An unexpected delight.
This is a selection of poems by Walter de la Mare (who’s also a novelist (Memoirs of a Midget), short story writer and playwright) who I didn’t really know before this book, but who wrote mainly rhyming poetry, often narrative, and often about fantasy (Faërie), dreams and death.
He is described by Poetry Foundation as “one of modern literature’s chief exemplars of the romantic imagination. His complete works form a sustained treatment of romantic themes: dreams, death, rare states of mind and emotion, fantasy worlds of childhood, and the pursuit of the transcendent.”
There is a small selection of de la Mare’s poetry with full notes to each poem explaining possible meanings (usually more than one reading is possible), literary allusions and unusual words. Some readers may find this elementary, but for an occasional poetry reader such as myself, this book was rather wonderful.
There is also some biographical detail, as necessary, and this usefully places the author in his time and relationships with probably more famous contemporary friends and acquaintances, such as Edward Thomas, Katherine Mansfield, Thomas Hardy and W H Auden.
I suspect that he was someone who is now known for a couple of books of children’s poetry and some horror short stories, but his poetry can be read and reread with pleasure. ( )