John Masefield

John Masefield (1878-1967), British poet and writer, Poet Laureate of Great Britain from 1930 until his death in 1967. Author of a children's classic novel The Box of Delights[?] and a great deal of memorable poetry, including Sea Fever.

Masefield was born at Ledbury[?], in Herefordshire, a rural area of England. After an education at the King's School in Warwickshire, he became an apprentice sailor and eventually a junior officer on an ocean liner. After being taken ill, he was forced to return home in 1897, and his literary career began. His first collection of poetry was Salt-Water Ballads, published in 1902. During World War I, though old enough to be exempted from military service, he went to the Western Front as a medical orderly, later publishing his own account of his experiences. He settled in Oxford, inheriting the title of Poet Laureate from a neighbour, Robert Bridges. However, it is generally considered that his best work was written before this date.

External Links

e-texts of some of John Masefield's works:

• Martin Hyde, the Duke's Messenger (http://www.abacci.com/books/book.asp?bookID=2432)
• Right Royal (http://www.abacci.com/books/book.asp?bookID=2431)