Biography Of W. H. Davies
"What is life, if full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?"
William Henry Davies is a Welsh poet who was born on July 3, 1871. Born in the harbor town of Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales, Davies was raised by his grandparents. After leaving school at the age of fourteen, Davies became the apprentice of a picture-frame maker. The apprenticeship did not last, however, and Davies began working several laboring jobs that would lead him to the life of a wanderer.
Davies spent several years in the United States during the 1890s. He lived as a hobo and worked several more small, low-paying jobs in Baltimore and New York before returning to Britain on a cattle ship. Then at the end of the 19th century, Davies made one last trip to America in order to follow the gold rush in the Klondike region of Canada. Unfortunately a tragic accident occurred while passing through Ontario, and while jumping off a train, Davies' right foot was cut off. After a few months, he returned to England, but not before his leg was amputated above the knee.
For a more in-depth account of the life and of W. H. Davies and how he began his life of writing, visit http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/davies/intro.html.
Davies spent several years in the United States during the 1890s. He lived as a hobo and worked several more small, low-paying jobs in Baltimore and New York before returning to Britain on a cattle ship. Then at the end of the 19th century, Davies made one last trip to America in order to follow the gold rush in the Klondike region of Canada. Unfortunately a tragic accident occurred while passing through Ontario, and while jumping off a train, Davies' right foot was cut off. After a few months, he returned to England, but not before his leg was amputated above the knee.
For a more in-depth account of the life and of W. H. Davies and how he began his life of writing, visit http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/davies/intro.html.
He spent the next few years in London writing poetry and working as a pedlar to sell copies. Finally in 1904, Davies was able to gather enough money for Watts & Co to print his first book of poetry, titled The Soul's Destroyer and Other Poems, which caught the eye of George Bernard Shaw. Shaw donated money to Davies in order to make more copies, along with suggesting that Davies write about his life on the road and as hobo in North America. Four years later, Davies' best-known prose work, The Autobiography of a SuperTramp, was published with the preface written by Shaw.
Davies continued writing poetry for the rest of his life. He married in 1923 to a woman thirty years younger than him, and the two lived in London for the rest of their lives. W. H. Davies died on September 26, 1940 in Gloucestershire, England. Davies wrote seven hundred poems throughout his life in twenty-five different volumes, Nature Poems and Others, Forty New Poems, and The Loneliest Mountain, just to name a few. His Collected Poems was published two years after his death. Most of his poetry was about the beauty of nature, something he learned to appreciate during his life on the road, and his experiences traveling and wandering the countryside. Davies has been praised for his incredibly simple, natural style of writing poetry.
Several online sources give similar information on Davies' life, however, some present slightly different bits of information than others. This is most likely do to the fact that Davies and his work was shared commonly through oral culture, and some information may have been skewed by such a process. For a concise biography detailing the life and poetry style of W. H. Davies, along with access to several of his popular poems, feel free to visit http://www.poemhunter.com/william-henry-davies/biography/
Also an entry on Davies in the Encyclopedia Britanica that gives specific information about a few of the volumes that he had published can be found here: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/152720/William-Henry-Davies
Davies continued writing poetry for the rest of his life. He married in 1923 to a woman thirty years younger than him, and the two lived in London for the rest of their lives. W. H. Davies died on September 26, 1940 in Gloucestershire, England. Davies wrote seven hundred poems throughout his life in twenty-five different volumes, Nature Poems and Others, Forty New Poems, and The Loneliest Mountain, just to name a few. His Collected Poems was published two years after his death. Most of his poetry was about the beauty of nature, something he learned to appreciate during his life on the road, and his experiences traveling and wandering the countryside. Davies has been praised for his incredibly simple, natural style of writing poetry.
Several online sources give similar information on Davies' life, however, some present slightly different bits of information than others. This is most likely do to the fact that Davies and his work was shared commonly through oral culture, and some information may have been skewed by such a process. For a concise biography detailing the life and poetry style of W. H. Davies, along with access to several of his popular poems, feel free to visit http://www.poemhunter.com/william-henry-davies/biography/
Also an entry on Davies in the Encyclopedia Britanica that gives specific information about a few of the volumes that he had published can be found here: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/152720/William-Henry-Davies
Here's a neat fact about Davies for you. When Davies' success skyrocketed because of his acclaimed autobiography mentioned above, he became great friends with several literary figures in London's high society. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Herbert Asquith at the time, along with both Edward Thomas and Garnett, requested the King to grant Davies a Civil List pension due to his struggling attempts to make money and his disability. Davies ended up getting fifty pounds every year! Must be nice to have friends in high places!! The image to the left is a NY Times clipping from the time about the granted pension.