In the second of Social History’s tributes to John Seed, Edmund Ogawa Hardy explores the intersections of John’s historical and poetical work. Full tributes to John Seed and a selection of his poetry can be found in Social History 50,4.
Monthly Archives: November 2025
John Seed and the antinomies of liberal culture by Simon Gunn
Historian and poet John Seed (1950-2025) played a vital role in the development of Social History, joining the Editorial Board in 1982 and serving as Reviews Editor (1982-94) and as an Associate Editor (2010-13) following the death of his friend Keith Nield (founding editor with Janet Blackman). John was also a regular contributor to Social History as an author over many years – on religious dissenters and liberal ideology and, through his collaborations with Keith Nield, on the continued salience of Marxism for the practice of a politically engaged social history.
In this reflection, the first of two tributes, historian Simon Gunn reflects on John’s contributions to the journal and to social history more broadly. You can read the tributes together with some of John’s poetry in Social History 50, 4. Continue reading