John Masefield
Born June 1, 1878 
Died May 12, 1967
John Masefield was born June 1, 1878, in Ledbury, England. Masefield encountered several tragedies early in his life first being the loss his mother at the tender age of six when she gave birth to his sister, Norah. Then fourteen months kater both of his living grandparents passed on and and in 1890, his father had a mental breakdown which caused him to be hospitalized. A year later, he also died.
The Masefield children now orphaned were taken by in by an Aunt and Uncle who not only had no experience with children but did not have the financial resources to let John continue his expensive schools he had loved. John was very fond of reading but his aunt hated books and so she had all the books in his grandfather's library thrown out of the house. When John was only 13, his aunt sent him to to be trained as on the HMS Conway, a sea-cadet ship, for life on the sea.
It was during this time that John spent much as much time as he could reading and writing. John was also given instructions in nautical subjects such as navigation, geography, and astronomy. John's love forstory-telling grew as he listened to the yarns of sea lore passed down by his teachers. John passion for reading books gave way to his dreams and aspirations of becoming a writer and story teller himself.
Masefield is known for his poems about the sea, though he really did not spend that much time at sea. On Masefield’s first voyage he experienced sea sickness along with stormy weather known to sailors as ‘rounding the Horn.’ John got sunstroke and returned home as a passenger only to have his aunt convince him to go to sea again wherehe ended up in NYC. Unable to secure employment he was a vagrant for a time but ended up having many jobs before he settled back in England in 1897.
It was not till he was 21 that his poem "Nicias Morituras was accepted for publication. During this period John discovered William Bulter Yeats poetry and was so impressed with the Irish Poet that he was determined to meet him and he did whereby they became great friends which lasted for the rest of their lives, writing and visiting each other often. Yeats mentored Masefield including him in the inner circle of older more experienced poets, critics and publishers. By thetime Masefield was 24 he was having his work published on a regular basis.
Masefield married Constance Crommelin when he was twenty-three. Constance was thirty-five, descendant of the French Huguenots [who fled France to Northern Ireland because of Roman Catholic persecution]. She was educated in the classics, English literature and also mathematics and despite their large age difference she was a perfect match for John Masefield. She was a key factor in the encouragement of Masefield's writing.
Masefield was offered a job at the "Manchester Guardian" working night shifts. He continued with his writing as well as book reviews. He also began writing plays such as "Captain Margaret" in 1908, and "Multitude of the Solitude" in 1909. He then composed what is considered his finest poem (narrative poem) "The Everlasting Mercy" in 1911.
During the first World War, Masefield wrote several war poems, expressing his patriotism, but writing in letters to his wife of his despise of human suffering that was endured. He joined the Red Cross and worked as an orderly during his first year of the war in France. These experiences lead to his writing many articles about war for Britian and was successful in his wartime writings.
By the 1920's Masefield was an accomplished and respected writer and author. Masefield's writing included plays and novels, lectures and speeches, and even children's books. John felt that his true calling was poetry. During the 1920's Masefield received many English and Scottish University honorary degrees include Honorary Doctorate of Literature from Oxford University. Masefield was madePoet Laureate in 1930 and retained that position till his death in 1967.
It was not till the ripe age of 70 that Masefield began slowing down due to sickness and a problem with cataracts. His beloved Contance died in 1960 at the age of 93. He had stayed by her bedside for over a year and after her death he became more lonely and reclusive. Even during this time of his life, he still was receiving awards and honors one being the "Companion of Literature", instituted by the Royal Society of Literature and the William Foyle Poetry Prize. He also wasgiven an award from the National Book League for writers over 65. His continued his duties as Poet Laureate. Masefield's last published book, "In Glad Thanksgiving", was published when John was 88 years old. Masefield died on May 12th. 1967 from gangrene that had set in from a minor injury to his leg. He was cremated and his ashes were placed at Poets Corner at Westminster Abby.
Biography by Roger
Submitted unknown
Pairowoodies
The World Book Encyclopedia