Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
When Edward Thomas died in the First World War, very few of his poems had been published, but he is now recognized as one of the finest and most influential poets of the last century. In this unique collection, fifty-five contemporary poets reflect on Thomas's craftsmanship and enduring power. Some have chosen poems of their own in which they detect his influence, others have written new poems in his honor, Branch-Lines offers a fascinating perspective on the workings of literary influence, with personal insights from some of the leading poet-critics of our time.
About the Author
Edward Thomas was born in London in 1878 and educated at St Pauls School and Lincoln College, Oxford. While still an undergraduate, he published his first book, The Woodland Life, and married Helen Noble, with whom he had three children. Thomas became a professional author, producing over twenty prose books, as well as a novel (The Happy-Go-Lucky Morgans), a biography of Richard Jefferies, and critical studies of Maurice Maeterlinck, Lafcadio Hearn, George Borrow, Walter Pater, Swinburne and Keats. He also introduced editions of Borrow, George Herbert, Christopher Marlowe and William Cobbett, and wrote hundreds of book reviews and articles. Encouraged by Robert Frost, he began writing poetry in 1914 producing a remarkable body of poetry in the next few years. Only a few poems were published in his lifetime, under the pseudonym Edward Eastaway; Poems by Edward Thomas was published in October 1917 and the first edition of his Collected Poems in 1920. Thomas joined the Artists Rifles in 1915. He was killed on Easter Sunday 1917 during the Battle of Arras.