Civil humor

By Stephen W. Delchamps

Subjects: Criticism and interpretation, English poetry, history and criticism, 20th century

Description: "This book represents the first full-length study of the life and work of London poet Gavin Ewart (1916-1995). Through a comprehensive reading of Ewart's enormous body of work, the author argues that Ewart's justly earned reputation as a master of "light verse" is by no means broad enough to cover his full achievement. Rather, Ewart is best represented as what Edward Mendelson, in his book Early Auden, has referred to as the "civil" poet, one who eschews obscurity and the aloofness of the prophet in order to speak clearly to as broad an audience as possible. Ewart's frequent whimsicality masks an overarching serious attitude; namely, that poetry should be a natural, though extraordinary, extension of the everyday life and language of ordinary men and women. The book is divided into two major parts, treating the poetry of the earlier and later phases of Ewart's career. Each of these parts is introduced by a chapter containing a variety of background information. Individual chapters treat the poetry Ewart contributed to various "little magazines" during the 1930s and 1940s; references in Ewart's poems to poetic craft, audience, and tradition; and his handling of characteristic themes including place, the world of work, marriage and children, and death. A full chapter is devoted to the erotically charged poetry for which Ewart was probably best known; the author argues that the richness of this poetry arises from the dynamic interplay of two contrasting poetical personae."--BOOK JACKET.