Laurie Lee: Difference between revisions
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==Early life and works== |
==Early life and works== |
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Having been born in Stroud, Lee's family moved to the village of Slad in 1917, the move with which ''[[Cider with Rosie]]'' opens. Having fought in the [[First World War]] with the Royal West Kent regiment Lee's father Reg did not return to the family. Lee and his brothers grew up loving their mother's family , the Lights, and intensely disliking the Lee side. At twelve , Laurie went to the Central Boys School in Stroud. In his notebook for 1928, when he was fourteen he lists 'Concert and Dance Appointments', for at this time he was in demand to play his violin at dances. He left the Central School at fifteen to become an errand boy at a [[Chartered Accountants]] in Stroud. In 1931 he first found the [[Whiteway Colony]], two miles from Slad, a colony founded by [[Leo Tolstoy|Tolstoy]]an [[Anarchists]]. It gave him his first smattering of politicization and was where he met the composer [[Benjamin Frankel]] and the 'Cleo' who appears in ''[[As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning]]''. <ref> Valerie Grove - 'The Well Loved Stranger', a biography of Laurie Lee p.26 </ref> At twenty he worked as an office [[clerk]] and a builder's [[labourer]], and lived in [[London]] for a year before |
Having been born in Stroud, Lee's family moved to the village of Slad in 1917, the move with which ''[[Cider with Rosie]]'' opens. Having fought in the [[First World War]] with the Royal West Kent regiment Lee's father Reg did not return to the family. Lee and his brothers grew up loving their mother's family , the Lights, and intensely disliking the Lee side. At twelve , Laurie went to the Central Boys School in Stroud. In his notebook for 1928, when he was fourteen he lists 'Concert and Dance Appointments', for at this time he was in demand to play his violin at dances. He left the Central School at fifteen to become an errand boy at a [[Chartered Accountants]] in Stroud. In 1931 he first found the [[Whiteway Colony]], two miles from Slad, a colony founded by [[Leo Tolstoy|Tolstoy]]an [[Anarchists]]. It gave him his first smattering of politicization and was where he met the composer [[Benjamin Frankel]] and the 'Cleo' who appears in ''[[As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning]]''. <ref> Valerie Grove - 'The Well Loved Stranger', a biography of Laurie Lee p.26 </ref> In 1933 he met an "''exotically pretty girl with dark curly hair''" who had moved to Slad from [[Buenos Aires]] an in fluence on Lee who said, later in life, that he only went to Spain because " a girl in Slad from Buenos Aires, taught me a few words of Spanish." At twenty he worked as an office [[clerk]] and a builder's [[labourer]], and lived in [[London]] for a year before leaving for Spain in the summer of 1935. Walking more often than not, he eked out a living by playing his [[violin]]. He started to study for an art degree (during these years he met a woman who helped him financially) but returned to Spain in 1937 as an International Brigade volunteer. His service in the [[Spanish Civil War]] was cut short by his [[epilepsy]]. These experiences were recounted in ''As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning'' (1969), his observations of pre-Civil War Spain as he walked from [[Vigo]], in [[Galicia, Spain | Galicia]], to [[Almuñécar]], in [[Granada (province) | Granada]]; and in ''A Moment of War'' (1991), an austere memoir of his experience as a volunteer in the Spanish Civil War. According to many biographical sources, Lee fought in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) in the Republican army against [[Francisco Franco|Franco's]] [[Spanish Civil War#Nationalists | Nationalists]]. After his death there were claims that Lee's involvement in the war was a fantasy; they were dismissed as "ludicrous" by his widow.<ref>[http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-60850637.html "Laurie Lee Civil War Lies Claims 'Are Ludicrous'."] [http://www.highbeam.com/ Highbeam Research.] Originally published in [[Birmingham Post | The Birmingham Post]], January 1, 1998.</ref> |
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Before devoting himself entirely to writing in 1951, Lee worked as a journalist and as a scriptwriter. During [[World War II]] he made documentary films for the [[GPO Film Unit|General Post Office film unit]] (1939-40) and the [[Crown Film Unit]] (1941-43). From 1944 to 1946 he worked as the Publications Editor for the [[Ministry of Information]].<ref name=straits>Lyman, Rick. "[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1309&dat=19970520&id=UWgWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GRUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6776,4414799 Poet Laurie Lee Dies at 82.]" ''The New Straits Times,'' May 20, 1997.</ref> In 1950 Lee married Catherine Francesca Polge, whose father was [[Provençal]] and whose mother was one of [[The Garman Sisters|the Garman sisters]]; they had one daughter, Jessie. From 1950 to 1951 he was caption-writer-in-chief for the [[Festival of Britain]], for which service he was awarded the decoration of the [[Order of the British Empire]] (MBE) in 1952. |
Before devoting himself entirely to writing in 1951, Lee worked as a journalist and as a scriptwriter. During [[World War II]] he made documentary films for the [[GPO Film Unit|General Post Office film unit]] (1939-40) and the [[Crown Film Unit]] (1941-43). From 1944 to 1946 he worked as the Publications Editor for the [[Ministry of Information]].<ref name=straits>Lyman, Rick. "[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1309&dat=19970520&id=UWgWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GRUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6776,4414799 Poet Laurie Lee Dies at 82.]" ''The New Straits Times,'' May 20, 1997.</ref> In 1950 Lee married Catherine Francesca Polge, whose father was [[Provençal]] and whose mother was one of [[The Garman Sisters|the Garman sisters]]; they had one daughter, Jessie. From 1950 to 1951 he was caption-writer-in-chief for the [[Festival of Britain]], for which service he was awarded the decoration of the [[Order of the British Empire]] (MBE) in 1952. |
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Revision as of 22:24, 13 April 2010
Laurie Lee | |
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| Occupation | Author, screenwriter, poet |
Laurence Edward Alan "Laurie" Lee, MBE (June 26 1914 – May 13, 1997) was an English poet, novelist, and screenwriter, raised in the village of Slad, Gloucestershire.[1] His most famous work was an autobiographical trilogy which consisted of Cider with Rosie (1959), As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning (1969) and A Moment of War (1991). The first volume recounts his childhood in the idyllic Slad Valley. The second deals with his leaving home for London and his first visit to Spain in 1935, and the third with his return to Spain in December 1937 to join the Republican International Brigades.
Early life and works
Having been born in Stroud, Lee's family moved to the village of Slad in 1917, the move with which Cider with Rosie opens. Having fought in the First World War with the Royal West Kent regiment Lee's father Reg did not return to the family. Lee and his brothers grew up loving their mother's family , the Lights, and intensely disliking the Lee side. At twelve , Laurie went to the Central Boys School in Stroud. In his notebook for 1928, when he was fourteen he lists 'Concert and Dance Appointments', for at this time he was in demand to play his violin at dances. He left the Central School at fifteen to become an errand boy at a Chartered Accountants in Stroud. In 1931 he first found the Whiteway Colony, two miles from Slad, a colony founded by Tolstoyan Anarchists. It gave him his first smattering of politicization and was where he met the composer Benjamin Frankel and the 'Cleo' who appears in As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning. [2] In 1933 he met an "exotically pretty girl with dark curly hair" who had moved to Slad from Buenos Aires an in fluence on Lee who said, later in life, that he only went to Spain because " a girl in Slad from Buenos Aires, taught me a few words of Spanish." At twenty he worked as an office clerk and a builder's labourer, and lived in London for a year before leaving for Spain in the summer of 1935. Walking more often than not, he eked out a living by playing his violin. He started to study for an art degree (during these years he met a woman who helped him financially) but returned to Spain in 1937 as an International Brigade volunteer. His service in the Spanish Civil War was cut short by his epilepsy. These experiences were recounted in As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning (1969), his observations of pre-Civil War Spain as he walked from Vigo, in Galicia, to Almuñécar, in Granada; and in A Moment of War (1991), an austere memoir of his experience as a volunteer in the Spanish Civil War. According to many biographical sources, Lee fought in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) in the Republican army against Franco's Nationalists. After his death there were claims that Lee's involvement in the war was a fantasy; they were dismissed as "ludicrous" by his widow.[3]
Before devoting himself entirely to writing in 1951, Lee worked as a journalist and as a scriptwriter. During World War II he made documentary films for the General Post Office film unit (1939-40) and the Crown Film Unit (1941-43). From 1944 to 1946 he worked as the Publications Editor for the Ministry of Information.[4] In 1950 Lee married Catherine Francesca Polge, whose father was Provençal and whose mother was one of the Garman sisters; they had one daughter, Jessie. From 1950 to 1951 he was caption-writer-in-chief for the Festival of Britain, for which service he was awarded the decoration of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1952.
Cider with Rosie continues to be one of the UK's most popular books, and is sometimes used as a set English Literature text for schoolchildren. It captured images of village life from a bygone era of innocence and simplicity. With the proceeds Lee was able to buy his childhood home in Slad.
Poetry
Lee's first love was always poetry, though he was only moderately successful as a poet. Lee's first poem appeared in Cyril Connolly's Horizon in 1940 and he published his first volume of poems, The Sun My Monument, in 1944. This was followed by The Bloom of Candles (1947) and My Many Coated Man (1955). Several poems written in the early 1940s reflect the atmosphere of the war, but also capture the beauty of the English countryside.
Other works
Other works include A Rose for Winter, about a trip he made to Andalusia fifteen years after the Civil War; Two Women (1983), a story of Lee's courtship and marriage with Kathy, daughter of Helen Garman; The Firstborn (1964), about the birth and childhood of their daughter Jessye; I Can't Stay Long (1975), a collection of occasional writing; and The Edge of Day (1960), an autobiography.
Lee also wrote travel books, essays, a radio play, and short stories.
Honors and awards
Lee received several awards, including the Atlantic Award [clarification needed] (1944), the Society of Authors travelling award (1951), the William Foyle Poetry Prize (1956), and the W.H. Smith and Son Award (1960).
In As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning, Lee writes of his stay in a Spanish fishing village which he calls "Castillo." The real town is Almuñécar. In 1988 the citizens of Almuñécar erected a statue in Lee's honor.[4]
In 1993, A Moment of War was chosen as a Notable Book of the Year by the editors of The New York Times Book Review.[4]
Lee provided a great deal of valuable support to the Brotherhood of Ruralists in their attempts to establish themselves in the 1970s, and he continued to do so until his death; his essay Understanding the Ruralists opened the Brotherhood's major 1993 retrospective book. Indeed, it was Lee who is said to have given them the name "Ruralists."[5]
In 2003 the British Library acquired Lee's original manuscripts, letters and diaries. The collection includes two unknown plays and drafts of Cider with Rosie, which reveal that early titles for the book were Cider with Poppy, Cider with Daisy and The Abandoned Shade.[6]
Final years
In the 1960s, Laurie Lee and his wife returned to Slad to live near his childhood home, where they remained until his death on May 14, 1997, at age 82. He is buried in the local churchyard.
Works
Books
- Land at War (1945)
- An Obstinate Exile (1951)
- A Rose for Winter: Travels in Andalusia (1955)
- Man Must Move: The Story of Transport (with David Lambert) (1960); published in the U.S. as The Wonderful World of Transportation, (1960) – for children
- The Firstborn (1964)
- I Can't Stay Long (1975)
- Innocence in the Mirror (1978)
- Two Women (1983)
Autobiographical Trilogy
- Cider with Rosie (1959); published in the U.S. as The Edge of Day(1960)
- As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning (1969)
- A Moment of War (1991)
Poetry
- The Sun My Monument (1944)
- The Bloom of Candles: Verse from a Poet's Year (1947)
- My Many-Coated Man (1955)
- Poems (1960)
- Selected Poems (1983)
Recordings
- Laurie Lee Reading His Own Poems (1960)
Plays
- The Voyage of Magellan: A Dramatic Chronicle for Radio (broadcast 1946; published 1948)
- Peasants' Priest (1947)
Screenplays
- Cyprus Is an Island (1946)
- A Tale in a Teacup (1947)
Radio Play
- The Voyage of Magellan (1946)[7]
References
- ^ Grove, Valerie (1999). Laurie Lee: The Well-Loved Stranger. New York: Viking.
- ^ Valerie Grove - 'The Well Loved Stranger', a biography of Laurie Lee p.26
- ^ "Laurie Lee Civil War Lies Claims 'Are Ludicrous'." Highbeam Research. Originally published in The Birmingham Post, January 1, 1998.
- ^ a b c Lyman, Rick. "Poet Laurie Lee Dies at 82." The New Straits Times, May 20, 1997.
- ^ Dunnett, Roderic. "Back to Nature." The Spectator, September 20, 2003.
- ^ Malvern, Jack. "Cider with Rosie Saved for Nation." TimesOnline, May 16, 2003.
- ^ LAURIE LEE (1914-1997) - English poet and author TomFolio Books
External links
- Laurie Lee reads "Christmas Landscape" BBC Three
- Laurie Lee (1914-1997) Books and Writers
- Review of Lee's autobiography The Edge of Day. "In Praise of Childhood." TIME, March 28, 1960.