Experiment Magazine 1928–31

Lowry participated in 2 magazines whilst at Cambridge - Venture and Experiment. He had 2 short stories published by Experiment - 'Port Swettenham', pp. 22 - 26 No 5 and 'Punctum Indifferens Skibet Gaar Videre', pp. 62-75 No 7.

The magazine was edited by William Empson, Jacob Bronowski, Hugh Sykes and Humphrey Jennings, published in Cambridge from November 1928 - Spring 1931. The publisher for: Nos. 1-2 was Cambridge University Press; Nos. 4-7 were published by G. F. Noxon, Trinity College, Cambridge/G. F. Noxton, 68a St. Andrew's Street, Cambridge. There were only seven editions which came out on a Quarterly-Irregular basis priced one Shilling and sixpence. Read more about edition on Modernist Magazine Project.

I did come across a very good article in Jacket 20 by Kate Price on Experiment:

We are concerned with all the intellectual interests of undergraduates. We do not confine ourselves to the work of English students, nor are we at pains to be littered with the Illustrious Dead and Dying. Our claim has been one of uncompromising independence: therefore not a line in these pages has been written by any but degreeless students or young graduates. It has been our object to gather all and none but the not yet too ripe fruits of art, science and philosophy in the university. We did not wish so much that our articles should be sober and guarded as that they should be stimulating and lively and take a strong line. We were prepared in fact to give ourselves away. But we knew that Cambridge is painfully well-balanced just now (a sign, perhaps, of anxiety neurosis) and so we were prepared also to find, as the reader will find, rather too guarded and sensible a daring. Perhaps we will ripen into extravagance. [Experiment Number 1, November 1928]


The concern of Experiment with ‘all the interests of undergraduates’ was not simply a matter of having literary-minded mathematicians on the editorial team, nor one of including poetry produced by students reading Natural Sciences or Economics. Even taking Experiment as a literary magazine with an inspired eye on contemporary science, the ‘scientific’ content appears somewhat thin on the ground. The occasional article on biochemistry or biology, some hopeful remarks about the development of aesthetic science and Empson’s relativity poems are about the size of it. A distinctly literary and cinematic avant-garde emerges, giving the impression of an exclusively aesthetic kind of experimentation. Read full article here

Port Swettenham

A town and the main gateway by sea into Malaysia. Colonially known as Port Swettenham now Port Klang, it is also the location of the largest and busiest port in the country. It is located about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) southwest of the town of Klang, and 38 kilometres (24 mi) southwest of Kuala Lumpur.

Lowry visited the port on the outward bound voyage of Pyrrhus arriving June 11th 1927 and leaving the next day. Lowry returned to the port on the inward bound voyage arriving and leaving on August 24th 1927.

Lowry used the name of the port for the title of a short story published in Experiment 5 February 1930. Lowry set scenes in the port centred around the death of the pigeon adopted by Norman, a crew member. He later changed the port in the short story 'On Board West Hardaway' to Penang and later again to Tsjang Tsjang (Dairen) in his novel Ultramarine. In the 1940 version of Under The Volcano, the story reverts back to Port Swettenham (Pg. 54-55).

Direct references to the port include; "Damn all Janes in Swettenham. It's only Norman's Mickey-" 'On Board West Hardaway' (Pg. 32) and  Lowry refers 3 times to the port in his first novel Ultramarine; "I am on a ship, I am going to Japan - or aren't I?" then he lists all the places Dana is due to visit including Port Swettenham (Ultramarine Pg. 18); "Why,! I went a shore at Penang. And in Singapore and Kowloon and in Port Swettenham too!" (Pg. 58) and "Yes, and Swettenham was a hell of a place for mozzies too." (Pg. 177).

Swansea

There is no documentary evidence that Lowry ever visited Swansea. The Pyrrhus sailed from Swansea to Birkenhead Docks on the 7th May 1927 having been in the port since May 1st 1927. There is no record that Lowry signed on to the ship until it docked in Birkenhead.

He refers to the port in his short story 'Port Swettenham'; "..and it was Norman who adopted the bird which had upon it an explicable message from Swansea." (Pg. 22). This story of Norman's pigeon re-emerges in Lowry's first novel Ultramarine; "It had round its leg a message which no one could understand, for the one word decipherable was "Swansea"." (Pg.27); "It cannot come from Swansea though, that's plain enough," chattered Norman. "It's on the other side of the world." (Pg. 27); "I wonder why it had a message from Swansea round its leg. It makes you think, that, doesn't it? In the Yellow Sea." (Pg. 33) and  “I had the time of my life in Swansea once. I was playing football down there,” smiled Hilliot reminiscently, “and afterwards we all went round the town, well you know how it goes.” (Pg. 33); "He might as well be back in Liverpool - or Swansea!" (Pg. 36); "You don't know Swansea, by any chance-" (Pg. 50); "Then were standing on the wharf, looking up at the soaring stern of the S.S. Leeway from Swansea...." (Pg. 101) and "It came from Swansea". (Pg. 109). Lowry also makes reference to Swansea Jail in his short story 'On Board The West Hardaway'.

Above is a photo view of Kings Dock and Lock Entrance, Swansea Docks : Great Western Railway 8th March 1932 - inc. S.S. Philoctetes.

Kings Dock, no.3 Quay G.W.R 13 March 1930.

Above 2 photos courtesy of Swansea Libraries - Llyfrgelloedd Abertawe