Evelyn ('Lynette') Beatrice Roberts (4 July 1909 – 26 September 1995) was a Welsh poet and novelist. Her poems were about war, landscape, and life in the small Welsh village where she lived.
She published two poetry collections: ''Poems'' (1944) and ''Gods with Stainless Ears: A Heroic Poem'' (1951). Roberts' work was admired by many poets, including:
T.S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist and playwright.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biography''. New York: Oxford University ...
,
Dylan Thomas
Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer, whose works include the poems " Do not go gentle into that good night" and " And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Un ...
and
Robert Graves
Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was an English poet, soldier, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were b ...
.
In later life, Roberts had a mental breakdown and stopped publishing. Her work was largely forgotten for the remainder of her life. She died in 1995.
Roberts provided Welsh-related material for Graves' ''
The White Goddess
''The White Goddess: a Historical Grammar of Poetic Myth'' is a book-length essay on the nature of poetic myth-making by the English writer Robert Graves. First published in 1948, it is based on earlier articles published in ''Wales'' magazine ...
'' (1948), and Graves dedicated his book to her. In 1956, Roberts was diagnosed with
schizophrenia
Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...
. She spent much of the rest of her life as a resident of mental institutions.
Early life
Roberts was born 4 July 1909 in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
,
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
, to Cecil Roberts and Ruby Garbutt, both Australians of Welsh descent. Cecil Roberts was a railway engineer, who worked as General Manager of the
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
Western Railways. The family enjoyed an affluent lifestyle, owning "yachts and racehorses".
The family moved 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 ...
during
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
where her father enlisted and served as a soldier. He was later wounded.
Roberts and her sisters, Winifred and Rosemary returned to
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
to attend the Convent School of the Sacred Heart. Her mother, Ruby died of
typhus
Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...
when Roberts was 14 years old. After her mother's death, Roberts and her sisters were sent to
Bournemouth
Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. Roberts went on to study in London at the
Central School for Arts and Crafts. In the 1930s, Roberts and friend
Celia Buckmaster
Celia Buckmaster (1914–2005) was a 20th-century British novelist and poet whose novels centered on English village life.
Early years
Celia Joyce was born in 1914, the daughter of barrister Henry Stephen Guy Buckmaster.
In her twenties, she an ...
started a florist business together. Later, they moved to
Madeira
Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...
, where they lived in a small house and Roberts worked on her poetry.
[
In 1939, while living in London, Roberts met the Welsh poet, Ronald Rees Jones at a Poetry London Event. Jones wrote under the name ]Keidrych Rhys
William Ronald Rhys Jones (26 December 1915 – 22 May 1987), who used the name Keidrych Rhys, was a Welsh literary journalist and editor, and a poet. He was editor of the periodical, ''Wales'', published from 1937 to 1949 and from 1958 to 19 ...
. Roberts and Jones married on 4 October 1939 at Llansteffan
Llansteffan, is a village and community situated on the south coast of Carmarthenshire, Wales, lying on the estuary of the River Tywi, south of Carmarthen.
Description
The community includes Llanybri and is bordered by the communities of: ...
, Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
. Poet Dylan Thomas
Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer, whose works include the poems " Do not go gentle into that good night" and " And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Un ...
was Jones's best man. Jones legally changed his name to Keidrych Rhys
William Ronald Rhys Jones (26 December 1915 – 22 May 1987), who used the name Keidrych Rhys, was a Welsh literary journalist and editor, and a poet. He was editor of the periodical, ''Wales'', published from 1937 to 1949 and from 1958 to 19 ...
in 1940.
The war years
The couple moved to a rented cottage in the small Welsh village of Llanybri 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 ...
. They lived in relative poverty. During the next 10 years, Roberts worked on her poetry. She began a professional relationship with poet T.S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist and playwright.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biography''. New York: Oxford University ...
, who was an editor at Faber Publishing and became friends with the poet Robert Graves
Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was an English poet, soldier, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were b ...
. During this decade, Roberts a produced "an extraordinary and unique body of work". She gave birth to two children toward the end of the war, a daughter, Angharad, born in 1945, and a son, Pridein, born in 1946. In 1949, Roberts and Rhys divorced.
In Llanybri, Roberts painted, wrote poetry and raised her family. In 1944 her collection ''Poems'' were published by Faber and Faber
Faber and Faber Limited, commonly known as Faber & Faber or simply Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, C. S. Lewis, Margaret S ...
. She immortalised her village in her "Poem from Llanybri". This poem was addressed to the poet, Alun Lewis, to whom Roberts confessed to being attracted. In 1944 and 1945 drafts of Robert Graves
Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was an English poet, soldier, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were b ...
's ''The White Goddess
''The White Goddess: a Historical Grammar of Poetic Myth'' is a book-length essay on the nature of poetic myth-making by the English writer Robert Graves. First published in 1948, it is based on earlier articles published in ''Wales'' magazine ...
'' were published in Keidrych Rhys's periodical, ''Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
''. Roberts was the dedicatee of Robert Graves
Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was an English poet, soldier, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were b ...
's ''The White Goddess'' in its first edition (1948), having provided much of the Welsh material used by him. Faber and Faber published her ''Gods with stainless ears: a heroic poem'' in 1951. Her documentary novel, ''The Endeavour: Captain Cook's first voyage to Australia'' was published in 1954.
Mental breakdown, late life and death
In 1956, she had a serious mental breakdown
A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...
and was diagnosed with schizophrenia
Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...
. During these years, Roberts became a Jehovah's Witness
Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co- ...
and stopped writing, Roberts spent time in and out of mental institutions until her death in 1995. Later in life, Roberts repudiated her work and refused to permit her published poetry to be reprinted.
Her final years from 1989 were spent at a retirement home
A retirement home – sometimes called an old people's home, old folks' home, or old age home, although ''old people's home'' can also refer to a nursing home – or rest home, is a multi-residence housing facility intended for the elderly. Ty ...
, in Ferryside
Ferryside () is a village in the Community (Wales), community of St Ishmael (Carmarthenshire), St Ishmael, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is south of Carmarthen near the mouth of the River Tywi. Originally a ferry crossing, then becoming a fishing ...
, Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. ...
. Aged 86, she died there on 26 September 1995. She is buried in the churchyard in Llanybri.
Posthumous publications
After Roberts's death, an edition of her collected poems was issued by Seren Press but was immediately withdrawn because of legal problems with the Roberts estate; a new ''Collected Poems'' finally appeared in 2006 from Carcanet, edited by Patrick McGuinness.
A volume of miscellaneous prose, diaries from her time in Llanybri, correspondence with Robert Graves, memoirs of the Sitwells and T. S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist and playwright.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biography''. New York: Oxford University ...
, an essay on "village dialect" and short stories appeared in 2008. An unpublished novel, ''Nesta'', written in 1944, is apparently lost.One of our greatest war poets: Lynette Roberts
''TLS'' 6 November 2009, article which indicates that lost novel has been discovered).
Selected publications
Poetry collections
*''Poems'' (1944)
*''God with Stainless Ears: A Heroic Poem'' (1951)
*''Collected Poems'' (2005)
*''Diaries, Letters, and Recollections'' (2008),
Other publications
*1944 – ''An introduction to village dialect: with seven stories'' (The Druid Press)
*1954 – ''The Endeavour: Captain Cook's first voyage to Australia'' (Peter Owen)
References
External links
'Lynette Roberts - our greatest female war poet ?', BBC Radio 4 - Woman's Hour, 30 March 2006 (Audio archive. Accessed : 22.03.08)
Patrick McGuinness, 'Rediscovering a Modernist Classic: Lynette Roberts (1909-1995)', ''Transcript: European internet review of books and writing'', no.22John Wilkinson, 'The Brain's Tent: Lynette Robert's ''Collected Poems, (''Boston Review'', Sept/Oct 2006)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Lynette
1909 births
1995 deaths
20th-century Welsh women writers
20th-century Welsh novelists
20th-century Welsh poets
Welsh women novelists
Welsh women poets
Writers from Buenos Aires
Alumni of the Central School of Art and Design
Argentine emigrants to Wales
Argentine people of Welsh descent
Welsh people of Australian descent
People with schizophrenia
Converts to Jehovah's Witnesses
British Jehovah's Witnesses
Welsh people with disabilities
British writers with disabilities