George Barker, one of the neglected voices of the twentieth century, is a poet who is difficult to classify and has frequently been misunderstood. He rose to prominence shortly before the Second World War, just as the influence of the great modernist poets was starting to fade and when the Auden generation was already past its first peak. An approximate contemporary of Dylan Thomas, Barker went his own way, developing through a succession of highly individual stylistic changes. Arguably the poet whose work his own most resembles is his one-time friend and rival in love W. S. (“Jock”) Graham (1918-1986), whose aspiration towards purity of diction and whose taut and singing rhythms are sometimes reminiscent of him. Barker was, however,…
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Citation: Fraser, Robert. "George Granville Barker". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 July 2001 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=258, accessed 23 November 2024.]
