The cover of Gascoyne's 1935 book A Short Survey of Surrealism

David Gascoyne (October 10, 1916 - November 25, 2001) was a British poet associated with the Surrealist movement. fair use book cover from http://www. ... fair use book cover from http://www. ... October 10 is the 283rd day of the year (284th in leap years). ... 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... is the 329th day of the year (330th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Chinese poem Quatrain on Heavenly Mountain by Emperor Gaozong (Song Dynasty) Poetry (from the Greek , poiesis, a making or creating) is a form of art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its ostensible meaning. ... Surrealism is an artistic movement and an aesthetic philosophy that aims for the liberation of the mind by emphasizing the critical and imaginative powers of the subconscious. ...

Early Life and Surrealism

Gascoyne was born in Harrow and grew up in England and Scotland and attended the Choir School at Salisbury and Regent Street Polytechnic in London. He spent part of the early 1930s in Paris. Harrow is the principal town in the London Borough of Harrow. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the Queen England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Unified  -  by Athelstan 967 AD  Area  -  Total 130,395 km²  50,346 sq mi  Population  -  2007 estimate 50... Motto (Latin) No one provokes me with impunity Cha togar mfhearg gun dioladh (Scottish Gaelic) Wha daur meddle wi me?(Scots)1 Anthem (Multiple unofficial anthems) Scotlands location in Europe Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official languages English, Gaelic and Scots1 Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Monarch Queen Elizabeth II... Salisbury Cathedral by Constable. ... The University of Westminster is a university in London, England, formed in 1992 as a result of the Further and Higher Education Act, 1992, which allowed the London Polytechnic (Polytechnic of Central London or PCL ) to rename itself as a university. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) Paris Eiffel tower as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ...

His first book, Roman Balcony and Other Poems, was published in 1932, when he was sixteen. A novel, Opening Day, was published the following year. However, it was Man's Life is This Meat (1936), which collected his early surrealist work and translations of French surrealists, and Hoelderlin's Madness (1938) that established his reputation. These publications, together with his 1935 A Short Survey of Surrealism and his work on the 1936 London International Surrealist Exhibition, made him one of a small group of English surrealists that included Hugh Sykes Davies and Roger Roughton. Year 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1932 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar). ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The International Surrealist Exhibition was held from 11 June to 4 July 1936 at the New Burlington Galleries in London. ... The term English literature refers to literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; Joseph Conrad was Polish, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, Salman Rushdie is Indian, V.S... Hugh Sykes Davies (1909-1984) was an English poet, novelist and communist who was one of a small group of 1930s British surrealists. ...

Politics

Gascoyne had become friendly with Charles Madge and through him became involved in the Mass Observation movement. He joined the Communist Party of Great Britain in 1936 and broadcast some radio talks for the Barcelona-based propaganda ministry. However, he soon became disillusioned and left the party. Charles Madge (1912-1996), was an English poet and journalist, now most remembered as one of the founders of Mass_Observation. ... Mass-Observation was a United Kingdom social research organisation founded in 1937. ... The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist party in the United Kingdom. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Location Coordinates : Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer: CEST (GMT +2) General information Native name Barcelona (Catalan) Spanish name Barcelona Nickname Ciutat Comtal (Catalan) Postal code 08001–08080 Area code 34 (Spain) + 93 (Barcelona) Website http://www. ...

Later Life and Works

Gascoyne spent the years just before World War II in Paris, where he became friendly with Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, Andre Breton, Paul Eluard and Pierre Jean Jouve. His poetry of this period was published in Poems 1937-1942 (1943) with illustrations by the artist Graham Sutherland. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) Paris Eiffel tower as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ... Salvador Felipe Jacinto Dalí Domènech Marquis of Pubol (May 11, 1904 – January 23, 1989), popularly known as Salvador Dalí, was a Spanish artist and one of the most important painters of the 20th century. ... Max Ernst and Dorothea Tanning in 1948. ... Andr Breton (February 18, 1896 - September 28, 1966) was a French writer, poet, and Surrealist theoretician. ... Paul Éluard was the nom de plume of Eugène Grindel (December 14, 1895 - November 18, 1952), a French poet. ... Pierre Jean Jouve (1887 - 1976) was a French writer, novelist and poet. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Graham Vivian Sutherland (August 24, 1903 – February 17, 1980) was an English artist. ...

He returned to France after the war and lived there on and off until the mid 1960s. His work from the 1950s appeared in A Vagrant and Other Poems (1950), and Night Thoughts (1956). Interestingly, this later work had moved away from surrealism towards a more metaphysical and religious poetry. After suffering a mental breakdown, Gascoyne returned to England and spent the rest of his life on the Isle of Wight. He appears to have written little from that point on. Publication continued due to various 'rediscoveries' of his works, with a number of collections and selections of his work from Oxford University Press, Enitharmon and other imprints. Two books of his journals were returned to him after having been lost for some time and were published in two separate hardbacks by Alan Clodd at Enitharmon Press. When a third book was found, a new collection including the additional material was edited by Lucien Jenkins for Skoob Books Publishing. For the latter edition David Gascoyne himself provided what he called a 'postface', one of the most extended pieces of writing from his later years. Year 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Plato and Aristotle (right), by Raphael (Stanza della Segnatura, Rome). ... Religious is a term with both a technical definition and folk use. ... The Isle of Wight is an English island and county, off the southern English coast, to the south of the county of Hampshire. ...

It was in Whitecroft Hospital on the Isle of Wight that Gascoyne met his wife, Judy Lewis, in a remarkable coincidence. Judy explains: The Isle of Wight is an English island and county, off the southern English coast, to the south of the county of Hampshire. ...

One of my favourite poems was called September Sun. I read it one afternoon and one of the patients came up to me afterwards and said 'I wrote that', I put my hand on his shoulder and said 'Of course you did, dear'. Then of course when I got to know him I realised he had.

They married in 1975. David Gascoyne died on 25 November 2001 at the age of 85. Obituaries for him can be found here: http://www.connectotel.com/gascoyne/gascnews.html is the 329th day of the year (330th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Gascoyne's Reputation

In a poetic landscape dominated by W. H. Auden and other more political and social poets, the surrealist group tended to be overlooked by critics and public alike. He, among others, was lampooned by Dylan Thomas in Letter to my Aunt. Although Poems 1937-1942 (illustrated by Graham Sutherland) received some critical acclaim at the time, it was only with the renewed interest in experimental writing associated with the British Poetry Revival that their work began to be rediscovered and discussed. His Collected Poems appeared in 1988 and his work was included in the Revival anthology Conductors of Chaos (1996). Wystan Hugh Auden (21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) (IPA: ; first syllable of Auden rhymes with law), who signed his works W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet, regarded by many as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. ... Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (October 27, 1914 – November 9, 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer. ... Graham Vivian Sutherland (August 24, 1903 – February 17, 1980) was an English artist. ... The British Poetry Revival is the general name given to a loose poetic movement in Britain that took place in the 1960s and 1970s. ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... Conductors of Chaos: A Poetry Anthology is a poetry anthology edited by Iain Sinclair, and published in 1996 by Picador. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ...

In later years, Gascoyne himself seemed remarkably resigned to the the fact that he had not altogether achieved in poetry what he had set out to achieve when young, and had not sustained his remarkable early promise. He was nevertheless pleased whenever he did receive critical notice. When in his later years his attention was drawn to the balanced assessment of his work by Martin Seymour-Smith in that poet and critic's immense Guide to Modern World Literature (Macmillan), he was gratified both by the tone of the commentary and by the fact of Seymour-Smith's assertion that Gascoyne was still widely read.

Bibliography

A bibliography of David Gascoyne's works, compiled by Colin Benford, was published in 1986 by Heritage Books.

References

• David Gascoyne Home Page