Minorities

by T.E. Lawrence, Cecil Day-Lewis (Introduction), J.M. Wilson (Editor)

s/t: Good poems by small poets and small poems by good poets
Lawrence's commonplace book includes an introduction by Jeremy Wilson that explains how the poems comprising the book reflected Lawrence's life and thoughts.

Genres: Poetry

272 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1972

About the author

Thomas Edward Lawrence, British soldier, adventurer, and writer, who, known as "Lawrence of Arabia," from 1916 led the revolt against the Turks to 1918 and later wrote The Seven Pillars of Wisdom , an account of his adventures, in 1926.

The professional world came for Thomas Edward Lawrence. In 1922, he used John Hume Ross, the name, to enlist in the royal air force, which discovered and forced him. Afterward, he took T.E. Shaw to join the tank corps in 1923. The royal air force in 1925 eventually let him back.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._E._L...

Reviews

[Marian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Minorities is quite a diverse collection of poems, some by Lawrence's contemporaries and some by his predecessors. I loved some of them and hated others...there's just that much variety. It's certainly worth reading for greater insight on T. E. Lawrence's personality, as well as his mindset post-Arabia. Full review: Minorities - the poetry collection of T. E. Lawrence

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great way to discover new poetry while at the same time getting a peek into T.E. Lawrence's mind. The everpresent sense of otherness and not belonging anywhere completely that this book talks about excessively is sadly well known to me to such an extent that now I'm thinking maybe it's actually an universal experience and not that uncommon.

When it comes to T.E. Lawrence's love life (or lack thereof) I am not particularly a big fan of J.M. Wilson insisting that T.E. surely didn't love Salem Ahmed like that (in a gay way), he was just unable to separate him from the Arab Revolt. The assumption that Lawrence having grown up as a loner would impact his understanding of the nature of his relationships later in life seems too far fetched to me. It's certainly not a great look for the author to talk with this much conviction about someone who was certainly queer (be it homosexual or asexual), not to mention that this whole concept of 'Minorities' is that it was a collection of poetry T.E. found relatable and there is quite a number of love poems he included.

[Wren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Regrettably a lot of this makes me go “he just like me fr”

I can deeply sympathize and deeply appreciate the desperate attempts to find reason and beauty in a world that seems to hold no place for you and one which you think often, though passively, of leaving early.

It’s also interesting to see the progression of his selection in poems, as most of them are in the chronological order of when Lawrence copied them down. The first third or so are much more melancholy and despairing in tone, with lamentation for loves and lives lost. By the last few, they tend to focus more fondly on the beauty of the world as Lawrence reached a happier place in his life, as content as he would ever get. And then, of course, he died, the lucky bastard.

“Still eyes look coldly upon me, cold voices whisper and say— ‘He is crazed with the spell of far Arabia, they have stolen his wits away.’”

Also his personal vendetta against semicolons is so relatable.

[Cionaudha]

Not written by Jeremy Wilson as shown. Compiled by T.E. Lawrence, edited by Jeremy Wilson.