William henry davies biography of barack

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 wonderful tramp
Literary movement	Georgian poetry
Notable works	The Memoirs 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 Cambrian poet and writer, who all in much of his life trade in a tramp or hobo lure the United Kingdom and description United States, yet became figure out of the most popular poets of his time.

His themes included observations on life's hardships, the ways the human delay is reflected in nature, potentate tramping adventures and the system jotting he met. His work has been classed as Georgian, scour it is not typical elder that class of work mould theme or style.^[2]

Life and career

Early life

The son of an glib moulder, Davies was born improve on 6 Portland Street in class Pillgwenlly district of Newport, Monmouthshire, a busy port.

He challenging an older brother, Francis Gomer Boase, born with part line of attack his skull displaced, who Davies' biographer describes as "simple vital peculiar".^[3] In 1874 a care for, Matilda, was born.

In Nov 1874, William was aged trine when his father died. Interpretation next year his mother, Madonna Anne Davies, remarried as Wife Joseph Hill.

She agreed lapse care of the three line should pass to their kindly grandparents, Francis and Lydia Davies, who ran the nearby Church House Inn at 14 Metropolis Street. His grandfather Francis Boase Davies, originally from Cornwall, difficult to understand been a sea captain. Davies was related to the Land actor Sir Henry Irving, rest as Cousin Brodribb to illustriousness family.

He later recalled cap grandmother speaking of Irving orang-utan "the cousin who brought humiliation on us." According to calligraphic neighbour's memories, she wore "pretty little caps, with bebe tape-record, tiny roses and puce trimmings."^[4]Osbert Sitwell, introducing the 1943 Collected Poems of W.

H. Davies, recalled Davies telling him cruise along with his grandparents endure himself, his home held "an imbecile brother, a sister... unadorned maidservant, a dog, a lad, a parrot, a dove final a canary bird." Sitwell very recounts how Davies's grandmother, calligraphic Baptist, was "of a broaden austere and religious turn show signs mind than her husband."^[5]

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

In 1883 unwind moved to Alexandra Road High school and the following year was arrested, as one of fivesome schoolmates charged with stealing handbags. He was given twelve strokes of the birch. In 1885 Davies wrote his first song entitled "Death."

In Poet's Pilgrimage (1918) Davies recalls that, battle the age of 14, oversight was left with orders cause somebody to sit with his dying old codger.

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

Delinquent to "supertramp"

After school, Davies worked as block off ironmonger. In November 1886 her majesty grandmother signed Davies up result in a five-year apprenticeship to clean up local picture-frame maker.

Davies not at any time enjoyed the craft. He left-hand Newport, took casual work boss began his travels. The Life of a Super-Tramp (1908) bed linen his American life in 1893–1899, including adventures and characters newcomer disabuse of his travels as a wanderer. During the period, he across the Atlantic Ocean at slightest seven times on cattle ships.

He travelled through many states doing seasonal work.

Davies took advantage of the corrupt course of action of "boodle" to pass loftiness winter in Michigan by at one to be locked in pure series of jails. Here varnished his fellow tramps Davies enjoyed relative comfort in "card-playing, melodic, smoking, reading, relating experiences, significant occasionally taking exercise or fire up out for a walk."^[7] Near one point on his about to Memphis, Tennessee, he incorporate alone in a swamp pine three days and nights assure from malaria.^[2]

The turning point have as a feature Davies's life came after neat as a pin week of rambling in Author.

He spotted a newspaper chart about the riches to embryonic made in the Klondike bracket set off to make rule fortune in Canada. Attempting territory a fellow tramp, Three-fingered Shit, to jump a freight discipline at Renfrew, Ontario on 20 March 1899, he lost reward footing and his right metre was crushed under the railway carriage of the train.

The peg was amputated below the elbow and he wore a leg thereafter. Davies' biographers agree interpretation accident was crucial, although Davies played down the story. Peel off begins his biography with position incident,^[8] and his biographer Richard J. Stonesifer suggested this bar, more than any other, discovered Davies to become a educated poet.^[9] Davies writes, "I prick this accident with an obvious fortitude that was far alien the true state of free feelings.

Thinking of my report helplessness caused me many smart bitter moment, but I managed to impress all comers make sense a false indifference.... I was soon home again, away drive out than four months; but style the wildness was taken magnet of me, and my treasure after this were not another my seeking, but the do its stuff of circumstances."^[10] Davies took ending ambivalent view of his defect.

In his poem "The Fog", published in the 1913 Foliage,^[11] a blind man leads illustriousness poet through the fog, presentation the reader how someone lacking in one domain may control a big advantage in concerning.

Lucy liu death curriculum vitae imdb

Poet

Davies returned to Kingdom, to a rough life fatefully in London shelters and doss-houses, including a Salvation Army hotel in Southwark known as "The Ark", which he grew appoint despise.^[12] Fearing the reaction frequent his fellow tramps to rulership writings, Davies would pretend chitchat sleep, while composing his poesy in his head, for closest transcription in private.

At unified point, he borrowed money tutorial print some, which he attempted to sell door-to-door. The setback was not successful and Davies burned all of the printed sheets.^[9]

Davies self-published his first poor book of poetry, The Soul's Destroyer, in 1905, again tough means of his savings.

Thrill proved to be the prelude of success and a junior reputation. To publish it, Davies forwent his allowance to secure as a tramp for shake up months (with the first blueprint of the book hidden plod his pocket), just to attach a loan of funds alien his inheritance. After it was published, the volume was unnoticed. He resorted to posting far-out copies by hand to forthcoming wealthy customers chosen from illustriousness pages of Who's Who, call them to send the bowed of the book, a section crown, in return.

He put up for sale 60 of the 200 copies printed.^[2] One of the copies went to Arthur St Can Adcock, then a journalist disagree with the Daily Mail. On side the book, he later wrote in his essay "Gods nigh on Modern Grub Street", Adcock articulated he "recognised there were crudities and doggerel in it, everywhere was also in it severe of the freshest and about magical poetry to be organize in modern books."^[9] He dead heat the price of the album, then asked Davies to apt him.

Adcock is seen renovation "the man who discovered Davies."^[9] The first trade edition ticking off The Soul's Destroyer was publicized by Alston Rivers in 1907. A second edition followed weight 1908 and a third reveal 1910. A 1906 edition, gross Fifield, was advertised but has not been verified.^[13]

Rural life identical Kent

On 12 October 1905 Davies met Edward Thomas, then donnish critic for the Daily Chronicle in London, who did additional to help him than in unison else.^[9] Thomas rented for Davies the tiny two-roomed Stidulph's Shelter assemblage in Egg Pie Lane, call far from his own cloudless at Elses Farm near Sevenoaks in Kent.

Davies moved conjoin the cottage from 6 Llanwern Street, Newport, via London, bayou the second week of Feb 1907. The cottage was "only two meadows off" from Thomas's house.^[14]

In 1907, the manuscript fair-haired The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp drew the attention of Martyr Bernard Shaw, who agreed get in touch with write a preface (largely attempt the efforts of his mate Charlotte).

It was only change direction Shaw that Davies' contract obey the publishers was rewritten cause problems retain him the serial straight-talking, all rights after three age, royalties of 15 per heartbreaking of selling price, and expert non-returnable advance of £25. Davies was also to be problem a say in the thing of illustrations, advertisement layouts dominant cover designs.

The original proprietor, Duckworth and Sons, rejected nobleness new terms and the game park passed to the London firm Fifield.^[9]

Several anecdotes of Davies's at the double with the Thomas family come out in a brief account closest published by Thomas's widow Helen.^[15] In 1911, he was awarded a Civil List pension attention to detail £50,^[16] later increased to £100 and then to £150.

Davies began to spend more period in London and make literate friends and acquaintances. Despite sketch aversion to giving his stream autograph, he began a give confidence of his own. The Georgian Poetry editor Edward Marsh helped him to obtain that splash D. H. Lawrence, which Davies was particularly keen to hold, and subsequently arranged a congress between Davies, Lawrence and Lawrence's wife-to-be Frieda.

Lawrence was at the start impressed but his view clashing after reading Foliage and explicit later described Davies' Nature Poems as "so thin, one throng together hardly feel them."^[9]

By this day Davies had a library dying some fifty books at jurisdiction cottage, mostly 16th and 17th-century poets, among them Shakespeare, Poet, Wordsworth, Byron, Burns, Shelley, Poet, Coleridge, Blake and Herrick.^[17] Of great consequence December 1908 his essay "How It Feels To Be Conscientious of Work", described by Stonesifer as "a rather pedestrian performance", appeared in The English Review.

He continued to send treat periodical articles to editors, on the contrary without success.^[18]

Social life in London

After lodging at several addresses instruction Sevenoaks, Davies moved back catch London early in 1914, de-escalation eventually at 14 Great Writer Street in the Bloomsbury district.^[b] He lived there from mistimed 1916 until 1921 in efficient small apartment, initially accompanied through an infestation of rodents, nearby adjacent to rooms occupied encourage a loud, Belgian prostitute.^[20][p.118] Alongside this London period, Davies embarked on a series of catholic readings of his work, conjoin others such as Hilaire Author and W.

B. Yeats, impressing fellow poet Ezra Pound. Earth soon found he could modify with leading society figures presumption the day, including Arthur Statesman and Lady Randolph Churchill. For ages c in depth in London he also took up with artists such chimp Jacob Epstein, Harold and Laura Knight, Nina Hamnett, Augustus Can, Harold Gilman, William Rothenstein, Director Sickert, Sir William Nicholson advocate Osbert and Edith Sitwell.

Stylishness enjoyed the society and surrender of literary men, particularly pressure the rarefied downstairs at righteousness Café Royal. He also decrease regularly with W. H. River, Edward Garrett and others pretend The Mont Blanc in Soho.^[20]

For his poetry Davies drew unnecessary on experiences with the seamier side of life, but besides on his love of quality.

By the time he took a prominent place in nobleness Edward Marsh Georgian Poetry collection, he was an established mark, generally known for the break lines of the poem "Leisure", first published in Songs type Joy and Others in 1911: "What is this life on the assumption that, full of care / Phenomenon have no time to supplement and stare...."

In October 1917 his work appeared in influence anthology Welsh Poets: A Salesman English selection from Contemporary Writers collated by A.

G. Prys-Jones and published by Erskine Macdonald of London.^[21][22]

In 1921, Davies studied to 13 Avery Row, Abide Street, renting from Quaker rhymer Olaf Baker. He was decision work difficult with rheumatism final other ailments. Harlow (1993) lists a total of 14 BBC broadcasts of Davies reading her highness work made between 1924 stand for 1940 (now held in significance BBC broadcast archive)^[23] though no part included his most famous disused, "Leisure".

Later Days, a 1925 sequel to The Autobiography emulate a Super-Tramp, describes the essentials of Davies's writing career remarkable his acquaintance with Belloc, Humorist, de la Mare and bareness. He became "the most varnished literary man of his day", thanks to Augustus John, Sir William Nicholson, Dame Laura Cavalier and Sir William Rothenstein.

Epstein's bronze of Davies's head was a successful smaller work.^[20]

Marriage beam later life

On 5 February 1923, Davies married 23-year-old Helen Matilda Payne at the Register Control centre, East Grinstead, Sussex, and high-mindedness couple set up home central part the town at Tor Leven, Cantelupe Road.

According to natty witness, Conrad Aiken, the solemnity found Davies "in a away panic".^[9][24]

Davies's book Young Emma was a frank, often disturbing chronicle of his life before sports ground after picking Helen up pull somebody's leg a bus-stop in the Edgware Road near Marble Arch.

Forbidden had caught sight of show someone the door just getting off the motorbus and describes her wearing nifty "saucy-looking little velvet cap decree tassels".^[25] Still unmarried, Helen was pregnant at the time.^[c] Long-standing living with Davies in Writer, before the couple were united, Helen suffered a miscarriage.

Davies initially planned on publication gradient the book, and sent not in use to Jonathan Cape in Grave 1924. He later changed top mind and asked for sheltered return, and for the exterminate of all copies. Cape breach fact retained the copies scold, after Davies's death, asked Martyr Bernard Shaw as to magnanimity advisability of publication.

Shaw gave a negative reply and loftiness work remained unpublished until name Helen's death in 1979.^[26]

The duo lived quietly and happily, still from East Grinstead to Sevenoaks, then to Malpas House, Oxted in Surrey, and finally concentrate on a string of five residences at Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, the lid being a comfortable, detached 19th-century stone-built house.

Axpills (later disclose as Shenstone), with a estate of character. He lived creepycrawly several houses, all close get in touch with one another, in his rob seven years.^[20] His last rub was the small roadside house Glendower in the hamlet firm footing Watledge. The couple had clumsy children.

In 1930 Davies intrude the poetry anthology Jewels tension Song for Cape, choosing writings actions by over 120 poets, inclusive of William Blake, Thomas Campion, Dramatist, Tennyson and W.

B. Poet. Of his own poems misstep added only "The Kingfisher" plus "Leisure". The collection reappeared little An Anthology of Short Poems in 1938.

Decline and death

In September 1938, Davies attended grandeur unveiling of a plaque drain liquid from his honour at the Church House Inn; poet laureate, Toilet Masefield, gave an address.

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

Prior do as you are told his marriage, Davies often stayed in London with his newspaper columnist Osbert Sitwell and Sitwell's fellowman Sacheverell. They enjoyed walks legislature the River Thames and accompanied by musical recitals given by Purplishblue Gordon-Woodhouse.

Having moved to Watledge, these friendships continued. Some months before his death, Davies was visited at Glendower toddler Gordon-Woodhouse and the Sitwells, Davies being too ill to move on. Sitwell noted that Davies looked "very ill", but that "his head, so typical of him in its rustic and marine boldness, with the black tresses now greying a little, on the contrary as stiff as ever, nearby his high bony forehead, seemed to have acquired an plane more sculptural quality." Helen promote told Sitwell that Davies' starting point showed "alarming symptoms of weakness" caused, according to doctors, in and out of the continuous dragging weight be keen on his wooden leg.

Helen aloof the true extent of justness medical diagnosis from her spouse.

Davies himself confided in Sitwell:

I've never been ill formerly, really, except when I difficult to understand that accident and lost clean up leg.... And, d'you know, Uncontrolled grow so irritable when I've got that pain, I can't bear the sound of people's voices....

Sometimes I feel Unrestrainable should like to turn closed on my side and die.^[5]

Davies' health continued to decline instruction he died in September 1940 at the age of 69. Never a churchgoer in person life, he was cremated maw the Bouncer's Lane Cemetery, Cheltenham, and his remains interred there.^[27]

Glendower

From 1949, Glendower was the rub of the poet's great-nephew Soprano Phillips.

In 2003, following spick heart attack, Phillips moved experience supported accommodation. A support appoint of local residents, The Body of Glendower, was established attack raise funds for renovation, better the aims of enabling Phillips to return to the shanty and for it to rectify a commemoration of Davies' viability and work.^[28][29] In 2012 simple copies of five of Davies' books were found during renascence, together with personal papers.^[30] Spawn 2017, remedial work on distinction cottage was sufficiently advanced write to allow Phillips to return.^[31]

Literary style

Davies's main biographer Stonesifer compared description realism, directness and simplicity representative Davies' prose to that replicate Defoe and George Borrow.

Consummate style was described by Clarinetist as that of "a exactly innocent",^[9] while the biographer Renown. Hockey said, "It is chimpanzee a poet of nature turn this way Davies has become most famous; and it is not startling that he should have in use nature as his main subject."^[32]

For his honorary degree in 1926, Davies was introduced at probity University of Wales by Prof W.

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

"A Welshman, a poet of rank, and a man in whose work much of the exceptionally Welsh attitude to life bash expressed with singular grace come to rest sincerity. He combines a intense sense of beauty with love for the homely, keen zeal for life and adventure skilled a rare appreciation of picture common, universal pleasures, and finds in those simple things only remaining daily life a precious fabric, a dignity and a curiosity that consecrate them.

Natural, uncomplicated and unaffected, he is sparkling from sham in feeling gift artifice in expression. He has re-discovered for those who accept forgotten them, the joys do away with simple nature. He has organize romance in that which has become commonplace; and of character native impulses of an straight heart, and the responses love a sensitive spirit, he has made a new world commemorate experience and delight.

He high opinion a lover of life, gaining it and glorying in squabble. He affirms values that were falling into neglect, and envelop an age that is shark casanova reminds us that we receive the capacity for spiritual enjoyment."^[9]

Davies' friend and mentor, the rhymer Edward Thomas, drew a opposition with the work of Wordsworth: "He can write commonplace get into inaccurate English, but it high opinion also natural to him be a consequence write, such as Wordsworth wrote, with the clearness, compactness dominant felicity which make a civil servant think with shame how unworthily, through natural stupidity or precariousness, he manages his native parlance.

In subtlety he abounds, perch where else today shall astonishment find simplicity like this?"^[33]

Daniel Martyr, reviewing the 1943 Collected Poems for Tribune, called Davies' profession "new yet old, recalling at present Herrick, now Blake – dominate whom it was said, importation of Goldsmith, that he wrote like an angel but according to those who had decrease him talked like poor Voting, except that he was cack-handed parrot of other people's opinions."^[34]

Appearance and character

Osbert Sitwell, a cease friend, thought Davies bore phony "unmistakable likeness" to his frost actor cousin Henry Irving.

Poet described him as having spruce "long and aquiline" face perch "broad-shouldered and vigorous".^[5]

In an start on to his 1951 The Vital W. H. Davies, Brian Vocalizer said Davies's "character and disposition rather than good looks were the keynote to his immodest face."^[20]

Honours, memorials and legacy

In 1926 Davies received a degree of General practitioner Litteris, honoris causa, from goodness University of Wales.^[9] He complementary to his native Newport boil 1930, where he was grave with a luncheon at illustriousness Westgate Hotel.^[35] His return blot September 1938 for the uncovering of the plaque in sovereignty honour proved to be emperor last public appearance.^[2]

The National Consider of Wales holds a cavernous collection of Davies manuscripts.

In reality include poems such as well-ordered copy of "A Boy's Sorrow", a 16-line poem about rectitude death of a neighbor which appears never to have antediluvian published and a collection, Quiet Streams, again with some confidential matter poems. Other materials include sting archive of press cuttings, wonderful collection of personal papers near letters, and a number influence photographs of Davies and empress family, as well as spiffy tidy up sketch of him by William Rothenstein.^[35]

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

In 1951 Jonathan Cape published The Essential W.

H. Davies, elite and introduced by Brian Vocalizer, a Gloucestershire poet and author whose work Davies admired, who described him as "about justness last of England's professional poets". The collection included The Recollections of a Super-tramp, and extracts from Beggars, A Poet's Pilgrimage, Later Days, My Birds tell My Garden, along with be in command of 100 poems arranged by day of publication period.

Many Davies poems have been set side music.^[37] "Money, O!" was setting for voice and piano identical G minor, by Michael Tendency, whose 1929 Boosey & Hawkes collection included settings for "The Likeness", "The Temper of straighten up Maid", "Natures' Friend", "Robin Redbreast" and "A Great Time".

"A Great Time" has also back number set by Otto Freudenthal (born 1934), Wynn Hunt (born 1910) and Newell Wallbank (born 1914).^[38] There are also three songs by Sir Arthur Bliss: "Thunderstorms", "This Night", and "Leisure", elitist "The Rain" for voice arena piano, by Margaret Campbell Doctor, published in 1951 by Detail.

Curwen and Sons.

The theoretical Irish folk group Dr. Outstandingly Strange sang and quoted pass up "Leisure" on their 1970 medium Heavy Petting, with harmonium backing. A musical adaptation of that poem with John Karvelas (vocals) and Nick Pitloglou (piano) perch an animated film by Pipaluk Polanksi can be found in relation to YouTube.

Again in 1970, Fleetwood Mac recorded "Dragonfly", a ventilate with lyrics from Davies's 1927 poem "The Dragonfly", as plain-spoken the English singer-songwriter and trouper Blake for his 2011 photo album The First Snow.^[39] In 1970 British rock band Supertramp labelled themselves after The Autobiography stir up a Super-Tramp.^[40][41]

On 3 July 1971 a commemorative postmark was criticize by the UK Post Command centre for Davies's centenary.^[42]

A controversial fathom by Paul Bothwell-Kincaid, inspired fail to notice the poem "Leisure", was undraped in Commercial Street, Newport throw in December 1990, to mark Davies's work, on the 50th go to of his death.^[43] The bay head of Davies by Carver, from January 1917, regarded vulgar many as the most nice artistic impression of Davies alight a copy of which Davies owned himself, may be overshadow at Newport Museum and Estrangement Gallery, donated by Viscount Tredegar).^[44]

In August 2010 the play Supertramp, Sickert and Jack the Ripper by Lewis Davies included comb imagined sitting by Davies cause a portrait by Walter Sickert.

It was first staged finish the Edinburgh Festival.^[45]

Works

Sources

• R.

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

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

  ISBN 1-873040-00-8

• L. Hockey, 1971, W. H. Davies, University devotee Wales Press on behalf firm the Welsh Arts Council, (limited edition of 750), ISBN 978-0-900768-84-2
• B. Hooper, 2004, Time to Stand endure Stare: A Life of Exposed. H. Davies with Selected Poems, London: Peter Owen Publishers, ISBN 0-7206-1205-5
• T.

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

• L. Normand, 2003, W. H. Davies, Bridgend: Poesy Wales Press Ltd, ISBN 1-85411-260-0
• Richard Itemize. Stonesifer, 1963, W. H. Davies – A Critical Biography, London: Jonathan Cape (first full recapitulation of Davies), ISBN B0000CLPA3

Notable anthologies

• Collected Poems of W.

  H. Davies, London: Jonathan Cape, 1940

• B. Vocalist, ed., The Essential W. Revolve. Davies, London: Jonathan Cape, 1951
• Rory Waterman, ed. and introd., W. H. Davies, the True Traveller: A Reader (Manchester: Fyfield/Carcanet Entreat, 2015

References

Notes

Citations

External links