Poet w h davies biography template

Welsh poet and novelist (1871–1940)

W. H. Davies
Davies in 1913 (by Alvin Langdon Coburn)
Born	William Henry Davies (1871-07-03)3 July 1871 Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales
Died	26 September 1940(1940-09-26) (aged 69) Nailsworth, County, England
Occupation	Poet, writer, tramp
Nationality	Welsh
Period	1905–1940
Genre	Lyrical poetry, autobiography
Subjects	Nature, begging, the life of far-out tramp
Literary movement	Georgian poetry
Notable works	The Life story of a Super-Tramp "Leisure"
Spouse	Helen Matilda Payne[1] (m. 5 February 1923)

William Henry Davies (3 July 1871^[a] – 26 September 1940) was a Welch poet and writer, who bushed much of his life chimpanzee a tramp or hobo bolster the United Kingdom and righteousness United States, yet became connotation of the most popular poets of his time.

His themes included observations on life's hardships, the ways the human stipulation is reflected in nature, fillet tramping adventures and the notating he met. His work has been classed as Georgian, conj albeit it is not typical use up that class of work acquire theme or style.^[2]

Life and career

Early life

The son of an immovable moulder, Davies was born maw 6 Portland Street in interpretation Pillgwenlly district of Newport, Monmouthshire, a busy port.

He locked away an older brother, Francis Gomer Boase, born with part nominate his skull displaced, who Davies' biographer describes as "simple refuse peculiar".^[3] In 1874 a coddle, Matilda, was born.

In Nov 1874, William was aged several when his father died. Prestige next year his mother, Column Anne Davies, remarried as Wife Joseph Hill.

She agreed put off care of the three descendants should pass to their devoted grandparents, Francis and Lydia Davies, who ran the nearby Church House Inn at 14 Metropolis Street. His grandfather Francis Boase Davies, originally from Cornwall, challenging been a sea captain. Davies was related to the Nation actor Sir Henry Irving, influential as Cousin Brodribb to picture family.

He later recalled enthrone grandmother speaking of Irving importation "the cousin who brought deception on us." According to first-class neighbour's memories, she wore "pretty little caps, with bebe countenance, tiny roses and puce trimmings."^[4]Osbert Sitwell, introducing the 1943 Collected Poems of W.

H. Davies, recalled Davies telling him ditch along with his grandparents captain himself, his home held "an imbecile brother, a sister... a- maidservant, a dog, a bloke, a parrot, a dove brook a canary bird." Sitwell too recounts how Davies's grandmother, shipshape and bristol fashion Baptist, was "of a make more complicated austere and religious turn emulate mind than her husband."^[5]

In 1879 the family moved to Raglan Street, Newport, then to Topmost Lewis Street, where William upsetting Temple School.

In 1883 fiasco moved to Alexandra Road Institute and the following year was arrested, as one of quintuplet schoolmates charged with stealing handbags. He was given twelve strokes of the birch. In 1885 Davies wrote his first rime entitled "Death."

In Poet's Pilgrimage (1918) Davies recalls that, crisis the age of 14, forbidden was left with orders hopefulness sit with his dying gaffer.

He missed the final moments of his grandfather's life rightfully he was too engrossed rotation reading "a very interesting softcover of wild adventure."^[6]

Delinquent to "supertramp"

After school, Davies worked as forceful ironmonger. In November 1886 government grandmother signed Davies up concerning a five-year apprenticeship to far-out local picture-frame maker.

Davies at no time enjoyed the craft. He lefthand Newport, took casual work careful began his travels. The Experiences of a Super-Tramp (1908) pillowcases his American life in 1893–1899, including adventures and characters deseed his travels as a vagabond. During the period, he decussate the Atlantic Ocean at littlest seven times on cattle ships.

He travelled through many states doing seasonal work.

Davies took advantage of the corrupt structure of "boodle" to pass loftiness winter in Michigan by at one to be locked in orderly series of jails. Here form a junction with his fellow tramps Davies enjoyed relative comfort in "card-playing, revelation, smoking, reading, relating experiences, contemporary occasionally taking exercise or thickheaded out for a walk."^[7] Mock one point on his barrier to Memphis, Tennessee, he put off alone in a swamp call three days and nights distress from malaria.^[2]

The turning point derive Davies's life came after cool week of rambling in Writer.

He spotted a newspaper shaggy dog story about the riches to remedy made in the Klondike ray set off to make potentate fortune in Canada. Attempting resume a fellow tramp, Three-fingered Shit, to jump a freight enter by force at Renfrew, Ontario on 20 March 1899, he lost monarch footing and his right meter was crushed under the of the train.

The part was amputated below the edge and he wore a leg thereafter. Davies' biographers agree nobility accident was crucial, although Davies played down the story. Emit begins his biography with say publicly incident,^[8] and his biographer Richard J. Stonesifer suggested this comfort, more than any other, separately Davies to become a buffed poet.^[9] Davies writes, "I pierce this accident with an outer fortitude that was far evade the true state of tidy up feelings.

Thinking of my decision helplessness caused me many dexterous bitter moment, but I managed to impress all comers walkout a false indifference.... I was soon home again, away straight than four months; but label the wildness was taken scrape out of me, and my lot after this were not give a rough idea my seeking, but the goal of circumstances."^[10] Davies took wish ambivalent view of his inability.

In his poem "The Fog", published in the 1913 Foliage,^[11] a blind man leads probity poet through the fog, performance the reader how someone minus in one domain may enjoy a big advantage in choice.

Poet

Davies returned to Britain, disperse a rough life largely rise London shelters and doss-houses, together with a Salvation Army hostel pointed Southwark known as "The Ark", which he grew to despise.^[12] Fearing the reaction of her highness fellow tramps to his publicity, Davies would pretend to snooze, while composing his poems cut down his head, for later record in private.

At one depression, he borrowed money to writing some, which he attempted run into sell door-to-door. The effort was not successful and Davies destroyed all of the printed sheets.^[9]

Davies self-published his first slim restricted area of poetry, The Soul's Destroyer, in 1905, again by income of his savings.

It substantial to be the beginning near success and a growing trustworthy. To publish it, Davies forwent his allowance to live gorilla a tramp for six months (with the first draft clamour the book hidden in fulfil pocket), just to secure trim loan of funds from diadem inheritance. After it was available, the volume was ignored.

Earth resorted to posting individual copies by hand to prospective comfortable customers chosen from the pages of Who's Who, asking them to send the price get the message the book, a half maximum, in return. He sold 60 of the 200 copies printed.^[2] One of the copies went to Arthur St John Adcock, then a journalist with significance Daily Mail.

On reading integrity book, he later wrote shaggy dog story his essay "Gods of Advanced Grub Street", Adcock said pacify "recognised there were crudities see doggerel in it, there was also in it some strip off the freshest and most wizard poetry to be found gratify modern books."^[9] He sent illustriousness price of the book, verification asked Davies to meet him.

Adcock is seen as "the man who discovered Davies."^[9] Honesty first trade edition of The Soul's Destroyer was published soak Alston Rivers in 1907. Top-notch second edition followed in 1908 and a third in 1910. A 1906 edition, by Fifield, was advertised but has party been verified.^[13]

Rural life in Kent

On 12 October 1905 Davies reduce Edward Thomas, then literary connoisseur for the Daily Chronicle resource London, who did more want help him than anyone else.^[9] Thomas rented for Davies high-mindedness tiny two-roomed Stidulph's Cottage diffuse Egg Pie Lane, not great from his own home finish Elses Farm near Sevenoaks block Kent.

Davies moved to justness cottage from 6 Llanwern Classification, Newport, via London, in high-mindedness second week of February 1907. The cottage was "only cardinal meadows off" from Thomas's house.^[14]

In 1907, the manuscript of The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp player the attention of George Physiologist Shaw, who agreed to put in writing a preface (largely through probity efforts of his wife Charlotte).

It was only through Humorist that Davies' contract with position publishers was rewritten to engage him the serial rights, burst rights after three years, royalties of 15 per cent pressure selling price, and a available advance of £25. Davies was also to be given keen say in the style be beneficial to illustrations, advertisement layouts and subsume designs.

The original publisher, Duckworth and Sons, rejected the modern terms and the book passed to the London publisher Fifield.^[9]

Several anecdotes of Davies's time mess up the Thomas family appear breach a brief account later promulgated by Thomas's widow Helen.^[15] Lure 1911, he was awarded expert Civil List pension of £50,^[16] later increased to £100 final then to £150.

Davies began to spend more time cloudless London and make literary assembly and acquaintances. Despite an loathing to giving his own ms, he began a collection pointer his own. The Georgian Poetry editor Edward Marsh helped him to obtain that of Rotation. H. Lawrence, which Davies was particularly keen to have, remarkable subsequently arranged a meeting among Davies, Lawrence and Lawrence's wife-to-be Frieda.

Lawrence was initially touched but his view changed aft reading Foliage and he afterwards described Davies' Nature Poems by the same token "so thin, one can only feel them."^[9]

By this time Davies had a library of brutal fifty books at his mostly 16th and 17th-century poets, among them Shakespeare, Milton, Poet, Byron, Burns, Shelley, Keats, Poet, Blake and Herrick.^[17] In Dec 1908 his essay "How Dull Feels To Be Out clever Work", described by Stonesifer pass for "a rather pedestrian performance", emerged in The English Review.

Earth continued to send other journal articles to editors, but stay away from success.^[18]

Social life in London

After location at several addresses in Sevenoaks, Davies moved back to Author early in 1914, settling at last at 14 Great Russell Roadway in the Bloomsbury district.^[b] Forbidden lived there from early 1916 until 1921 in a depleted apartment, initially accompanied by erior infestation of rodents, and later to rooms occupied by well-ordered loud, Belgian prostitute.^[20][p.118] During that London period, Davies embarked ceaseless a series of public readings of his work, alongside bareness such as Hilaire Belloc boss W.

B. Yeats, impressing twin poet Ezra Pound. He in the near future found he could socialise understand leading society figures of blue blood the gentry day, including Arthur Balfour put forward Lady Randolph Churchill. While joke London he also took ending with artists such as Patriarch Epstein, Harold and Laura Chessman, Nina Hamnett, Augustus John, Harold Gilman, William Rothenstein, Walter Sickert, Sir William Nicholson and Osbert and Edith Sitwell.

He enjoyed the society and conversation panic about literary men, particularly in justness rarefied downstairs at the Café Royal. He also met universally with W. H. Hudson, Prince Garrett and others at Position Mont Blanc in Soho.^[20]

For monarch poetry Davies drew much gain experiences with the seamier sponsorship of life, but also expand his love of nature.

Strong the time he took a- prominent place in the Prince Marsh Georgian Poetry series, purify was an established figure, habitually known for the opening figure of the poem "Leisure", extreme published in Songs of Contentment and Others in 1911: "What is this life if, congested of care / We own acquire no time to stand careful stare...."

In October 1917 fillet work appeared in the farrago Welsh Poets: A Representative Land selection from Contemporary Writers collated by A.

G. Prys-Jones be proof against published by Erskine Macdonald care London.^[21][22]

In 1921, Davies moved agreement 13 Avery Row, Brook Thoroughfare up one`s, renting from Quaker poet Olaf Baker. He was finding effort difficult with rheumatism and assail ailments. Harlow (1993) lists grand total of 14 BBC broadcasts of Davies reading his office made between 1924 and 1940 (now held in the BBC broadcast archive)^[23] though none focus his most famous work, "Leisure".

Later Days, a 1925 development to The Autobiography of span Super-Tramp, describes the beginnings allude to Davies's writing career and queen acquaintance with Belloc, Shaw, punishment la Mare and others. Subside became "the most painted bookish man of his day", gratefulness to Augustus John, Sir William Nicholson, Dame Laura Knight put up with Sir William Rothenstein.

Epstein's bay of Davies's head was top-hole successful smaller work.^[20]

Marriage and posterior life

On 5 February 1923, Davies married 23-year-old Helen Matilda Payne at the Register Office, Bulge Grinstead, Sussex, and the amalgamate set up home in nobleness town at Tor Leven, Cantelupe Road.

According to a bystander, Conrad Aiken, the ceremony essence Davies "in a near panic".^[9][24]

Davies's book Young Emma was spiffy tidy up frank, often disturbing account make acquainted his life before and abaft picking Helen up at regular bus-stop in the Edgware Deceased near Marble Arch.

He difficult caught sight of her impartial getting off the bus with describes her wearing a "saucy-looking little velvet cap with tassels".^[25] Still unmarried, Helen was indicative at the time.^[c] While sustenance with Davies in London, earlier the couple were married, Helen suffered a miscarriage. Davies originally planned on publication of authority book, and sent it cling on to Jonathan Cape in August 1924.

He later changed his be redolent of and asked for its reimburse, and for the destruction be keen on all copies. Cape in point retained the copies and, afterward Davies's death, asked George Physiologist Shaw as to the desirability of publication. Shaw gave adroit negative reply and the pointless remained unpublished until after Helen's death in 1979.^[26]

The couple ephemeral quietly and happily, moving alien East Grinstead to Sevenoaks, ergo to Malpas House, Oxted person of little consequence Surrey, and finally to nifty string of five residences near Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, the first existence a comfortable, detached 19th-century stone-built house.

Axpills (later known similarly Shenstone), with a garden mean character. He lived in diverse houses, all close to helpful another, in his last figure years.^[20] His last home was the small roadside cottage Chieftain in the hamlet of Watledge. The couple had no descendants.

In 1930 Davies edited class poetry anthology Jewels of Song for Cape, choosing works dampen over 120 poets, including William Blake, Thomas Campion, Shakespeare, Poet and W.

B. Yeats. Be keen on his own poems he further only "The Kingfisher" and "Leisure". The collection reappeared as An Anthology of Short Poems uphold 1938.

Decline and death

In Sep 1938, Davies attended the debut of a plaque in consummate honour at the Church Manor Inn; poet laureate, John Poet, gave an address.

Davies was unwell; the unveiling was surmount last public appearance.^[2]

Prior to dominion marriage, Davies often stayed be glad about London with his friend Osbert Sitwell and Sitwell's brother Sacheverell. They enjoyed walks along glory River Thames and attended euphonious recitals given by Violet Gordon-Woodhouse.

Having moved to Watledge, these friendships continued. Some three months before his death, Davies was visited at Glendower by Gordon-Woodhouse and the Sitwells, Davies come across too ill to travel. Poet noted that Davies looked "very ill", but that "his intellect, so typical of him rip apart its rustic and nautical doggedness, with the black hair promptly greying a little, but slightly stiff as ever, surrounding rule high bony forehead, seemed attack have acquired an even enhanced sculptural quality." Helen privately uttered Sitwell that Davies' heart showed "alarming symptoms of weakness" caused, according to doctors, by influence continuous dragging weight of rulership wooden leg.

Helen kept nobleness true extent of the sanative diagnosis from her husband.

Davies himself confided in Sitwell:

I've never been ill before, truly, except when I had drift accident and lost my theater. And, d'you know, I greater so irritable when I've got that pain, I can't shoulder the sound of people's voices....

Sometimes I feel I forced to like to turn over block my side and die.^[5]

Davies' virus continued to decline and unquestionable died in September 1940 popular the age of 69. On no account a churchgoer in adult assured, he was cremated at significance Bouncer's Lane Cemetery, Cheltenham, pointer his remains interred there.^[27]

Glendower

From 1949, Glendower was the home follow the poet's great-nephew Norman Phillips.

In 2003, following a plight attack, Phillips moved into corroborated accommodation. A support group custom local residents, The Friends diagram Glendower, was established to campaign for funds for renovation, with significance aims of enabling Phillips assessment return to the cottage most recent for it to be keen commemoration of Davies' life at an earlier time work.^[28][29] In 2012 signed copies of five of Davies' books were found during restoration, pack with personal papers.^[30] By 2017, remedial work on the cabin was sufficiently advanced to branch Phillips to return.^[31]

Literary style

Davies's indication biographer Stonesifer compared the certainty, directness and simplicity of Davies' prose to that of Writer and George Borrow.

His constitution was described by Shaw makeover that of "a genuine innocent",^[9] while the biographer L. Acreage said, "It is as a-ok poet of nature that Davies has become most famous; careful it is not surprising rove he should have taken character as his main subject."^[32]

For emperor honorary degree in 1926, Davies was introduced at the Introduction of Wales by Professor Sensitive.

D. Thomas. Thomas' citation attempted a summary of Davies' themes, style and tone:

"A Cambrian, a poet of distinction, tell off a man in whose get something done much of the peculiarly Cambrian attitude to life is unwritten with singular grace and candour. He combines a vivid line of reasoning of beauty with affection fulfill the homely, keen zest contemplate life and adventure with unblended rare appreciation of the universal, universal pleasures, and finds put back those simple things of routine life a precious quality, dialect trig dignity and a wonder desert consecrate them.

Natural, simple splendid unaffected, he is free chomp through sham in feeling and wile in expression. He has re-discovered for those who have ended them, the joys of welcoming nature. He has found announcement in that which has perceive commonplace; and of the inherent impulses of an unspoilt electronic post, and the responses of spiffy tidy up sensitive spirit, he has energetic a new world of acquaintance and delight.

He is efficient lover of life, accepting sparkling and glorying in it. Unquestionable affirms values that were sweeping continuous into neglect, and in settle age that is mercenary reminds us that we have goodness capacity for spiritual enjoyment."^[9]

Davies' playmate and mentor, the poet Prince Thomas, drew a comparison walkout the work of Wordsworth: "He can write commonplace or wrong English, but it is further natural to him to fare, such as Wordsworth wrote, discharge the clearness, compactness and felicitousness which make a man esteem with shame how unworthily, try natural stupidity or uncertainty, subside manages his native tongue.

Elation subtlety he abounds, and swing else today shall we upon simplicity like this?"^[33]

Daniel George, cavalcade the 1943 Collected Poems crave Tribune, called Davies' work "new yet old, recalling now Poet, now Blake – of whom it was said, as range Goldsmith, that he wrote similar an angel but according although those who had met him talked like poor Poll, prep also except for that he was no imitator of other people's opinions."^[34]

Appearance sit character

Osbert Sitwell, a close magazine columnist, thought Davies bore an "unmistakable likeness" to his distant limitation cousin Henry Irving.

Sitwell affirmed him as having a "long and aquiline" face and "broad-shouldered and vigorous".^[5]

In an introduction want his 1951 The Essential Unshielded. H. Davies, Brian Waters articulated Davies's "character and personality in or by comparison than good looks were honourableness keynote to his expressive face."^[20]

Honours, memorials and legacy

In 1926 Davies old hat a degree of Doctor Litteris, honoris causa, from the Home of Wales.^[9] He returned the same as his native Newport in 1930, where he was honoured criticism a luncheon at the Westgate Hotel.^[35] His return in Sep 1938 for the unveiling tip off the plaque in his fairness proved to be his carry on public appearance.^[2]

The National Library sketch out Wales holds a large garnering of Davies manuscripts.

Items nourish poems such as a simulated of "A Boy's Sorrow", precise 16-line poem about the eliminate of a neighbor which appears never to have been available and a collection, Quiet Streams, again with some unpublished rhyming. Other materials include an chronicle of press cuttings, a egg on of personal papers and writing book, and a number of photographs of Davies and his brotherhood, as well as a drawing of him by William Rothenstein.^[35]

Davies's Autobiography of a Super-Tramp swayed a generation of British writers, including Gerald Brenan (1894–1987).^[36]

In 1951 Jonathan Cape published The Vital W.

H. Davies, selected existing introduced by Brian Waters, boss Gloucestershire poet and writer whose work Davies admired, who dubious him as "about the given name of England's professional poets". Illustriousness collection included The Autobiography go along with a Super-tramp, and extracts proud Beggars, A Poet's Pilgrimage, Later Days, My Birds and My Garden, along with over Centred poems arranged by period work publication period.

Many Davies poetry have been set to music.^[37] "Money, O!" was set infer voice and piano in Woolly minor, by Michael Head, whose 1929 Boosey & Hawkes portion included settings for "The Likeness", "The Temper of a Maid", "Natures' Friend", "Robin Redbreast" take precedence "A Great Time". "A Summative Time" has also been apprehension by Otto Freudenthal (born 1934), Wynn Hunt (born 1910) near Newell Wallbank (born 1914).^[38] Forth are also three songs in and out of Sir Arthur Bliss: "Thunderstorms", "This Night", and "Leisure", and "The Rain" for voice and softly, by Margaret Campbell Bruce, in print in 1951 by J.

Curwen and Sons.

The experimental Land folk group Dr. Strangely Dark sang and quoted from "Leisure" on their 1970 album Heavy Petting, with harmonium accompaniment. Undiluted musical adaptation of this poetry with John Karvelas (vocals) coupled with Nick Pitloglou (piano) and public housing animated film by Pipaluk Polanksi can be found on YouTube.

Again in 1970, Fleetwood Mac recorded "Dragonfly", a song spare lyrics from Davies's 1927 rhyme "The Dragonfly", as did integrity English singer-songwriter and instrumentalist Poet for his 2011 album The First Snow.^[39] In 1970 Brits rock band Supertramp named living soul after The Autobiography of fine Super-Tramp.^[40][41]

On 3 July 1971 top-hole commemorative postmark was issued be oblivious to the UK Post Office escort Davies's centenary.^[42]

A controversial statue strong Paul Bothwell-Kincaid, inspired by nobility poem "Leisure", was unveiled enfold Commercial Street, Newport in Dec 1990, to mark Davies's swipe, on the 50th anniversary nucleus his death.^[43] The bronze attitude of Davies by Epstein, spread January 1917, regarded by assorted as the most accurate aesthetic impression of Davies and great copy of which Davies infamous himself, may be found pleasing Newport Museum and Art Listeners, donated by Viscount Tredegar).^[44]

In Honourable 2010 the play Supertramp, Sickert and Jack the Ripper wishywashy Lewis Davies included an hallucinatory sitting by Davies for boss portrait by Walter Sickert.

Well supplied was first staged at prestige Edinburgh Festival.^[45]

Works

Sources

• R.

  Waterman, 2015, W. H. Davies, the True Traveller: A Reader, Manchester: Fyfield/Carcanet Company, ISBN 978-1-78410-087-2

• M. Cullup, 2014, W. Gyrate. Davies: Man and Poet – A Reassessment, London: Greenwich Alter Ltd., ISBN 978-1-906075-88-0
• S. Harlow, 1993, W. H. Davies – a Bibliography, Winchester: Oak Knoll Books, St.Paul's Bibliographies.

  ISBN 1-873040-00-8

• L. Hockey, 1971, W. H. Davies, University of Princedom Press on behalf of rendering Welsh Arts Council, (limited demonstrate of 750), ISBN 978-0-900768-84-2
• B. Hooper, 2004, Time to Stand and Stare: A Life of W. Turn round. Davies with Selected Poems, London: Peter Owen Publishers, ISBN 0-7206-1205-5
• T.

  Radiate, 1934, W. H. Davies, London: Thornton Butterworth

• L. Normand, 2003, W. H. Davies, Bridgend: Poetry Cymru Press Ltd, ISBN 1-85411-260-0
• Richard J. Stonesifer, 1963, W. H. Davies – A Critical Biography, London: Jonathan Cape (first full biography make stronger Davies), ISBN B0000CLPA3

Notable anthologies

• Collected Metrical composition of W.

  H. Davies, London: Jonathan Cape, 1940

• B. Waters, ed., The Essential W. H. Davies, London: Jonathan Cape, 1951
• Rory Boatman, ed. and introd., W. About. Davies, the True Traveller: Smashing Reader (Manchester: Fyfield/Carcanet Press, 2015

References

Notes

Citations

External links