Michael Roberts (6 December 1902 – 13 December 1948), originally named William Edward Roberts, was an English poet, writer, scientist, mathematician, critic and broadcaster, a

polymath A polymath or polyhistor is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths often prefer a specific context in which to explain their knowledge, ...

who made his living as a teacher."Chronology", in Frederick Grubb (ed.) ''Selected Poems and Prose of Michael Roberts''. London, Carcanet. 1980. , (pgs. 1-4)

Life

He was born in

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 ...

, named William Edward Roberts. He was the eldest child of Edward George Roberts and Henrietta Mary Sellers. He was educated at

Bournemouth School Bournemouth School is an 11–18 boys grammar school, with a co-educational sixth form, located in Charminster, Bournemouth, Charminster, Bournemouth, Dorset, England, for children aged 11 to 18. The school was founded by E. Fenwick and opened o ...

. From 1920 to 1922 he studied at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

, taking a BSc in Chemistry. From 1922 to 1925 he read

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

; it was during this period of his life he acquired the name Michael (after

Mikhail Lomonosov Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov (; , ; – ) was a Russian polymath, scientist and writer, who made important contributions to literature, education, and science. Among his discoveries were the atmosphere of Venus and the law of conservation of ...

). In 1925 or 1926 he joined the

Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPGB ...

but was expelled within a year. According to Philip Spratt, who was one of only a handful of fellow communists attending Cambridge at this time, Roberts was suspected by the Marxist academic

Maurice Dobb Maurice Herbert Dobb (24 July 1900 – 17 August 1976) was an English economist at Cambridge University and a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. He is remembered as one of the pre-eminent Marxist economists of the 20th century. Dobb was high ...

of being a fascist spy. From 1925 to 1931 he taught at the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle. Then he moved to London, teaching at

Mercers' School The Mercers' School was an independent school in the City of London, England, with a history going back at least to 1542, and perhaps much further. It was operated by the Worshipful Company of Mercers and was closed in 1959. History After the ...

from 1931 to 1934. He then returned to the RGS, where he worked until 1941, teaching English, mathematics, physics and chemistry. Having published his first poetry collection in 1930, he began to edit

anthologies In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and ge ...

, of which ''New Country'' (1933) was celebrated for the group of poets (including

W. H. Auden Wystan Hugh Auden (; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry is noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in tone, ...

) that it featured. In 1934, he participated in a series of radio broadcasts, ''Whither Britain?'' along with

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

and

Ernest Bevin Ernest Bevin (9 March 1881 – 14 April 1951) was a British statesman, trade union leader and Labour Party politician. He co-founded and served as General Secretary of the powerful Transport and General Workers' Union from 1922 to 1940 and ...

. The next year, he married Janet Adam Smith, critic, anthologist, and fellow mountaineer; they lived in Fern Avenue,

Jesmond Jesmond ( ) is a suburb of Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England, situated north of the city centre and to the east of the Town Moor. Jesmond is considered to be one of the most affluent suburbs of Newcastle upon Tyne, with higher aver ...

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

. In 1939 they went to Penrith in Cumberland when the school was evacuated there. There they briefly shared a house with the poet

Kathleen Raine Kathleen Jessie Raine (14 June 1908 – 6 July 2003) was an English poet, critic and scholar, writing in particular on William Blake, W. B. Yeats and Thomas Taylor. Known for her interest in various forms of spirituality, most prominently Plat ...

. Together, they had four children: Andrew Roberts, Professor of the History of Africa 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 ...

, born 1937; Henrietta Dombey, Professor of Literacy in Primary Education at the

University of Brighton The University of Brighton is a public university based in Brighton on the south coast of England. Its roots can be traced back to 1858 when the Brighton School of Art was opened in the Royal Pavilion. It achieved university status in 1992. T ...

, born 1939; Adam Roberts, Professor of International Relations at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

, born 1940; and

John Roberts John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American jurist serving since 2005 as the 17th chief justice of the United States. He has been described as having a Moderate conservatism, moderate conservative judicial philosophy, thoug ...

, writer on energy issues and Middle East politics, born 1947. The '' Faber Book of Modern Verse'' (1936), which he edited, is the piece of work for which Roberts is now best remembered. '' ''The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Literature in English'' states that Roberts' ''The Faber Book of Modern Verse'' was "directly instrumental in forming the tastes of succeeding generations of readers." He followed it with poetry and prose writing, and a study of

T. E. Hulme Thomas Ernest Hulme (; 16 September 1883 – 28 September 1917) was an English critic and poet who, through his writings on art, literature and politics, had a notable influence upon modernism. He was an aesthetic philosopher and the Imagism ...

. In 1941–45 he worked in London for the BBC European Service, mainly on broadcasting to German-occupied countries. From 1945 to 1948 he was Principal of the College of St Mark and St John in

Chelsea, London Chelsea is an area in West London, England, due south-west of Kilometre zero#Great Britain, Charing Cross by approximately . It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the SW postcode area, south-western p ...

. He died of

leukaemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

in 1948. Roberts' posthumously published book ''The Estate of Man'' (1951) was an early analysis of

ecological Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere levels. Ecology overlaps with the closely re ...

issues. Michael and Janet Roberts had built up a collection of books on mountaineering, which (along with the collection of the Oxford University Mountaineering Club) provided a basis for establishment in December 1992 of the Oxford Mountaineering Library. This is now based in the Social Science Library in the Manor Road Building, Oxford, OX1 3UQ. Many of his papers are in the

National Library of Scotland The National Library of Scotland (NLS; ; ) is one of Scotland's National Collections. It is one of the largest libraries in the United Kingdom. As well as a public programme of exhibitions, events, workshops, and tours, the National Library of ...

, at Edinburgh. They include literary correspondence and records of his BBC work in 1941–45.Inventories of these holdings in the National Library of Scotland may be found at http://www.nls.uk/catalogues/online/cnmi/inventories/acc13145.pdf and http://www.nls.uk/catalogues/online/cnmi/inventories/acc13860.pdf .

Poets in ''New Signatures'' (1932)

, Julian Bell, C. Day-Lewis, Richard Eberhart,

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 ...

, John Lehmann, William Plomer,

Stephen Spender Sir Stephen Harold Spender (28 February 1909 – 16 July 1995) was an English poet, novelist and essayist whose work concentrated on themes of social injustice and the class struggle. He was appointed U.S. Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry ...

, A. S. J. Tessimond.

Poets in ''New Country'' (1933)

, Richard Goodman, C. Day-Lewis, John Lehmann, Charles Madge, Michael Roberts,

, A. S. J. Tessimond, Rex Warner.

Books by Michael Roberts

* ''These Our Matins'' (poems), Elkin Mathews & Marrot, London, 1930. * (ed.) ''New Signatures: Poems by Several Hands'', Hogarth Press, London, 1932. * (ed.) ''New Country: Prose and Poetry by the authors of New Signatures'', Hogarth Press, London, 1933. * (ed.) ''Elizabethan Prose'', London, Jonathan Cape, 1933. * (with E.R. Thomas) ''Newton and the Origin of Colours: A Study of One of the Earliest Examples of Scientific Method'', G. Bell, London, 1934. * ''Critique of Poetry'', Jonathan Cape, London, 1934. * ''Poems'', Jonathan Cape, London, 1936. * (ed.) ''The Faber Book of Modern Verse'', Faber & Faber, London, 1936. * ''The Modern Mind'', Faber & Faber, London, 1937. * ''T.E. Hulme'', Faber & Faber, London, 1938. * ''Orion Marches'' (poems), Faber & Faber, London, 1939. * ''The Recovery of the West'', Faber & Faber, London, 1941. * (ed.) ''The Faber Book of Comic Verse'', Faber & Faber, London, 1942. * ''The Estate of Man'', Faber & Faber, London, 1951. * ''Collected Poems'', Faber & Faber, London, 1958.

References

External links