Looking back over the last few months I can hardly believe all that’s happened in such a short time. In the course of one year I have gone from blogger to literary event organiser and MA student, and am now fully immersed in Modernist poetry, as I slog on towards my first deadline. But so much has happened in between, including a smattering of literary festivals and events, so here are just five of my literary highlights from 2017: Continue reading
#edwardthomas100
Reflections on Edward Thomas 100 & National Poetry Writing Month
Glyn Edwards
National Poetry Writing Month is over at last, and it seems like only yesterday that I was cosied up on the sofa listening to the autumn storms, thinking April seemed a long way off. It was back in October that I began to plan a series of events for #EdwardThomas100, to mark the centenary of the World War One poet, and to make Cardiff University’s incredible archive collections more visible to the public. It’s been an exciting few months, and it’s hard to believe it’s all over, so here are some reflections on the experience… Continue reading
Two Roads, Two Poets: The Friendship of Edward Thomas and Robert Frost
The first thing that struck me about Edward Thomas, when I began to research his life and work, was his close bond with the American poet Robert Frost. Frost’s famous poem ‘The Road Not Taken’ was actually written for Edward Thomas, during a period of indecision. It was 1915, and Frost himself had returned to the US, whilst Thomas was intending to follow him there. But the First World War was still raging, and Thomas’s conscience held him back. He did not want to enlist but, as he explained in a letter to his friend, “hardly a day passes without my thinking I should.” Continue reading
Book Review: Now All Roads Lead to France – The Last Years of Edward Thomas by Matthew Hollis
Most biographies begin at the beginning. Not this one. This one reads more like a novel – and the last few years in the life of much-loved poet Edward Thomas certainly provide an engaging plot. Hollis begins his tale with an introduction to Harold Munro’s Poetry Bookshop, which opened in London in 1913, providing a unique hub around which the poets of the day gathered… But Edward Thomas is not yet a poet at this stage in the story; he is a stressed poetry reviewer, churning out travel books and reviews, struggling to make ends meet… Continue reading
Edward Thomas 100: Celebrating A Poetic Legacy
I recently discovered that Cardiff University holds a unique collection of rare books and manuscripts. Amidst this literary treasure trove, there sits a shelf or two of unassuming boxes, containing the Edward Thomas archive – a set of objects, original manuscripts, letters, notebooks and other material relating to this popular poet. And it just so happens that it’s exactly one hundred years since Edward Thomas was killed, at the Battle of Arras in April 1917… Continue reading