The Torch-bearers

by Alfred Noyes

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Genres: Poetry

Nook

First published September 1, 2009

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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Reviews

[Cypress Butane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm reading the second book of this epic poem trilogy about the story of scientific discovery 'The Torch Bearers', volume two being 'Book of Earth'. It and the third volume are a lot harder to find than the first volume 'Watchers of the Sky'. I heard of this from a reference in a book by atomic bomb scientist Arthur Holly Compton. I'm really enjoying the work and it'd be a shame if it remains so hard to get a hold of.

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I JUST FINISHED READING THE SECOND BOOK OF THE POEM TRILOGY ‘THE TORCH BEARERS’ BY ALFRED NOYES.
It’s an epic poem about the discoveries of science throughout history, and I originally got the second book ‘The Book of Earth’ out of the library to look up a passage I saw quoted in a book about Quantum Physics, a bit about Pythagoras, and it was so interesting I had to read the whole thing.

I really recommend checking these out. I’m planning on reading the other two as well. I think it was published in 1922. It’s got a kind of modernist feel to it which would make sense if it was published that year. The book I read had a lot to do with scientists’ kind of mystical approach to the connections they find in nature and kind of the battle of skeptical science (of scientists who have wonder in their hearts) who are battling their detractors (who merely hold contention against people disputing their tenuously held beliefs), but it’s a much more terrifying story than all that, and too wonderful to break down so cheaply. And as it kind of shows you, trying to put it ‘to page’ kind of takes away from the truth, which is so hard on those who would seek against those who find themselves unable to help but teach.

I haven’t read much poetry before this but this was a great book to help me get into reading more.

Definitely check it.