Vivien Noakes – författare

'Nonsense is the breath of my nostrils', wrote Edward Lear (1812-88), and this collection demonstrates the wonderfully varied ways in which he pursued his philosophy of life. He created an extraordinary world filled with bizarre creatures - from the Dong with a luminous nose to the Pobble who has no toes - who misbehave with joyful abandon. Here can be found such exuberant and timeless verse as 'The Owl and the Pussy-cat', 'The Quangle Wangle's Hat' and numerous comic limericks, along with stories, letters, alphabets and recipes, all accompanied throughout with his fantastical line drawings. Gently pointing out human follies and the absurdities of the conventional Victorian society in which he lived, Lear's nonsense has enchanted children and adults alike for generations.

This is the first scholarly edition of the poetry of Isaac Rosenberg. Although he is generally described as a First World War poet, this edition also highlights his pre-war achievement as a writer of powerful individual work. Drawing on a detailed analysis of manuscript sources, it offers unrivalled insight into the process of his poetic thought. His numerous drafts have been transcribed in full or given as textual variants so that, for the first time, the reader is able to follow the extraordinary way in which he built up his poems by composing individual lines which he then assembled into the finished work: 'that is the only way I can write, in scraps, & then join them together - I have the one idea in mind' he wrote in 1914. Extensive cross-referencing, in particular with the plays, throws light on his re-use of poetic images and ideas; his methods, and the frequent hardships under which he worked, are further illuminated by a detailed description of many of the manuscripts. The mis-reading of some texts, and errors in dating, in earlier editions have been rectified, while a detailed chronological summary offers biographical information. The introduction and commentary examine textual matters, dating and ordering; people, places, and historical and biographical context; and the way in which, especially while working in isolation as a private soldier in France, he was able to share critical ideas and thoughts on individual poems with his peers.

The first volume to be published in the new 21st-Century Oxford Authors series presents all of the surviving writings of Isaac Rosenberg (1890-1918): poetry, plays, prose works, and letters. The book also provides a commentary giving details of the composition and publication of the poems and plays and throws light on the people, places, and incidents described in both these and the letters. An introduction places the collection in context and a chronological table describes the main events of his life. There are also examples of his paintings and drawings.Although best known as a war poet, most of Rosenberg's work pre-dates the war. The son of Jewish immigrants from Lithuania, he grew up in London's East End. Financially impoverished, he nevertheless lived in a society that valued artistic creativity - among his friends were Mark Gertler and David Bomberg. He was a painter as well as a poet, and studied at the Slade School of Art. He knew many of the leading poets of the day, and his letters, in particular those to Edward Marsh and Gordon Bottomley, throw fascinating light on his own poetic creativitiy and the response to his work of those around him.In both his letters and prose works we find an insightful commentator on both poetry and painting. Though never a member of any movement, he was aware of the issues that preoccupied the artistic circles of his day. His artistic independence gives both power and insight to his work.