In this series, a contemporary poet selects and introduces a poet of the past.
Barnes died in 1886..
His work has often been praised for its evocations of Dorset life, landscape and customs; he also wrote political poems of great power and was a master elegist.
Among his best-known books of poetry are Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844) and Homely Rhymes (1859).
He was deply interested in grammar and language, and waged a lifelong campaign to rid English of classical and foreign influences.
He learned Greek, Latin and music, taught himself wood engraving, and in 1823 became a schoolmaster in Mere.
William Barnes was born in 1801 near Sturminster Newton in Dorset, of a farming family.
By their choice of poems and by the personal and critical reactions they express in their prefaces, the editors offer insights into their own work as well as providing an accessible and passionate introduction to the most important poets in our literature.
In this series, a contemporary poet selects and introduces a poet of the past
