Phoebe Hesketh (29 January 1909 – 25 February 2005) was an English poet from Lancashire notable for her poems depicting nature.

Life and writing

Phoebe Hesketh was born in Preston,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

. Her father was the pioneer

radiologist Radiology ( ) is the medical specialty that uses medical imaging to diagnose diseases and guide treatment within the bodies of humans and other animals. It began with radiography (which is why its name has a root referring to radiation), but tod ...

Arthur E. Rayner; her mother was a

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

ist in the Hallé Orchestra. Among her aunts was the suffragette

Edith Rigby Edith Rigby ( Rayner) (18 October 1872 – 23 July 1950) was an English suffragette who used arson as a way to further the cause of women’s suffrage. She founded a night school in Preston called St Peter's School, aimed at educating women and ...

. She was educated at

Cheltenham Ladies' College Cheltenham Ladies' College (CLC) is a private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding and day school for girls aged 11 or older in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The school was established in 1853 to provide "a sound academic edu ...

, but left at the age of 17 to care for her ill mother. She married Aubrey Hesketh, the director of a mill, in 1931 when she was 22 and they lived in

Rivington Rivington is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish of the Borough of Chorley, Lancashire, England, occupying . It is about southeast of Chorley and about northwest of Bolton. Rivington is a rural area consisting primarily of ...

, Lancashire. Her first collection, ''Poems'', was published in 1939 by Sherratt & Hughes, Manchester, although she later disowned the work to some extent. 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 ...

Hesketh worked as the woman's page editor of the ''

Bolton Evening News ''The Bolton News'' – formerly the ''Bolton Evening News'' – is a daily newspaper and news website covering the towns of Bolton and Bury in north-western England. Published each morning from Monday to Saturday and online every day, it is pa ...

''. In 1948 she published her second volume of poetry, ''Lean Forward, Spring!'', (London: Sidgwick and Jackson), which earned her widespread acclaim amongst the literary community, including from

Siegfried Sassoon Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English war poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World ...

. During her career she produced sixteen books and, although she never achieved popular success, was championed by several well-known figures including Sassoon, Roy Campbell, and

Al Alvarez Alfred Alvarez (5 August 1929 – 23 September 2019) was an English poet, novelist, essayist and critic who published under the name A. Alvarez and Al Alvarez. Background Alfred Alvarez was born in London, to an Ashkenazic Jewish mother and a ...

. After the war she was a freelance lecturer, poetry teacher and journalist, producing many articles for journals and scripts 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 ...

. Her collected poems were gathered together in ''Netting the Sun: new and collected poems'' (Petersfield: Enitharmon Press, 1989). Her poetry for younger readers was published in ''A Song of Sunlight'' (Chatto, 1974) and in ''Six of the Best'' (Puffin, 1989). She was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...

in 1956, and a Fellow of the

University of Central Lancashire The University of Lancashire (previously abbreviated UCLan) is a public university based in the city of Preston, Lancashire, England. It has its roots in ''The Institution For The Diffusion Of Useful Knowledge'', founded in 1828. Previously k ...

in 1990. For almost all her life she lived in Lancashire, in a landscape frequently described in her poetry, and in her semi-autobiographical prose books ''Rivington: the story of a village'' (1972) and ''Village of the Mountain Ash'' (1990). From her marriage until she was widowed she lived at Rivington, and afterwards at

Heath Charnock Heath Charnock is a small village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England. According to the United Kingdom Census 2001 it has a population of 2,065, reducing to 2,026 at the 2011 Census. Location Heath Charnock is next ...

. She wrote a biography of her aunt

that was published in 1966. The Heskeths had three children. One of her poems describes the death of her young son. She died on 25 February 2005.

Separately published works

*1939: ''Poems''. Manchester: Sherratt & Hughes *1948: ''Lean Forward, Spring!''. London: Sidgwick and Jackson. (Poems) *1952: ''No Time for Cowards''. London: Heinemann. (Poems) *1954: ''Out of the Dark''. London: Heinemann. (Poems) *1956: ''Between Wheels and Stars''. London: Heinemann. (Poems) *1958: ''The Buttercup Children''. London: Hart-Davis. (Poems) *1966: ''My Aunt Edith''. London: Peter Davies. (Biography) *1966: ''Prayer for Sun''. London: Hart-Davis. (Poems) *1972: ''Rivington: the story of a village''. London: Peter Davies. (Partly autobiography, partly history.) *1974: ''A Song of Sunlight''. London: Chatto & Windus. (Poems) *1977: ''Preparing to Leave''. London: Enitharmon Press. (Poems) *1980: ''The Eighth Day''. London: Enitharmon Press. (Poems) *1985: ''A Ring of Leaves''. Birmingham: Hayloft Press . (Poems: "Limited ed. of 300 copies, published to celebrate the poet's 75th birthday") *1985: ''What can the Matter Be?''. Penzance: United Writers. (Prose) *1986: ''Over the Brook''. Leicester: Taxus. (Poems) *1989: ''Six of the Best''. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. (Poems) *1989: ''Netting the Sun: new and collected poems''. Petersfield: Enitharmon Press *1990: ''Rivington: village of the mountain ash''. Preston: Carnegie. (Partly autobiography, partly history.) *1992: ''Sundowner''. London: Enitharmon Press. (Poems) *1994: ''The Leave Train''. London: Enitharmon Press. (Poems) *1997: ''A Box of Silver Birch''. London: Enitharmon Press. (Poems)

References

External links

Phoebe Hesketh correspondence at Senate House Library, University of London
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hesketh, Phoebe 1909 births 2005 deaths English women poets People associated with the University of Central Lancashire People educated at Cheltenham Ladies' College Writers from Preston, Lancashire Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature 20th-century English poets 20th-century English women writers