Edith Sitwell September 7,
1887-
December 9,
1964 was an English poet and critic. She was born in
Scarborough[?], Yorkshire, of aristocratic but eccentric parentage (Lord and Lady Sitwell of
Renishaw Hall[?]). She published her first poem in
1913 and between
1916 and
1921 edited
Wheels, a poetic anthology.
Façade[?], published in
1922, and set to music by
William Walton received with bemusement by the public. She became a proponent and supporter of innovative trends in English poetry, and opposed herself to what she considered the conventionalism of many contemporary backward-looking poets. She received a Royal Society of Literature medal in 1933, and became a Dame in 1954. In 1955 she became a
Roman Catholic. She died at the age of 77.