Collected Poems of Ivor Gurney

As a composer of songs, Ivor Gurney (1890-1937) has a well-established reputation, but as a poet he has been slow to take his place among the writers of the First World War, although some critics have regarded him as one of the most original and interesting poets of the early 20th century. This collection of poems, although not complete, represents the most substantial edition of gurney's work to appear so far. It includes more than 300 poems, 117 of which have not been collected before. Two volumes of poems were published in Gurney's lifetime (in 1917 and 1919). After the War, he continued writing, but because of his mental condition -- from 1922 until his death he was confined in institutions -- his papers were left in some confusion. Edward Blunden published a selection in 1954, and Leonard Clark a larger selection in 1973. The texts of these were taken from typescript copies made by Gurney's friends. In 1976, however, a large collection of manuscript originals came to light, and these have enable the present editor, P. J. Kavanagh, to go in most cases behind the typescripts, a great many of which prove defective, and to publish what is often a significantly revised version of the poem so far known. The Collected Poems are preceded by a useful biographical and critical introduction by the editor, who also provides an account of the Gurney archives, with notes on the sources and texts of the chosen poems.The editor, P. J. Kavanagh, has published five volumes of his own verse, and three novels, the first of which, A Song and Dance, won the Guardian Fiction prize. He has also written two books for older children and his Selected Poems were published in 1982.