Walter De La Mare

James Bridges (Independent Scholar - Europe)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.08: English Writing and Culture of the early Twentieth Century , 1900-1945.
Vol. editors: Chris Baldick (Goldsmiths College, University of London), Peter Childs (Birmingham Newman University), Louise McDonald (Birmingham Newman University), Andrew Radford (University of Glasgow)

Dates

Born 25 Apr 1873
Died 22 Jun 1956
Activity 1895-1956

Places

Born in England
Active in England

Activities

Primary

Children's/Young Adult writer
Novelist
Poet
Story-writer

Resources

De La Mare's Works

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Walter de la Mare was born in Kent in 1873 and educated at St Paul's Cathedral Choir School. At the age of sixteen he began work in the Anglo-American oil company, where he remained for twenty years. In 1899 he married Elfie Ingpen, a woman some years his senior.

Writing under the pseudonym Walter Ramal he published Songs of Childhood (1902), a volume that reveals his particular talent as a children's writer. This he followed with Peacock Pie (1913) which remains to this day a well-known collection for children. Songs of Childhood and Peacock Pie emphasise the darker side of childhood, with recurrent strains of sadness, loss and cruelty.

Writing under the pseudonym Walter Ramal he published

Songs of Childhood

(1902), a volume that reveals his particular talent as a children's writer. This…

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490 words

Citation: Bridges, James. "Walter De La Mare". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 February 2002 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4979, accessed 25 November 2024.]