The selected poems and prose writings of Edward Thomas, both war poet and eulog
izer of peacetime England. Edward Thomas' life was one of astounding literary pr
olificity - between 1897 and 1917 he published nearly thirty volumes of topograp
hy, biography and literary criticism. Yet he regarded his writing largely as a n
ecessary yet burdensome means of supporting his family, and the constant and una
bating deadlines contributed to long periods of depression and isolation. It was
not until 1914 that, encouraged by his friend and fellow poet Robert Frost, he
began to write verse, and in poetry he found the perfect medium to express his e
xquisite reflections of mood, atmosphere and landscape. He produced poetry of as
tonishing quality and lasting value on the themes closest to his heart: rural En
gland and those who live in it, transience, endurance and death. By 1917, when h
e was killed on Easter Monday on the Western Front, he had earned his place as o
ne of England's most valued poets and observers. Poems and prose selected by Dav
id Wright in 1981. About the author: Edward Thomas (1878-1917) was an English po
et, journalist and essayist. He made his living writing prose for many years, un
til he was encouraged to compose verse by the American poet Robert Frost. This l
ed to a prolific outburst of extraordinary poetry, which was brought to a tragic
end when Thomas was killed in the First World War.
