Frances Margaret Horovitz ( Hooker; 13 February 1938 – 2 October 1983) was an English

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and broadcaster.

Life and work

Frances Margaret Hooker (who adopted and wrote under the surname of her first husband, Michael Horovitz) was born in

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a town within the London Borough of Waltham Forest in east London. The town borders Chingford to the north, Snaresbrook and South Woodford to the east, Leyton and Leytonstone to the south, and Tottenham to the west. At ...

, London, in 1938 but moved with her family to

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

in 1942 when her father was appointed manager of a munitions factory there. In 1947 they returned to London and Frances attended Walthamstow School for Girls. She went on to

Bristol University The University of Bristol is a public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Bristol, which had ...

to study English and Drama and then to the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...

in London. As a reader and presenter for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, she acquired a reputation for care of preparation and quality of delivery. Her poetry has been described as "not that of the 'age' but of the earth" by Anne Stevenson. However, according to

Peter Levi Peter Chad Tigar Levi (16 May 1931, in Ruislip – 1 February 2000, in Frampton-on-Severn) was an English poet, archaeologist, Jesuit priest, travel writer, biographer, academic and prolific reviewer and critic. He was Professor of Poetry at ...

, such is her economy of means in the poems "that one runs the risk of not noticing how effective they are"; the effect of her writing is cumulative and "adds up to a shadow of something more vast and powerful than any individual work". Her writing gives voice principally to perceptions of the natural world, but also ancient history and human relationships within its framework. Frances married two poets: Michael Horovitz in 1964 and Roger Garfitt just before her death in 1983. Her only child Adam Horovitz, also a poet, was born in 1971. She herself did not really start writing poetry until shortly after marrying Michael. Much of her paid work was in teaching part-time in schools and reading or performing the work of others on stage, radio and television. In the broadcasting world she started as the protégée of George MacBeth. In 1970 she and Michael bought the cottage of Mullions in the Slad Valley, where she remained based until the end of 1980. After that she and Adam moved to join Roger Garfitt in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

, where she was eventually diagnosed with skin cancer in her left ear. Operations and other treatments failed to stop its spread and she died in the Royal Marsden hospital at the age of 45.Most biographical details are from Brocard Sewell's "Frances Horovitz: A Memoir", Sewell, 1987, pp. 19–63.

Publications

*''Poems'' (St. Albert’s, 1967) *''Dream: A Poem'' (Sceptre, 1969) *''The High Tower'' (New Departures, 1970) *''Letter to Be Sent by Air'' (Sceptre, 1974) *''Elegy'' (Sceptre, 1976) *''Water Over Stone'' (Enitharmon, 1980) *''Wall'' (a collaboration (L.Y.C.) 1981) *''Rowlstone Haiku'' (with Roger Garfitt, Five Seasons, 1982); the poems are reprinted in Oswald Jones, ''Winterreise: An Exhibition of Landscape Photographs'' (Canterbury, 1982) *''Snow Light, Water Light'' (Bloodaxe, 1983) *''Collected Poems'' (Bloodaxe/Enitharmon, 1984, edited by Roger Garfitt; 2nd edition, 2011, includes CD-ROM of readings by, and an interview with, Frances Horovitz)

Publications about Frances Horovitz

*Horovitz, Michael (ed. 1984), ''A Celebration of and for Frances Horovitz (1938–1983)'' (New Departures; 2nd edn, 1984, issued as New Departures, vol. 16) *Sewell, Brocard (ed. 1987), ''Frances Horovitz—Poet: A Symposium'' (Aylesford Press)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Horovitz, Frances 1938 births 1983 deaths English women poets 20th-century English women writers 20th-century English poets People from Walthamstow People educated at Walthamstow School for Girls Alumni of the University of Bristol Deaths from skin cancer deaths from cancer in England Writers from the London Borough of Waltham Forest Writers from Nottingham