work with Hearing Eye in the 1980s and has more recently been poetry editor at The Morning Star. He combined these two roles last year with the publication of the anthology Well Versed: Poetry from the Morning Star, which he also edited.

Morning Star assistant editor Richard Bagley paid tribute to John on the newspaper’s website. "John Rety was a captivating, razor-sharp and caring friend whose sense of fun and energy belied his years. He was without malice or prejudice," he said. "It has been a great honour to have known John and it is a deep shock to hear of his death. His family's loss is our loss."

Five Leaves editor Ross Bradshaw praised John’s work at the Torriano Meeting House, where he organised poetry events. “He had an ability to pull in important readers to this scruffy little venue, none of whom were paid, and who were happy to rub shoulders with "readers from the floor" with all that meant.” Ross continues, highlighting his skills as a publisher. “His press published Dannie Abse and others, actually about 200 publications in total, keeping them all in print.”

Julia Casterton summed up John perfectly in a review of Hearing Eye titles for Ambit magazine in 2002. “John Rety has an eye for all things counter, original, spare, strange... thank the Lord Hearing Eye exists.”

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