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The Sleeping Lord and Other Fragments
These poems, assembled shortly before the author's death in 1974, are all set in parts of the Roman Empire, either in the Holy Land or on the Celtic fringes. They are animated by David Jones's Catholic faith and by his own experiences as a soldier.
- GenresPoetry
111 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1974
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About the author
David Jones
10 books6 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
David Jones is one of the finest modernist poets. He was born in London in 1895 and was both a painter and a poet. His reputation as a poet rests largely on two works: In Parenthesis and The Anathemata. The former is a deeply moving account of Jones' experiences in the trenches in the First World War.
In Parenthesis won the prestigious Hawthornden Prize in 1938. In his preface to the 1961 edition, T S Eliot had no hesitation in including Jones along with Joyce, Pound and himself as a premier exponent of literary modernism. The poem is a mixture of prose and verse and is accompanied by Jones' notes. What stands out is the fundamental decency and humanity of those men as they made their way to the slaughter on the front line. This journey is described with such brilliance that the reader becomes immersed in the moment and almost forgets the horrors that await. The notes are equally remarkable and could make a poem in themselves.
W H Auden callled The Anathemata "Very probably the finest long poem written in English in this century" and it is a remarkable work, packed full of the 'mixed data' referred to above and providing a dizzying tour of our cultural past. This too has notes provided by Jones and a long introduction which both explains and justifies the nature of its composition.
David Jones is one of the finest modernist poets. He was born in London in 1895 and was both a painter and a poet. His reputation as a poet rests largely on two works: In Parenthesis and The Anathemata. The former is a deeply moving account of Jones' experiences in the trenches in the First World War.
In Parenthesis won the prestigious Hawthornden Prize in 1938. In his preface to the 1961 edition, T S Eliot had no hesitation in including Jones along with Joyce, Pound and himself as a premier exponent of literary modernism. The poem is a mixture of prose and verse and is accompanied by Jones' notes. What stands out is the fundamental decency and humanity of those men as they made their way to the slaughter on the front line. This journey is described with such brilliance that the reader becomes immersed in the moment and almost forgets the horrors that await. The notes are equally remarkable and could make a poem in themselves.
W H Auden callled The Anathemata "Very probably the finest long poem written in English in this century" and it is a remarkable work, packed full of the 'mixed data' referred to above and providing a dizzying tour of our cultural past. This too has notes provided by Jones and a long introduction which both explains and justifies the nature of its composition.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 26, 2020
Just wish I could remember where I read about this guy - could have been my paper. The language is lovely - seem to remember being told that TS Eliot was a great admirer of David Jones work. I can see why. David Jones style is a cross between Gerald Manley Hopkins & TS Eliot; it’s quite adjectival, very poetic, very musical. Be warned, there are a number of Welsh words, tho’ there are translations. And if I’ve got a quibble it’s I do prefer my poetry in sentences rather than block paragraphs. Definitely repays close reading & I need to return to this.
June 1, 2022
Not as strong as his epic long poems, but still very much worth the read.
November 27, 2008
One of several amazing works by David Jones in which I am currently immersed. I've been meaning to read Jones for a couple of years, and now I'm just sorry I waited this long. Like discovering a new major river.
December 5, 2008
Jones is a rather enigmatic poet/painter producing no easy to grasp poetry with many allusions to classical works, celtic myth and religious cult. Even without the manifold notes an absolute wonderful experience to read and re-read.
May 2, 2015
There are some quite exceptional passages in this, particularly in the poem entitled 'The Sleeping Lord'. "Does the land wait the sleeping lord - or is that wasted land the very lord who sleeps?" Perhaps the best Arthurian work of the 20th century.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews