Lyric Plays.

Bottomley, Gordon.

Published by London: Constable, 1932

About this Item

London: Constable, 1932. First edition (NCBEL, v.4). Original printed wrappers, printed paper labels, 166 pp. Presentation copy: "For Margaret Marshall and Lowsayl and Timmis and Drummelzier and Ben Jock and Gameshope and Tweed; with many kind remembrances. From Gordon Bottomley. The Sheiling: Silverdale: Cornforth. Christmas: 1932". Bottomley was interested in work which would find the broadest appeal. "The theatre. attracted him.he was one of several poets, from Steven Phillips to Laurence Binyon, who contended for the revival of a new romantic drama wherein poetry should once more dominate." That list would include W.B. Yeats and George Russell. "At first he believed that the Elizabethan kind of play.might capture the general audience; later he was more concerned with finding a special platform for the recital of dramatic poems." (Edmund Blunden in DAB). "In this distracted age, I believe the survival of poetry is involved in its being heard, not merely read;" (from an als offered in Catalogue 20, Michael Silverman, London, 2002). He suffered from respiratory problems and was often invalid; it made him seem reclusive. Unlike his friend Lascelles Abercrombie, who wished a contemplative, country fireside lifestyle but was stuck in London, Bottomley wished for a London artistic life but his illness kept him from it: "I feel.that every artist especially needs ten years of London life in his youth, before isolaton in even the most beautiful country can he fruitful for him. My illness deprived me of this." (letter to Paul Nash, 1912, in Poet and Painter, 1955, p.31). A little dust soiling, all edges foxed. A Very Good copy.

Seller Inventory # f197f21b6a4ac78d13c6cb263348e08a

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Lyric Plays.
• Publisher: London: Constable, 1932
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)