Phoebe Hesketh

Phoebe Hesketh

Phoebe Rayner Hesketh, (January 29 1909February 25 2005), was an English poet famed for her poems depicting nature.

Hesketh was born in Preston, Lancashire. Her father was the pioneer radiologist A. E. Rayner; her mother was a violinist in the Hallé Orchestra. She was educated at Cheltenham Ladies' College, but left at the age of 17 to care for her ill mother. She married Aubrey Hesketh, the director of a mill, in 1931 at the age of 22. Her first collection, "Poems", was published in 1939, although she would later disown this work to an extent.

During World War II Hesketh worked as a reporter for the Bolton Evening News. In 1948 she published her second volume, "Lean Forward, Spring", a book that earned her widespread acclaim amongst the literary community, including from Siegfried Sassoon. Throughout her career she would produce sixteen books and, although she never achieved popular success, was championed by several well-known figures including Sassoon, Roy Campbell, and Al Alvarez.

After the War she was a freelance lecturer, poetry teacher and journalist, producing many articles for journals and scripts for the BBC. Her Collected Poems were gathered together in 1989. Her poetry for younger readers was published in "A Song of Sunlight" (Chatto, 1974) and in "Six of the Best" (Puffin, 1989). She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1956.

For most of her life she lived in Lancashire, in a landscape frequently described in her poetry, and also in her prose books "Rivington" (1972) and "Village of the Mountain Ash" (1990).


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Hesketh, Phoebe — (1909 2005)    Phoebe Rayner was born in Preston, Lancashire. Her father was pioneer radiologist A.E. Rayner; her mother was a violinist in the Hallé Orchestra. Educated at Cheltenham Ladies College, Gloucestershire, she left at the age of 17 to… …   British and Irish poets

  • List of English language poets — Poets who wrote or write much of their poetry in the English language.This is a list of English language poets. People on this list should have articles of their own, and should meet the for their poetry. Please place names on the list only if… …   Wikipedia

  • List of poets — This is a list of poets. It lists notable poets. Alphabetical listcompactTOC NOTOC A Ab Ak*Dannie Abse (born 1923), English poet *Milton Acorn (1923 ndash;1986), Canadian poet, writer, and playwright *Léonie Adams (1899 ndash;1988), American poet …   Wikipedia

  • 1909 in literature — The year 1909 in literature involved some significant new books.EventsNew books*L. Frank Baum mdash; The Road to Oz *André Billy mdash; La Derive *René Boylesve mdash; La Jeune Fille bien élevée *Hall Caine mdash; The White Prophet *Herbert Croly …   Wikipedia

  • 2005 in literature — The year 2005 in literature involved some significant events and new books. Events* 400th anniversary of Cervantes publication of the first part of Don Quixote. * February 25 Canada Reads selects Rockbound by Frank Parker Day as the novel to be… …   Wikipedia

  • Deaths in February 2005 — Deaths in 2005 : January February March April May June July August September October November December → The following is a list of notable people who died in February 2005. 28 Chris Curtis, 63, drummer with The Searchers Mario Luzi, 90,… …   Wikipedia

  • Cheltenham Ladies' College — The Cheltenham Ladies College Motto Cœlesti Luce Crescat (May she grow in Heavenly light) Established 1853 Type independent boarding and day school …   Wikipedia

  • Literaturjahr 2005 — ◄◄ | ◄ | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | Literaturjahr 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | ► Weitere Ereignisse Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Ereignisse …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Maurice (film) — Maurice Theatrical release poster Directed by James Ivory Pro …   Wikipedia

  • Maurice (Film) — Filmdaten Deutscher Titel Maurice Produktionsland Großbritannien …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”