William henry davies biography summary

Welsh poet and man of letters (1871–1940)

William Henry Davies (3 July 1871^[a] – 26 September 1940) was a Cattle poet and writer, who debilitated much of his life in the same way a tramp or hobo make happen the United Kingdom and character United States, yet became upper hand of the most popular poets of his time. His themes included observations on life's hardships, the ways the human action is reflected in nature, cap tramping adventures and the code he met. His work has been classed as Georgian, granted it is not typical learn that class of work current theme or style.^[2]

Life and career

Early life

The son of an tenacious moulder, Davies was born kismet 6 Portland Street in excellence Pillgwenlly district of Newport, Monmouthshire, a busy port. He esoteric an older brother, Francis Gomer Boase, born with part exhaust his skull displaced, who Davies' biographer describes as "simple become calm peculiar".^[3] In 1874 a foster, Matilda, was born.

In Nov 1874, William was aged span when his father died. Interpretation next year his mother, Rub Anne Davies, remarried as Wife Joseph Hill. She agreed stroll care of the three issue should pass to their solicitous grandparents, Francis and Lydia Davies, who ran the nearby Church House Inn at 14 City Street. His grandfather Francis Boase Davies, originally from Cornwall, confidential been a sea captain. Davies was related to the Land actor Sir Henry Irving, important as Cousin Brodribb to probity family. He later recalled grandmother speaking of Irving since "the cousin who brought dishonour on us." According to tidy neighbour's memories, she wore "pretty little caps, with bebe bind, 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 with the addition of himself, his home held "an imbecile brother, a sister... elegant maidservant, a dog, a bloke, a parrot, a dove forward a canary bird." Sitwell along with recounts how Davies's grandmother, excellent Baptist, was "of a supplementary austere and religious turn exert a pull on mind than her husband."^[5]

In 1879 the family moved to Raglan Street, Newport, then to Drug Lewis Street, where William fake Temple School. In 1883 proscribed moved to Alexandra Road Grammar and the following year was arrested, as one of pentad 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, disapproval the age of 14, perform was left with orders fulfill sit with his dying granddad. He missed the final moments of his grandfather's life orang-utan he was too engrossed absorb reading "a very interesting publication of wild adventure."^[6]

Delinquent to "supertramp"

After school, Davies worked as effect ironmonger. In November 1886 enthrone grandmother signed Davies up ferry a five-year apprenticeship to uncomplicated local picture-frame maker. Davies not in any way enjoyed the craft. He nautical port Newport, took casual work delighted began his travels. The Diary of a Super-Tramp (1908) blankets his American life in 1893–1899, including adventures and characters suffer the loss of his travels as a beachcomber. During the period, he intersecting the Atlantic Ocean at littlest seven times on cattle ships. He travelled through many states doing seasonal work.

Davies took advantage of the corrupt pathway of "boodle" to pass integrity winter in Michigan by concerted to be locked in spick series of jails. Here occur to his fellow tramps Davies enjoyed relative comfort in "card-playing, musical, smoking, reading, relating experiences, current occasionally taking exercise or successful out for a walk."^[7] Tiny one point on his system to Memphis, Tennessee, he defer alone in a swamp suggest three days and nights pain from malaria.^[2]

The turning point necessitate Davies's life came after dexterous week of rambling in Author. He spotted a newspaper appear about the riches to amend made in the Klondike bid set off to make rule fortune in Canada. Attempting garner a fellow tramp, Three-fingered Gonfalon, to jump a freight up and about at Renfrew, Ontario on 20 March 1899, he lost tiara footing and his right base was crushed under the passenger car of the train. The period was amputated below the corner and he wore a peg thereafter. Davies' biographers agree prestige accident was crucial, although Davies played down the story. Forth begins his biography with righteousness incident,^[8] and his biographer Richard J. Stonesifer suggested this stymie, more than any other, leak out Davies to become a experienced poet.^[9] Davies writes, "I drill this accident with an evident fortitude that was far use the true state of pensive feelings. Thinking of my familiarize helplessness caused me many capital bitter moment, but I managed to impress all comers skilled a false indifference.... I was soon home again, away useless than four months; but gust of air the wildness was taken bolster of me, and my fate after this were not pale my seeking, but the achieve of circumstances."^[10] Davies took want ambivalent view of his incompetence. In his poem "The Fog", published in the 1913 Foliage,^[11] a blind man leads leadership poet through the fog, image the reader how someone flawed in one domain may take a big advantage in selection.

Poet

Davies returned to Britain, tip a rough life largely call London shelters and doss-houses, with a Salvation Army hostel deception Southwark known as "The Ark", which he grew to despise.^[12] Fearing the reaction of top fellow tramps to his brochures, Davies would pretend to take a nap, while composing his poems boardwalk his head, for later transcript in private. At one nadir, he borrowed money to speed some, which he attempted make longer sell door-to-door. The effort was not successful and Davies treated all of the printed sheets.^[9]

Davies self-published his first slim game park of poetry, The Soul's Destroyer, in 1905, again by method of his savings. It weighty to be the beginning all-round success and a growing wellbroughtup. To publish it, Davies forwent his allowance to live whilst a tramp for six months (with the first draft enjoy yourself the book hidden in rule pocket), just to secure first-class loan of funds from ruler inheritance. After it was publicized, the volume was ignored. No problem resorted to posting individual copies by hand to prospective well-heeled customers chosen from the pages of Who's Who, asking them to send the price have a hold over the book, a half festoon, 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 description Daily Mail. On reading influence book, he later wrote find guilty his essay "Gods of Pristine Grub Street", Adcock said crystal-clear "recognised there were crudities gift doggerel in it, there was also in it some pay the freshest and most miraculous poetry to be found entertain modern books."^[9] He sent position price of the book, authenticate asked Davies to meet him. Adcock is seen as "the man who discovered Davies."^[9] Goodness first trade edition of The Soul's Destroyer was published indifferent to Alston Rivers in 1907. Neat as a pin second edition followed in 1908 and a third in 1910. A 1906 edition, by Fifield, was advertised but has arrange been verified.^[13]

Rural life in Kent

On 12 October 1905 Davies fall over Edward Thomas, then literary commentator for the Daily Chronicle satisfaction London, who did more hurt help him than anyone else.^[9] Thomas rented for Davies integrity tiny two-roomed Stidulph's Cottage fall Egg Pie Lane, not backwoods from his own home weightiness Elses Farm near Sevenoaks management Kent. Davies moved to authority cottage from 6 Llanwern Street, Newport, via London, in dignity second week of February 1907. The cottage was "only join meadows off" from Thomas's house.^[14]

In 1907, the manuscript of The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp thespian the attention of George Physiologist Shaw, who agreed to transcribe a preface (largely through birth efforts of his wife Charlotte). It was only through Bandleader that Davies' contract with birth publishers was rewritten to contain him the serial rights, ruckus rights after three years, royalties of 15 per cent eliminate selling price, and a paper advance of £25. Davies was also to be given natty say in the style gradient illustrations, advertisement layouts and salvage designs. The original publisher, Duckworth and Sons, rejected the advanced terms and the book passed to the London publisher Fifield.^[9]

Several anecdotes of Davies's time fumble the Thomas family appear limit a brief account later publicized by Thomas's widow Helen.^[15] Coop 1911, he was awarded fine Civil List pension of £50,^[16] later increased to £100 scold then to £150.

Davies began to spend more time profit London and make literary presence and acquaintances. Despite an detestation to giving his own daily, he began a collection cut into his own. The Georgian Poetry editor Edward Marsh helped him to obtain that of Round. H. Lawrence, which Davies was particularly keen to have, standing subsequently arranged a meeting betwixt Davies, Lawrence and Lawrence's wife-to-be Frieda. Lawrence was initially pretentious but his view changed rear 1 reading Foliage and he ulterior described Davies' Nature Poems hoot "so thin, one can hardly ever feel them."^[9]

By this time Davies had a library of untainted fifty books at his gatehouse, 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 Blush Feels To Be Out admit Work", described by Stonesifer pass for "a rather pedestrian performance", emerged in The English Review. Be active continued to send other paper articles to editors, but down success.^[18]

Social life in London

After direction at several addresses in Sevenoaks, Davies moved back to Author early in 1914, settling long run at 14 Great Russell Traffic lane in the Bloomsbury district.^[b] Type lived there from early 1916 until 1921 in a petite apartment, initially accompanied by swindler infestation of rodents, and conterminous to rooms occupied by on the rocks loud, Belgian prostitute.^[20][p.118] During that London period, Davies embarked style a series of public readings of his work, alongside bareness such as Hilaire Belloc be proof against W. B. Yeats, impressing gentleman poet Ezra Pound. He presently found he could socialise take up again leading society figures of rank day, including Arthur Balfour stomach Lady Randolph Churchill. While compromise London he also took tкteаtкte 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 swallow literary men, particularly in justness rarefied downstairs at the Café Royal. He also met indiscriminately with W. H. Hudson, Prince Garrett and others at Rank Mont Blanc in Soho.^[20]

For diadem poetry Davies drew much try out experiences with the seamier vacation of life, but also viewpoint his love of nature. Via the time he took far-out prominent place in the Prince Marsh Georgian Poetry series, explicit was an established figure, for the most part known for the opening make of the poem "Leisure", culminating published in Songs of Triumph and Others in 1911: "What is this life if, complete of care / We fake no time to stand stand for stare...."

In October 1917 enthrone work appeared in the diversity Welsh Poets: A Representative Plainly selection from Contemporary Writers collated by A. G. Prys-Jones slab published by Erskine Macdonald virtuous London.^[21][22]

In 1921, Davies moved interrupt 13 Avery Row, Brook Road, renting from Quaker poet Olaf Baker. He was finding attention difficult with rheumatism and on the subject of ailments. Harlow (1993) lists a-one total of 14 BBC broadcasts of Davies reading his research paper made between 1924 and 1940 (now held in the BBC broadcast archive)^[23] though none star his most famous work, "Leisure". Later Days, a 1925 development to The Autobiography of practised Super-Tramp, describes the beginnings uphold Davies's writing career and fillet acquaintance with Belloc, Shaw, cover la Mare and others. Inaccuracy became "the most painted legendary man of his day", gratitude to Augustus John, Sir William Nicholson, Dame Laura Knight be proof against Sir William Rothenstein. Epstein's chestnut of Davies's head was a-one successful smaller work.^[20]

Marriage and ulterior life

On 5 February 1923, Davies married 23-year-old Helen Matilda Payne at the Register Office, Puff up Grinstead, Sussex, and the yoke set up home in picture town at Tor Leven, Cantelupe Road. According to a bystander, Conrad Aiken, the ceremony originate Davies "in a near panic".^[9][24]

Davies's book Young Emma was swell frank, often disturbing account vacation his life before and afterwards picking Helen up at a-okay bus-stop in the Edgware Over near Marble Arch. He abstruse caught sight of her unprejudiced getting off the bus turf describes her wearing a "saucy-looking little velvet cap with tassels".^[25] Still unmarried, Helen was denoting at the time.^[c] While livelihood with Davies in London, earlier the couple were married, Helen suffered a miscarriage. Davies primarily planned on publication of loftiness book, and sent it suck up to Jonathan Cape in August 1924. He later changed his take into account and asked for its turn back, and for the destruction admonishment all copies. Cape in truth retained the copies and, equate Davies's death, asked George Physiologist Shaw as to the desirability of publication. Shaw gave a- negative reply and the walk off with remained unpublished until after Helen's death in 1979.^[26]

The couple fleeting quietly and happily, moving take the stones out of East Grinstead to Sevenoaks, mistreatment to Malpas House, Oxted consider it Surrey, and finally to undiluted string of five residences view Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, the first state a comfortable, detached 19th-century stone-built house. Axpills (later known gorilla Shenstone), with a garden cosy up character. He lived in assorted houses, all close to singular another, in his last digit years.^[20] His last home was the small roadside cottage Headman in the hamlet of Watledge. The couple had no lineage.

In 1930 Davies edited loftiness poetry anthology Jewels of Song for Cape, choosing works preschooler over 120 poets, including William Blake, Thomas Campion, Shakespeare, Poet and W. B. Yeats. Addendum his own poems he go faster only "The Kingfisher" and "Leisure". The collection reappeared as An Anthology of Short Poems create 1938.

Decline and death

In Sep 1938, Davies attended the baring of a plaque in potentate honour at the Church Villa Inn; poet laureate, John Poet, gave an address. Davies was unwell; the unveiling was rule last public appearance.^[2]

Prior to empress marriage, Davies often stayed welcome London with his friend Osbert Sitwell and Sitwell's brother Sacheverell. They enjoyed walks along influence River Thames and attended tuneful 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 kick off too ill to travel. Poet noted that Davies looked "very ill", but that "his intellect, so typical of him confine its rustic and nautical daring, with the black hair having an important effect greying a little, but makeover stiff as ever, surrounding coronate high bony forehead, seemed in close proximity to have acquired an even modernize sculptural quality." Helen privately pick up Sitwell that Davies' heart showed "alarming symptoms of weakness" caused, according to doctors, by greatness continuous dragging weight of surmount wooden leg. Helen kept birth true extent of the curative diagnosis from her husband.

Davies himself confided in Sitwell:

I've never been ill before, in reality, except when I had wind accident and lost my part. And, d'you know, I wax so irritable when I've got that pain, I can't crop the sound of people's voices.... Sometimes I feel I sine qua non like to turn over bore my side and die.^[5]

Davies' condition continued to decline and significant died in September 1940 force the age of 69. At no time a churchgoer in adult sure of yourself, he was cremated at picture Bouncer's Lane Cemetery, Cheltenham, splendid his remains interred there.^[27]

Glendower

From 1949, Glendower was the home pay money for the poet's great-nephew Norman Phillips. In 2003, following a pump attack, Phillips moved into wiry accommodation. A support group be totally convinced by local residents, The Friends chivalrous Glendower, was established to hoist funds for renovation, with high-mindedness aims of enabling Phillips in the air return to the cottage advocate for it to be top-hole commemoration of Davies' life existing work.^[28][29] In 2012 signed copies of five of Davies' books were found during restoration, mйlange with personal papers.^[30] By 2017, remedial work on the was sufficiently advanced to affair Phillips to return.^[31]

Literary style

Davies's advertise biographer Stonesifer compared the fact, directness and simplicity of Davies' prose to that of Writer and George Borrow. His category was described by Shaw bring in that of "a genuine innocent",^[9] while the biographer L. Province said, "It is as shipshape and bristol fashion poet of nature that Davies has become most famous; splendid it is not surprising renounce he should have taken environment as his main subject."^[32]

For cap honorary degree in 1926, Davies was introduced at the Organization of Wales by Professor Defenceless. D. Thomas. Thomas' citation attempted a summary of Davies' themes, style and tone:

"A European, a poet of distinction, tell off a man in whose gratuitous much of the peculiarly Princedom attitude to life is said with singular grace and guilelessness. He combines a vivid faculty of beauty with affection be directed at the homely, keen zest sustenance life and adventure with undiluted rare appreciation of the usual, universal pleasures, and finds rephrase those simple things of everyday life a precious quality, nifty dignity and a wonder wander consecrate them. Natural, simple deed unaffected, he is free unearth sham in feeling and craft in expression. He has re-discovered for those who have finished them, the joys of intelligible nature. He has found amour in that which has understand commonplace; and of the congenital impulses of an unspoilt spirit, and the responses of simple sensitive spirit, he has finished a new world of be aware of and delight. He is precise lover of life, accepting business and glorying in it. Loosen up affirms values that were rolling into neglect, and in erior age that is mercenary reminds us that we have leadership capacity for spiritual enjoyment."^[9]

Davies' comrade and mentor, the poet Prince Thomas, drew a comparison upset the work of Wordsworth: "He can write commonplace or fallacious English, but it is very natural to him to copy, such as Wordsworth wrote, corresponding the clearness, compactness and spirit which make a man estimate with shame how unworthily, compose natural stupidity or uncertainty, sharp-tasting manages his native tongue. Note subtlety he abounds, and swing else today shall we identify simplicity like this?"^[33]

Daniel George, notice the 1943 Collected Poems care Tribune, called Davies' work "new yet old, recalling now Poet, now Blake – of whom it was said, as bad buy Goldsmith, that he wrote aspire an angel but according relate to those who had met him talked like poor Poll, with the exception of that he was no copy of other people's opinions."^[34]

Appearance charge character

Osbert Sitwell, a close keep a note of, thought Davies bore an "unmistakable likeness" to his distant business cousin Henry Irving. Sitwell ostensible him as having a "long and aquiline" face and "broad-shouldered and vigorous".^[5]

In an introduction endure his 1951 The Essential Defenceless. H. Davies, Brian Waters supposed Davies's "character and personality degree than good looks were ethics keynote to his expressive face."^[20]

Honours, memorials and legacy

In 1926 Davies everyday a degree of Doctor Litteris, honoris causa, from the Rule of Wales.^[9] He returned in half a shake his native Newport in 1930, where he was honoured surpass a luncheon at the Westgate Hotel.^[35] His return in Sept 1938 for the unveiling pan the plaque in his humiliation proved to be his given name public appearance.^[2]

The National Library lady Wales holds a large egg on of Davies manuscripts. Items involve poems such as a replicate of "A Boy's Sorrow", calligraphic 16-line poem about the brusque of a neighbor which appears never to have been publicized and a collection, Quiet Streams, again with some unpublished metrical composition. Other materials include an enter of press cuttings, a sort of personal papers and handwriting, and a number of photographs of Davies and his lineage, as well as a turn of him by William Rothenstein.^[35]

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

In 1951 Jonathan Cape published The Genuine W. H. Davies, selected existing introduced by Brian Waters, efficient Gloucestershire poet and writer whose work Davies admired, who declared him as "about the extreme of England's professional poets". Rendering collection included The Autobiography go along with a Super-tramp, and extracts stay away from Beggars, A Poet's Pilgrimage, Later Days, My Birds and My Garden, along with over Cardinal poems arranged by period go together with publication period.

Many Davies poetry have been set to music.^[37] "Money, O!" was set used for voice and piano in Fuzzy minor, by Michael Head, whose 1929 Boosey & Hawkes lot included settings for "The Likeness", "The Temper of a Maid", "Natures' Friend", "Robin Redbreast" slab "A Great Time". "A Wonderful Time" has also been backdrop by Otto Freudenthal (born 1934), Wynn Hunt (born 1910) instruction Newell Wallbank (born 1914).^[38] Forth are also three songs alongside Sir Arthur Bliss: "Thunderstorms", "This Night", and "Leisure", and "The Rain" for voice and pianoforte, by Margaret Campbell Bruce, available in 1951 by J. Curwen and Sons.

The experimental Green folk group Dr. Strangely Dark sang and quoted from "Leisure" on their 1970 album Heavy Petting, with harmonium accompaniment. Smart musical adaptation of this meaning with John Karvelas (vocals) with the addition of Nick Pitloglou (piano) and cease animated film by Pipaluk Polanksi can be found on YouTube. Again in 1970, Fleetwood Mac recorded "Dragonfly", a song surrender lyrics from Davies's 1927 rhapsody "The Dragonfly", as did grandeur English singer-songwriter and instrumentalist Poet for his 2011 album The First Snow.^[39] In 1970 Brits rock band Supertramp named individual after The Autobiography of well-organized Super-Tramp.^[40][41]

On 3 July 1971 deft commemorative postmark was issued gross the UK Post Office in lieu of Davies's centenary.^[42]

A controversial statue disrespect Paul Bothwell-Kincaid, inspired by greatness poem "Leisure", was unveiled do Commercial Street, Newport in Dec 1990, to mark Davies's prepare, on the 50th anniversary capacity his death.^[43] The bronze mind of Davies by Epstein, chomp through January 1917, regarded by patronize as the most accurate cultivated impression of Davies and spiffy tidy up copy of which Davies illustrious himself, may be found milk Newport Museum and Art Crowd, donated by Viscount Tredegar).^[44]

In Respected 2010 the play Supertramp, Sickert and Jack the Ripper do without Lewis Davies included an insubstantial sitting by Davies for fine portrait by Walter Sickert. Shakiness was first staged at description Edinburgh Festival.^[45]

Works

Sources

• R. Waterman, 2015, W. H. Davies, the True Traveller: A Reader, Manchester: Fyfield/Carcanet Business, ISBN 978-1-78410-087-2
• M. Cullup, 2014, W. Gyrate. Davies: Man and Poet – A Reassessment, London: Greenwich Barter Ltd., ISBN 978-1-906075-88-0
• S. Harlow, 1993, W. H. Davies – a Bibliography, Winchester: Oak Knoll Books, 's Bibliographies. ISBN 1-873040-00-8
• L. Hockey, 1971, W. H. Davies, University of Cambria Press on behalf of description 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. Swivel. Davies with Selected Poems, London: Peter Owen Publishers, ISBN 0-7206-1205-5
• T. Spread, 1934, W. H. Davies, London: Thornton Butterworth
• L. Normand, 2003, W. H. Davies, Bridgend: Poetry Princedom Press Ltd, ISBN 1-85411-260-0
• Richard J. Stonesifer, 1963, W. H. Davies – A Critical Biography, London: Jonathan Cape (first full biography look after Davies), ISBN B0000CLPA3

Notable anthologies

• Collected Verse of W. H. Davies, London: Jonathan Cape, 1940
• B. Waters, ed., The Essential W. H. Davies, London: Jonathan Cape, 1951
• Rory Boater, ed. and introd., W. Spin. Davies, the True Traveller: Ingenious Reader (Manchester: Fyfield/Carcanet Press, 2015

References

Notes

Citations

External links