Robert Bridges

23 October 1844 – 21 April 1930 (~86)

4 live poems · English

Robert Seymour Bridges was born on 23 October 1844 at Walmer, near Deal in Kent, into a prosperous and cultivated English family whose security gave him both educational opportunity and, eventually, the independence to pursue literature without needing to earn his living from it. He was the fourth son of John Thomas Bridges and Harriet Elizabeth Bridges. His father had served in the navy and later held administrative…

“It is really a matter for wonder how rational intercourse through the medium of language can be so complete and easy as it is, when the ideas conveyed by the words are so different in each person.”

John Freeman

29 January 1880 – 23 September 1929 (~49)

2 live poems · English

In the annals of early twentieth-century English poetry, few figures embodied such a striking duality as John Frederick Freeman. Born on January 29, 1880, in Dalston, Middlesex, into a Wesleyan Methodist family, Freeman would spend his days navigating the demanding world of commercial insurance while his nights belonged to verse. His life represents a compelling narrative of artistic dedication pursued alongside prof…

“If at the end of a long life you have to make your peace with the Recording Angel (a malicious fellow, he!) and other virtues are dismissed with contempt and other charities declared folly, if then you speak of these many wise and kind indulgences, that Angel will be convinced you are the kindest of friends—and the best of critics. O rare conjunction!”