Francis Berry (23 March 1915 – 10 October 2006) was a British academic, poet, critic and translator. He was born in

Ipoh Ipoh (, ) is the capital city of the Malaysian States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Perak. Located on the Kinta River, it is nearly north of Kuala Lumpur and southeast of George Town, Penang, George Town in neighbouring Penang ...

, Malaya, and educated at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

and the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

. After serving as an army soldier during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and then as a schoolteacher in

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

, he held various appointments in English literature. He was professor of English Literature at the

University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Fir ...

from 1947 to 1970, where he was a friend of

William Empson Sir William Empson (27 September 1906 – 15 April 1984) was an English literary critic and poet, widely influential for his practice of closely reading literary works, a practice fundamental to New Criticism. His best-known work is his firs ...

. From 1970 until his retirement in 1980, he was professor at

Royal Holloway, University of London Royal Holloway, University of London (RH), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public university, public research university and a constituent college, member institution of the federal University of London. It ...

. He also wrote radio plays, and an edited translation of the Sauđarkrokur manuscripts entitled ''I Tell of Greenland'' (1977). His first collection of poetry, ''Gospel of Fire'', was published in 1933; his ''Collected Poems'', drawing on 11 books, appeared in 1994. His work has been praised by G. Wilson KnightObituary
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 31 October 2006 and

Philip Hobsbaum Philip Dennis Hobsbaum (29 June 1932 – 28 June 2005) was a British teacher, poet and critic. Life Hobsbaum was born into a Polish Jewish family in London, and brought up in Bradford, Yorkshire, where he attended Belle Vue Boys' Grammar S ...

. His critical writing includes books on

John Masefield John Edward Masefield (; 1 June 1878 – 12 May 1967) was an English poet and writer. He was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate from 1930 until his death in 1967, during which time he lived at Burcot, Oxfordshire, near Abingdon ...

and

Herbert Read Sir Herbert Edward Read, (; 4 December 1893 – 12 June 1968) was an English art historian, poet, literary critic and philosopher, best known for numerous books on art, which included influential volumes on the role of art in education. Read wa ...

. A number of his papers are archived at the Harry Ransom Center in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, USA and at Leeds University Library. His son is The Telegraph Cricket correspondent Scyld Berry.

Publications

Poetry

*''Gospel of Fire.'' Francis Berry, London, E. Mathews & Marrot, 1933. *''Snake in the Moon. Poems,'' London, Williams & Norgate, 1936. *''The Iron Christ.'' ''A poem'', London, Williams & Norgate, 1936. *''Fall of a Tower and Other Poems,'' London, Fortune Press, 1942. *''Murdock and Other Poems,'' London, Dakers, 1947. *''The Galloping Centaur: Poems 1933–1951,'' London, Methuen, 1952. *''Morant Bay and other poems'', London, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1961. *''Ghosts of Greenland,'' London, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1967. *''I tell of Greenland: an edited translation of the Saudarkrokur manuscripts.'' Francis Berry, London, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1977. *''From the Red Fort,'' Bristol, Redcliffe, 1984. *''Collected poems / Francis Berry'', Bristol, Redcliffe, 1994.

Radio Plays

* ''Illnesses and Ghosts at the West Settlement,'' 1965; * ''The Sirens,'' 1966; * ''The Near Singing Dome,'' 1971; * ''Eyre Remembers,'' 1982

Novels

* ''I Tell of Greenland''. London, Routledge, 1977.

Critical Writings

* ''Herbert Read,'' London, Longman, 1953; revised edition, 1961. * ''Poets' Grammar: Person, Time and Mood in Poetry,'' London, Routledge, 1958; Westport, Connecticut, Greenwood Press, 1974. * ''Poetry and the Physical Voice,'' London, Routledge, and New York, Oxford University Press, 1962. * ''The Shakespeare Inset: Word and Picture,'' London, Routledge, 1965; New York, Theatre Arts, 1966; revised edition, Carbondale, Southern Illinois University Press, 1971.

Notes

External links

Francis Berry Collection
at the

Harry Ransom Center The Harry Ransom Center, known as the Humanities Research Center until 1983, is an archive, library, and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe ...

at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

* Archival Material at Academics of the University of Sheffield Academics of Royal Holloway, University of London People educated at Dean Close School 1915 births 2006 deaths British male poets 20th-century British poets 20th-century British male writers British Army personnel of World War II British people in British Malaya {{UK-poet-stub