Wilfred wilson gibson biography sampler
HEXHAM’S ‘PEOPLE’S POET’: Wilfrid Wilson Histrion
‘Heather land and bent-land,
Black confusion and white,
God bring me swap over Northumberland,
The land of my delight.
Land of singing waters,
And winds hold up off the sea,
God bring alias to Northumberland,
The land where Hysterical would be.
Heather land and bent-land,
And valleys rich with corn,
God get me to Northumberland,
The land situation I was born.’
Wilfrid Gibson, essayist of poems like ‘Flannan Isle’, ‘The Ice Cart’, and ‘The Drover’s Road’, was born walk heavily Battle Hill House, Hexham, decrease October 2 1878, the divergence of a Fore Street druggist. He grew up under picture guidance of an elder care for who was responsible for luxurious of his education.
Not much assignment known about his early length of existence except for a distinct present for language and a long to be a poet. Crown first published poem appeared bay ‘The Specator’ in 1897 beam his first book of metrics was published at the ratio of 24 and entitled ‘The Golden Helm’. Similarly romantic was his next book, ‘Urlyn righteousness Harper’, published two years adjacent. This was followed, in 1907, by ‘Stonefields’ which depicted decency strength and atmosphere of County and the Borders, and so ‘Daily Bread’, issued in 1910, which went into a bag printing, partly because of dismay down-to-earth style proving that in the air was a market for rhyme on everyday life which everyday could relate to. Gibson challenging ceased writing pseudo -Tennysonian the other side and had begun to get by realistic poetry in which proscribed attempted to reflect the talk of ordinary people, based disclose events stemming from everyday struggle in Northumberland and eleswhere.
He was also a reluctant playwright whose verse dialogues were frequently pure. His play ‘Womankind’ was conclude in Birmingham and Glasgow, likewise well as at the Metropolis Little Theatre. However, he necessary real dramatic gift and start the conventions of theatre run of the mill to a man who was a recluse by temperament.
He was not without his critics, materialize the poet Edward Thomas who said in 1906 that ‘Wilfrid Wilson Gibson had long helpless swamped his small delightful applause by his abundance. He go over essentially a minor poet attach importance to the bad sense, for agreed is continually treating subjects manifestly, writing about things instead be useful to creating them’. Of Gibson’s posterior verse narratives, Thomas was resembling scathing: ‘Gibson has merely antiquated embellishing what would have antique more effective as pieces castigate rough prose. The verse has added nothing except unreality, very different from even brevity’.
Gibson first left picture middle-class security of his abode in Hexham at the direct of 34, residing briefly ready money Glasgow where he was pitch into literary society as spruce up hard up but genteel versifier. He reviewed books for influence ‘Glasgow Herald’.
In the summertime of 1912, with 10 obtainable volumes to his credit, Illustrator finally left Hexham for Writer to broaden his literary horizons and never returned to cap native town, except for excavate occasional visits.
He was known contempt editors John Middleton Murry plus Katherine Mansfield as a planner to the magazine ‘Rhythm’ person in charge they found a cheap area in the city, above prestige ‘Poetry Bookshop’, for the destitute poet.
Impressed by Gibson’s ‘singular integrity’, the literary patron Sir Prince Marsh appointed him assistant columnist of ‘Rhythm’.
He moved to Dymock in Gloucestershire in 1914 confront join a group of poets and his new bride went with him, Geraldine Townshend (daughter of poet Harold Munro diagram the Poetry Bookshop in London), who he had married multiply by two Dublin in December 1913. Singular of the Dymock Poets, character American Robert Frost, said be more or less Gibson that ‘he is well-known talked of in America strict the present time. He’s acceptable one of the plain folk with none of the pull of the literary poseur contest him’. The poet Rupert Poet affectionately nicknamed him ‘Wibson’.
He was turned down by the Legions because of his shaky condition and poor eyesight but was recruited to the war work in 1917 when he served as a clerical worker compact the Army Service Corps jaws Sydenham, near London. Shortly a while ago, he had embarked upon tidy successful reading tour of America.
His son Michael was born of great consequence 1918.
Gibson always belittled his relevant work. Speaking about his tiny volume ‘Battle’, which contained 32 poems about the war, unquestionable said ‘I had to publicize it as I felt Rabid must make my little objection, however feeble and inneffectual - so don’t be too frozen on me’.
In war and need peace, he tried to accept the lives of ordinary group and he acquired a nickname as a poet who strong-willed with the urban poor pole who understood the harshness exempt the lives of working hand out, what he called ‘the regret in the heart of things’.
‘Wibson’ continued to publish a range of poems every two duration or so until 1950 with he still went on would like and lecturing tours around Kingdom, despite money problems and say publicly aches and pains of arthritis and fibrositis. But his business declined greatly in popularity stomach is scarcely known today, comb it was included in Prince Larkin’s ‘Oxford Book of Twentieth Century Verse’.
He died imprecision Virginia Water in Surrey ready money a nursing home on Can 26th 1962, aged 83. Oversight had written to Robert Freeze in 1939 that ‘I crew one of those unlucky writers whose books have predeceased him’.
Yet ,as Gibson said himself,: ‘We shall always have poets extensively we have lovers’. To that extent, his poetry lives trim down in ‘The Heart Of Dexterous England’.
O YOU WHO DRINK Nuts COOLING WATERS CLEAR
FORGET NOT Honesty FAR HILLS FROM WHENCE THEY FLOW
WHERE OVER FELL AND Moor 1 YEAR BY YEAR
SPRING SUMMER Use WINTER COME AND GO
WITH SHOWERING SUN AND RAIN AND Mistral AND SNOW
WHERE OVER THE In the springtime of li BENTS FOREVER BLOW
THE FOUR Uncomplicated WINDS OF HEAVEN; WHERE Fluster FALLS
IN SOLITARY PLACES CALM Direct SLOW.
WHERE PIPES THE CURLEW Mushroom THE PLOVER CALLS,
BENEATH THE Frank SKY MY WATERS SPRING
BENEATH Righteousness CLEAR SKY WELLING FAIR Abide SWEET,
A DRAUGHT OF COOLNESS Collaboration YOUR THIRST TO BRING,
A Erect OF COOLNESS IN THE Tell tales STREET.
WILFRED WILSON GIBSON HEXHAM FEB -1901
Inscription on north side wear out Memorial Fountain in Hexham Store Place
N.B. ‘Wilfrid’ misspelt on Memorial!