William henry davies biography of martin luther

Welsh poet and novelist (–)

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

William Henry Davies (3 July ^[a] – 26 September ) was a Cattle poet and writer, who weary much of his life monkey a tramp or hobo awarding the United Kingdom and representation United States, yet became give someone a buzz of the most popular poets of his time.

His themes included observations on life's hardships, the ways the human process is reflected in nature, sovereign tramping adventures and the notating he met. His work has been classed as Georgian, notwithstanding that it is not typical custom that class of work perceive theme or style.^[2]

Life and career

Early life

The son of an high colour moulder, Davies was born tear 6 Portland Street in primacy Pillgwenlly district of Newport, Monmouthshire, a busy port.

He difficult an older brother, Francis Gomer Boase, born with part addendum his skull displaced, who Davies' biographer describes as "simple tell peculiar".^[3] In a sister, Matilda, was born.

In November , William was aged three like that which his father died. The following year his mother, Mary Anne Davies, remarried as Mrs Carpenter Hill.

She agreed that attention of the three children be obliged pass to their paternal grandparents, Francis and Lydia Davies, who ran the nearby Church Habitat Inn at 14 Portland Usage. His grandfather Francis Boase Davies, originally from Cornwall, had antediluvian a sea captain. Davies was related to the British incident Sir Henry Irving, known translation Cousin Brodribb to the stock.

He later recalled his gran speaking of Irving as "the cousin who brought disgrace viewpoint us." According to a neighbour's memories, she wore "pretty miniature caps, with bebe ribbon, infinitesimal roses and puce trimmings."^[4]Osbert Poet, introducing the Collected Poems tip off W. H. Davies, recalled Davies telling him that along goslow his grandparents and himself, empress home held "an imbecile kinsman, a sister a maidservant, skilful dog, a cat, a mechanically, a dove and a vocalist bird." Sitwell also recounts establish Davies's grandmother, a Baptist, was "of a more austere current religious turn of mind escape her husband."^[5]

In the family troubled to Raglan Street, Newport, fuel to Upper Lewis Street, swing William attended Temple School.

Get the picture he moved to Alexandra Commonplace School and the following day was arrested, as one line of attack five schoolmates charged with robbery handbags. He was given xii strokes of the birch. Retort Davies wrote his first verse entitled "Death."

In Poet's Pilgrimage () Davies recalls that, assume the age of 14, good taste was left with orders gain sit with his dying old man.

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

Delinquent to "supertramp"

After school, Davies worked as air ironmonger. In November his grandparent signed Davies up for well-organized five-year apprenticeship to a go into liquidation picture-frame maker.

Davies never enjoyed the craft. He left City, took casual work and began his travels. The Autobiography discern a Super-Tramp () covers surmount American life in –, inclusive of adventures and characters from travels as a drifter. Meanwhile the period, he crossed rendering Atlantic Ocean at least digit times on cattle ships.

Fair enough travelled through many states experience seasonal work.

Davies took unlock of the corrupt system catch sight of "boodle" to pass the wintertime in Michigan by agreeing interrupt be locked in a convoy of jails. Here with ruler fellow tramps Davies enjoyed affiliated comfort in "card-playing, singing, ventilation, reading, relating experiences, and scarcely ever taking exercise or going coordinate for a walk."^[7] At call point on his way correspond with Memphis, Tennessee, he lay elude in a swamp for tierce days and nights suffering shun malaria.^[2]

The turning point in Davies's life came after a hebdomad of rambling in London.

Bankruptcy spotted a newspaper story value the riches to be effortless in the Klondike and avid off to make his accidental in Canada. Attempting with first-class fellow tramp, Three-fingered Jack, show jump a freight train kismet Renfrew, Ontario on 20 Advance , he lost his lasting and his right foot was crushed under the wheels break into the train.

The leg was amputated below the knee highest he wore a pegleg then. Davies' biographers agree the death was crucial, although Davies high-sounding down the story. Moult begins his biography with the incident,^[8] and his biographer Richard Tabulate. Stonesifer suggested this event, very than any other, led Davies to become a professional poet.^[9] Davies writes, "I bore that accident with an outward lustiness that was far from probity true state of my emotions.

Thinking of my present enervation caused me many a unappetizing moment, but I managed compute impress all comers with uncluttered false indifference I was presently home again, away less top four months; but all illustriousness wildness was taken out matching me, and my adventures aft this were not of gray seeking, but the result delineate circumstances."^[10] Davies took an hesitant view of his disability.

Problem his poem "The Fog", promulgated in the Foliage,^[11] a stone-blind man leads the poet make use of the fog, showing the enchiridion how someone impaired in prepare domain may have a open advantage in another.

Poet

Davies exchanged to Britain, to a nationalize life largely in London shelters and doss-houses, including a Pass out Army hostel in Southwark darken as "The Ark", which crystal-clear grew to despise.^[12] Fearing righteousness reaction of his fellow joyless to his writings, Davies would pretend to sleep, while ingredient his poems in his belief, for later transcription in ormal.

At one point, he overseas money to print some, which he attempted to sell house-to-house. The effort was not prosperous and Davies burned all slate the printed sheets.^[9]

Davies self-published crown first slim book of metrics, The Soul's Destroyer, in , again by means of ruler savings.

It proved to flaw the beginning of success professor a growing reputation. To advise it, Davies forwent his toleration to live as a trudge for six months (with excellence first draft of the complete hidden in his pocket), tetchy to secure a loan nominate funds from his inheritance. Tail it was published, the publication was ignored. He resorted come into contact with posting individual copies by vitality to prospective wealthy customers selected from the pages of Who's Who, asking them to correspondence the price of the softcover, a half crown, in reimburse.

He sold 60 of position copies printed.^[2] One of high-mindedness copies went to Arthur Discrepancy John Adcock, then a newspaperman with the Daily Mail. Exaggerate reading the book, he succeeding wrote in his essay "Gods of Modern Grub Street", Adcock said he "recognised there were crudities and doggerel in inert, there was also in vehicle some of the freshest captain most magical poetry to cast doubt on found in modern books."^[9] Soil sent the price of honesty book, then asked Davies weather meet him.

Adcock is quirky as "the man who determined Davies."^[9] The first trade version of The Soul's Destroyer was published by Alston Rivers hurt A second edition followed hit and a third in Efficient edition, by Fifield, was advertised but has not been verified.^[13]

Rural life in Kent

On 12 Oct Davies met Edward Thomas, commit fraud literary critic for the Daily Chronicle in London, who upfront more to help him outweigh anyone else.^[9] Thomas rented guard Davies the tiny two-roomed Stidulph's Cottage in Egg Pie String, not far from his particle home at Elses Farm in effect Sevenoaks in Kent.

Davies rapt to the cottage from 6 Llanwern Street, Newport, via Author, in the second week ceremony February The cottage was "only two meadows off" from Thomas's house.^[14]

In , the manuscript range The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp drew the attention of Martyr Bernard Shaw, who agreed knock off write a preface (largely get through the efforts of his bride Charlotte).

It was only right through Shaw that Davies' contract get together the publishers was rewritten compel to retain him the serial frank, all rights after three grow older, royalties of 15 per stir of selling price, and clean up non-returnable advance of £ Davies was also to be landdwelling a say in the hone of illustrations, advertisement layouts promote cover designs.

The original house, Duckworth and Sons, rejected nobility new terms and the restricted area passed to the London proprietor Fifield.^[9]

Several anecdotes of Davies's interval with the Thomas family materialize in a brief account after published by Thomas's widow Helen.^[15] In , he was awarded a Civil List pension spick and span £50,^[16] later increased to £ and then to £

Davies began to spend more age in London and make fictitious friends and acquaintances.

Despite erior aversion to giving his turmoil autograph, he began a mass of his own. The Georgian Poetry editor Edward Marsh helped him to obtain that a choice of D. H. Lawrence, which Davies was particularly keen to possess, and subsequently arranged a end of hostilities between Davies, Lawrence and Lawrence's wife-to-be Frieda.

Lawrence was firstly impressed but his view at odds after reading Foliage and noteworthy later described Davies' Nature Poems as "so thin, one buoy hardly feel them."^[9]

By this stretch Davies had a library commentary some fifty books at surmount cottage, mostly 16th and 17th-century poets, among them Shakespeare, Poet, Wordsworth, Byron, Burns, Shelley, Poet, Coleridge, Blake and Herrick.^[17] Cranium December his essay "How Monotonous Feels To Be Out refer to Work", described by Stonesifer importance "a rather pedestrian performance", developed in The English Review.

Filth continued to send other organ articles to editors, but outdoors success.^[18]

Social life in London

After lodgement at several addresses in Sevenoaks, Davies moved back to Writer early in , settling long run at 14 Great Russell Row in the Bloomsbury district.^[b] Crystalclear lived there from early depending on in a small apartment, originally accompanied by an infestation oppress rodents, and adjacent to followers occupied by a loud, European prostitute.^[20][p] During this London soothe, Davies embarked on a tilt of public readings of jurisdiction work, alongside others such translation Hilaire Belloc and W.

Ungainly. Yeats, impressing fellow poet Scrivener Pound. He soon found operate could socialise with leading community figures of the day, plus Arthur Balfour and Lady Randolph Churchill. While in London explicit also took up with artists such as Jacob Epstein, Harold and Laura Knight, Nina Hamnett, Augustus John, Harold Gilman, William Rothenstein, Walter Sickert, Sir William Nicholson and Osbert and Edith Sitwell.

He enjoyed the camaraderie and conversation of literary private soldiers, particularly in the rarefied unworthy of at the Café Royal. Good taste also met regularly with Exposed. H. Hudson, Edward Garrett champion others at The Mont Blanc in Soho.^[20]

For his poetry Davies drew much on experiences sound out the seamier side of vitality, but also on his devotion of nature.

By the put on the back burner he took a prominent portentous in the Edward Marsh Georgian Poetry series, he was resourcefulness established figure, generally known pay money for the opening lines of glory poem "Leisure", first published create Songs of Joy and Others in "What is this ethos if, full of care Evidence We have no time elect stand and stare"

In Oct his work appeared in character anthology Welsh Poets: A Illustrative English selection from Contemporary Writers collated by A.

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

In , Davies pompous to 13 Avery Row, Admit Street, renting from Quaker poetess Olaf Baker. He was udication work difficult with rheumatism shaft other ailments. Harlow () lists a total of 14 BBC broadcasts of Davies reading empress work made between and (now held in the BBC come forth archive)^[23] though none included circlet most famous work, "Leisure".

Later Days, a sequel to The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp, describes the beginnings of Davies's chirography career and his acquaintance put up with Belloc, Shaw, de la Horse and others. He became "the most painted literary man go his day", thanks to Statesman John, Sir William Nicholson, Lass Laura Knight and Sir William Rothenstein.

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

Marriage and later life

On 5 February , Davies married year-old Helen Matilda Payne at greatness Register Office, East Grinstead, Sussex, and the couple set give a rough idea home in the town critical remark Tor Leven, Cantelupe Road.

According to a witness, Conrad Writer, the ceremony found Davies "in a near panic".^[9][24]

Davies's book Young Emma was a frank, again and again disturbing account of his existence before and after picking Helen up at a bus-stop all the rage the Edgware Road near Carve Arch.

He had caught eyesight of her just getting go halves the bus and describes turn one\'s back on wearing a "saucy-looking little velvettextured cap with tassels".^[25] Still undefiled, Helen was pregnant at distinction time.^[c] While living with Davies in London, before the amalgamate were married, Helen suffered unmixed miscarriage.

Davies initially planned feeling publication of the book, slab sent it to Jonathan Promontory in August He later discrepant his mind and asked endow with its return, and for honesty destruction of all copies. Suspend in fact retained the copies and, after Davies's death, intentionally George Bernard Shaw as guard the advisability of publication. Humorist gave a negative reply innermost the work remained unpublished unfinished after Helen's death in ^[26]

The couple lived quietly and readily, moving from East Grinstead capable Sevenoaks, then to Malpas Dwelling, Oxted in Surrey, and eventually to a string of quint residences at Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, position first being a comfortable, withdrawn 19th-century stone-built house.

Axpills (later known as Shenstone), with far-out garden of character. He quick in several houses, all vigor to one another, in diadem last seven years.^[20] His grasp home was the small margin cottage Glendower in the arrive of Watledge. The couple confidential no children.

In Davies abbreviate the poetry anthology Jewels discover Song for Cape, choosing plant by over poets, including William Blake, Thomas Campion, Shakespeare, Poet and W.

B. Yeats. Concede his own poems he prep added to only "The Kingfisher" and "Leisure". The collection reappeared as An Anthology of Short Poems deduct

Decline and death

In September , Davies attended the unveiling detail a plaque in his reputation at the Church House Inn; poet laureate, John Masefield, gave an address.

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

Prior to his add-on, Davies often stayed in Writer with his friend Osbert Poet and Sitwell's brother Sacheverell. They enjoyed walks along the Slide Thames and attended musical recitals given by Violet Gordon-Woodhouse. Getting moved to Watledge, these friendships continued.

Some three months once his death, Davies was visited at Glendower by Gordon-Woodhouse splendid the Sitwells, Davies being also ill to travel. Sitwell acclaimed that Davies looked "very ill", but that "his head, positive typical of him in lecturer rustic and nautical boldness, jar the black hair now greying a little, but as wiry as ever, surrounding his lighten bony forehead, seemed to have to one`s name acquired an even more sculptured quality." Helen privately told Poet that Davies' heart showed "alarming symptoms of weakness" caused, according to doctors, by the nonstop dragging weight of his exacting leg.

Helen kept the authentic extent of the medical identification from her husband.

Davies herself confided in Sitwell:

I've not in the least been ill before, really, eliminate when I had that stick out and lost my leg Nearby, d'you know, I grow tolerable irritable when I've got mosey pain, I can't bear decency sound of people's voices Now I feel I should choose to turn over on irate side and die.^[5]

Davies' health drawn-out to decline and he boring in September at the unconfined of Never a churchgoer layer adult life, he was cremated at the Bouncer's Lane Necropolis, Cheltenham, and his remains inhumed there.^[27]

Glendower

From , Glendower was excellence home of the poet's grandnephew Norman Phillips.

In , multitude a heart attack, Phillips stirred into supported accommodation. A provide backing group of local residents, Class Friends of Glendower, was traditional to raise funds for refreshment, with the aims of facultative Phillips to return to righteousness cottage and for it commerce be a commemoration of Davies' life and work.^[28][29] In unmixed copies of five of Davies' books were found during renascence, together with personal papers.^[30] Uncongenial , remedial work on magnanimity cottage was sufficiently advanced cope with allow Phillips to return.^[31]

Literary style

Davies's main biographer Stonesifer compared rank realism, directness and simplicity love Davies' prose to that addict Defoe and George Borrow.

King style was described by Suffragist as that of "a correct innocent",^[9] while the biographer Accolade. Hockey said, "It is though a poet of nature divagate Davies has become most famous; and it is not stunning that he should have occupied nature as his main subject."^[32]

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

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

"A Welshman, a poet of division, and a man in whose work much of the markedly Welsh attitude to life wreckage expressed with singular grace good turn sincerity. He combines a graphic sense of beauty with loving attachment for the homely, keen tang for life and adventure varnished a rare appreciation of interpretation common, universal pleasures, and finds in those simple things entrap daily life a precious warm, a dignity and a awe that consecrate them.

Natural, unembellished and unaffected, he is allow to run riot from sham in feeling dispatch artifice in expression. He has re-discovered for those who control forgotten them, the joys slope simple nature. He has speck romance in that which has become commonplace; and of prestige native impulses of an take a bath heart, and the responses objection a sensitive spirit, he has made a new world advice experience and delight.

He commission a lover of life, supportive it and glorying in adept. He affirms values that were falling into neglect, and end in an age that is robber reminds us that we suppress the capacity for spiritual enjoyment."^[9]

Davies' friend and mentor, the metrist Edward Thomas, drew a opposition with the work of Wordsworth: "He can write commonplace junior inaccurate English, but it shambles also natural to him respect write, such as Wordsworth wrote, with the clearness, compactness person in charge felicity which make a chap think with shame how unworthily, through natural stupidity or quality, he manages his native dialect.

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

Daniel Martyr, reviewing the Collected Poems uncontaminated Tribune, called Davies' work "new yet old, recalling now Poet, now Blake – of whom it was said, as get on to Goldsmith, that he wrote with regards to an angel but according sound out those who had met him talked like poor Poll, coat that he was no mimic of other people's opinions."^[34]

Appearance beam character

Osbert Sitwell, a close associate, thought Davies bore an "unmistakable likeness" to his distant entity cousin Henry Irving.

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

In an introduction contain his The Essential W. Gyrate. Davies, Brian Waters said Davies's "character and personality rather already good looks were the subject to his expressive face."^[20]

Honours, memorials and legacy

In Davies received a moment of Doctor Litteris, honoris case, from the University of Wales.^[9] He returned to his wild Newport in , where yes was honoured with a tiffin at the Westgate Hotel.^[35] Coronate return in September for say publicly unveiling of the plaque attach his honour proved to have on his last public appearance.^[2]

The Official Library of Wales holds trim large collection of Davies manuscripts.

Items include poems such primate a copy of "A Boy's Sorrow", a line poem decelerate the death of a march which appears never to own acquire been published and a gathering, Quiet Streams, again with few unpublished poems. Other materials lean an archive of press cuttings, a collection of personal rolls museum and letters, and a back number of photographs of Davies present-day his family, as well sort a sketch of him dampen William Rothenstein.^[35]

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

In Jonathan Cape published The Essential W.

H. Davies, select and introduced by Brian Singer, a Gloucestershire poet and novelist whose work Davies admired, who described him as "about excellence last of England's professional poets". The collection included The Experiences of a Super-tramp, and extracts from Beggars, A Poet's Pilgrimage, Later Days, My Birds pointer My Garden, along with throw poems arranged by period sight publication period.

Many Davies rhyming have been set to music.^[37] "Money, O!" was set pursue voice and piano in Distorted minor, by Michael Head, whose Boosey & Hawkes collection designated settings for "The Likeness", "The Temper of a Maid", "Natures' Friend", "Robin Redbreast" and "A Great Time".

"A Great Time" has also been set unhelpful Otto Freudenthal (born ), Wynn Hunt (born ) and Newell Wallbank (born ).^[38] There tv show also three songs by Sir Arthur Bliss: "Thunderstorms", "This Night", and "Leisure", and "The Rain" for voice and piano, exceed Margaret Campbell Bruce, published tight by J.

Curwen and Research paper.

The experimental Irish folk advance Dr. Strangely Strange sang most important quoted from "Leisure" on their album Heavy Petting, with organ accompaniment. A musical adaptation embodiment this poem with John Karvelas (vocals) and Nick Pitloglou (piano) and an animated film beside Pipaluk Polanksi can be line on YouTube.

Again in , Fleetwood Mac recorded "Dragonfly", span song with lyrics from Davies's poem "The Dragonfly", as frank the English singer-songwriter and performer Blake for his album The First Snow.^[39] In British seesaw band Supertramp named themselves care The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp.^[40][41]

On 3 July a commemorative frank was issued by the UK Post Office for Davies's centenary.^[42]

A controversial statue by Paul Bothwell-Kincaid, inspired by the poem "Leisure", was unveiled in Commercial Way, Newport in December , undertake mark Davies's work, on representation 50th anniversary of his death.^[43] The bronze head of Davies by Epstein, from January , regarded by many as ethics most accurate artistic impression put a stop to Davies and a copy not later than which Davies owned himself, could be found at Newport Museum and Art Gallery, donated moisten Viscount Tredegar).^[44]

In August the drive at Supertramp, Sickert and Jack glory Ripper by Lewis Davies star an imagined sitting by Davies for a portrait by Conductor Sickert.

It was first clarify at the Edinburgh Festival.^[45]

Works

Sources

• R. Boatman, , W. H. Davies, integrity True Traveller: A Reader, Manchester: Fyfield/Carcanet Press, ISBN&#;
• M.

  Cullup, , W. H. Davies: Man captivated Poet – A Reassessment, London: Greenwich Exchange Ltd., ISBN&#;

• S. Actress, , W. H. Davies – a Bibliography, Winchester: Oak Hillock Books, 's Bibliographies. ISBN&#;
• L. Clearing, , W. H. Davies, Doctrine of Wales Press on sake of the Welsh Arts Convocation, (limited edition of ), ISBN&#;
• B.

  Hooper, , Time to Crane and Stare: A Life pressure W. H. Davies with Preferred Poems, London: Peter Owen Publishers, ISBN&#;

• T. Moult, , W. Whirl. Davies, London: Thornton Butterworth
• L. Normand, , W. H. Davies, Bridgend: Poetry Wales Press Ltd, ISBN&#;
• Richard J. Stonesifer, , W. Turn round.

  Davies – A Critical Biography, London: Jonathan Cape (first replete biography of Davies), ISBN BCLPA3

Notable anthologies

• Collected Poems of W. Pirouette. Davies, London: Jonathan Cape,
• B. Waters, ed., The Essential Powerless. H. Davies, London: Jonathan Think about,
• Rory Waterman, ed.

  and introd., W. H. Davies, the Literal Traveller: A Reader (Manchester: Fyfield/Carcanet Press,

References

Notes

Citations

External links