Kenneth Vennor Morris (31 July 1879 – 21 April 1937), sometimes using the Welsh form of his name Cenydd Morus, was a Welsh author and

theosophist Theosophy is a religious movement established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neo ...

. Born in South Wales, he relocated to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

with his family as a child, and was educated at

Christ's Hospital Christ's Hospital is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 11–18) with a royal charter, located to the south of Horsham in West Sussex. T ...

. In 1896, he lived in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

for a while, where he became friends with

George William Russell George William Russell (10 April 1867 – 17 July 1935), who wrote with the pseudonym Æ (often written AE or A.E.), was an Irish writer, editor, critic, poet, painter and Irish nationalist. He was also a writer on mysticism, and a cen ...

. From 1908 to 1930, Morris lived in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

as a staffperson of the

Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society is the organizational body of Theosophy, an esoteric new religious movement. It was founded in New York City, U.S.A. in 1875. Among its founders were Helena Blavatsky, a Russian mystic and the principal thinker of the ...

headquarters at

Point Loma Point Loma ( Spanish: ''Punta de la Loma'', meaning "Hill Point"; Kumeyaay: ''Amat Kunyily'', meaning "Black Earth") is a seaside community in San Diego, California, United States. Geographically it is a hilly peninsula that is bordered on the ...

. The last seven years of his life were spent back in his native Wales, during which time he founded seven Welsh theosophical lodges. Morris was a friend of

Talbot Mundy Talbot Mundy (born William Lancaster Gribbon, 23 April 1879 – 5 August 1940) was an English writer of adventure fiction. Based for most of his life in the United States, he also wrote under the pseudonym of Walter Galt. Best known as th ...

, and the two writers often commentated on each other's work in magazine '' The Theosophical Path''. According to

Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula Kroeber Le Guin ( ; Kroeber; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author. She is best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the ''Earthsea'' fantas ...

, Morris is one of the three master prose stylists of

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

of the 20th century, together with

E. R. Eddison Eric Rücker Eddison, CB, CMG (24 November 1882 – 18 August 1945) was an English civil servant and author, writing epic fantasy novels under the name E. R. Eddison. His best-known works include ''The Worm Ouroboros'' (1922) and the Zimiamv ...

and

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...

.Le Guin, Ursula. ''The Language of the Night:Essays on Science Fiction and Fantasy''. Ultramarine Publishing, 1980 (p.88).

Works

*'' The Fates of the Princes of Dyfed'' (1914) As Cenydd Morus. *''The Crest-Wave of Evolution'' (1919-1921) *''The Secret Mountain and Other Tales'' (1926) *''Book of the Three Dragons'' (1930) *''The Chalchiuhite Dragon: A Tale of Toltec Times'' (1992) *''The Dragon Path: Collected Tales of Kenneth Morris'' (1995)

Notes

References

* Anderson, Douglas A. (1992).
Afterword
. In Kenneth Morris,

'. Theosophical University Press. . Retrieved 28 October 2007. *Anderson, Douglas A. (February/March 1992).

, ''Sunrise''. *Anderson, Douglas A. (February/March 2005).

, ''Sunrise''. *McCaffery, R.J. (Spring 2000). "Kenneth Morris (1879–1937)", ''Eye Dialect'' (Issue Two).

External links

* *

Works online

* * *

', online edition *

', online edition *Short stories, a play, and book excerpts. 1879 births 1937 deaths 20th-century Welsh writers People educated at Christ's Hospital Welsh fantasy writers Welsh Theosophists {{fantasy-stub