Two Worlds for Memory

by Alfred Noyes

TWO WORLDS FOR MEMORY is the autobiography of Alfred Noyes. Alfred Noyes CBE (1880 – 1958) was an English poet, short-story writer and playwright. Noyes was born in Wolverhampton, England the son of Alfred and Amelia Adams Noyes. When he was four, the family moved to Aberystwyth, Wales, where his father taught Latin and Greek. The Welsh coast and mountains were an inspiration to Noyes. Noyes was best known for his poems The Highwayman and The Barrel-Organ. His first volume of verse, Loom of Years, appeared in 1902. It was followed by such poems as the epic Drake (1908) and the colorful Tales of the Mermaid Tavern (1913). From 1914 to 1923, Noyes was professor of English literature at Princeton. In 1925, Noyes converted to Roman Catholicism; The Unknown God (1934) is an account of his conversion. His later writings include The Torch Bearers (1922–30), a trilogy in verse on man's scientific accomplishments; The Sun Cure (1929), a novel; and a biography of Voltaire (1938). His collected poems were published in 1950. Noyes was a literary conservative who adhered to traditional models in the structure and substance of his poetry. His poems, highly colored and romantic, are often marred by sentimentality.

356 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Alfred Noyes was the son of Alfred and Amelia Adams Noyes. His father was a teacher and taught Latin and Greek and in Aberystwyth, Wales. In 1898, Alfred attended Exeter College in Oxford. Though he failed to earn a degree, the young poet published his first collection of poetry, The Loom of Years, in 1902.

Between 1903 and 1908, Noyes published five volumes of poetry including The Forest of Wild Thyme (1905) and The Flower of Old Japan and Other Poems (1907). His books were widely reviewed and were published both in Britain and the United States. Among his best-known poems from this time are The Highwayman and Drake. Drake, which appeared serially in Blackwood's Magazine, was a two-hundred page epic about life at sea.

Noyes married Garnett Daniels in 1907, and they had three children. His increasing popularity allowed the family to live off royalty cheques. In 1914, Noyes accepted a teaching position at Princeton University, where he taught English Literature until 1923. He was a noted critic of modernist writers, particularly James Joyce. Likewise, his work at this time was criticized by some for its refusal to embrace the modernist movement.

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