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A Cluster of Grapes A Book of Twentieth Century Poetry
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About this book
The volume presents itself as a straightforward anthology of contemporary verse, deliberately limited to poets who were alive in the early twentieth century. Its opening statement, penned by Gallaway Kyle in May 1914, explains that the selections were supplied by the writers themselves rather than filtered through a single editor’s taste, and that the collection is meant to offer a “cluster of grapes” as a lure for readers who appreciate high poetry. The introductory pages list the contributors and their works, ranging from well‑known names such as Thomas Hardy and Arthur Symons to lesser‑known voices like Eva Gore‑Booth and Margaret L. Woods, and each entry is followed by a representative poem, giving a panoramic view of the period’s lyrical output.
The anthology’s voice is unmistakably that of the late‑Victorian and Edwardian eras, with a formal, often devotional tone that blends classical allusion and romantic imagination. Its style varies from the solemn hymn‑like verses of Hardy to the more intimate, nature‑infused lines of Anna Bunston and the lyrical experiments of G. K. Chesterton. Readers who enjoy exploring the breadth of early‑twentieth‑century English poetry, particularly those interested in how poets negotiated tradition and modernity, will find this collection a rich, if eclectic, resource.
Who appears in A Cluster of Grapes A Book of Twentieth Century Poetry
- Gallaway KyleMiddle‑aged Edwardian gentleman, dark hair, trimmed moustache, waistcoat, pocket watch
- Thomas HardyElderly Victorian poet, white beard, round spectacles, frock coat, solemn expression
- G. K. ChestertonMiddle‑aged man with round face, full beard, tweed jacket, thoughtful eyes
The opening · free to read
Reconciliation 1 The Man to the Angel 2 Babylon 3
ARTHUR CHRISTOPHER BENSON: Le Cahier Jaune (privately printed), 1892. Poems, 1893; Lyrics, 1895; Lord Vyet, and other Poems, 1897; The Professor and other Poems, 1900; Peace and other Poems, 1905; Collected Poems (John Lane, The Bodley Head), 1909.
Making Haste 5 At Eventide 6 In a College Garden 7
ANNA BUNSTON (Mrs de Bary): Leaves from a Woman's Manuscript, 1904 (out of print); Mingled Wine (Longmans), 1909; The Porch of Paradise (Herbert & Daniel), 1911; Songs of God and Man (Herbert & Daniel), 1912; Letters of a Schoolma'am (Dent), 1913; Jephthah's Daughter (Erskine MacDonald), 1914; Mingled Wine (Cheaper re-issue, Erskine MacDonald), 1914.
A Mortgaged Inheritance 8 The Wilderness 9 Under a Wiltshire Apple Tree 11
G. K. CHESTERTON: (b. 1873). Poems in Novels and the Commonwealth, the New Witness, etc.; The Wild Knight and other Poems (Richards), 1900; Browning, in "English Men of Letters" (Macmillan), 1903; Ballad of the White Horse (Methuen), 1911.
Sonnet with the Compliments of the Season 13 When I came back to Fleet Street 14 The Truce of Christmas 17
FRANCES CORNFORD: Poems (Bowes & Bowes, Cambridge), 1910. Death and the Princess, a Morality (Bowes & Bowes), 1913.
The Princess and the Gypsies 19 The Dandelion 22 Social Intercourse 23
WALTER DE LA MARE: (b. 1873). Songs of Childhood (Longmans), 1902; Henry Brocken (Murray), 1904; Poems, 1906: The Three Mulla Malgars (Duckworth); The Return (Arnold), 1910; The Listeners and other Poems (Constable), 1911; Peacock Pie (Constable), 1913.
An Epitaph 24 Arabia 25 Nod 26
JOHN GALSWORTHY: (b. 1867). Novels, Studies, and Verse; Villa Rubein, 1901; The Island Pharisees, 1904; The Man of Property, 1906; The Country House, 1907; A Commentary, 1908; Fraternity, 1909; A Motley, 1910; The Patrician, 1911; The Inn of Tranquillity; and Moods, Songs and Doggerels, 1913; The Dark Flower (Heinemann), 1913; Plays: Vol. I, The Silver Box; Joy; Strife, 1909. Vol. II, Justice; The Little Dream; The Eldest Son, 1912. Vol. III, The Fugitive; The Pigeon; The Mob, 1914.
The Downs 27 The Prayer 27 Devon to Me 28
EVA GORE-BOOTH: Poems (Longmans, Green & Co.), 1898; Unseen Kings (Longmans), 1904; The One and the Many (Longmans), 1904; The Three Resurrections and the Triumph of Maeve (Longmans), 1905; The Sorrowful Princess (Longmans), 1907; The Egyptian Pillar (Maunsel & Co., Dublin), 1907; The Agate Lamp (Longmans), 1912.
Maeve of the Battles 29 Re-Incarnation 31 Leonardo Da Vinci 34
JOHN GURDON: Erinna, a Tragedy (Edward Arnold), 1913; Dramatic Lyrics (Elkin Matthews), 1906; Enchantments (Erskine Macdonald), 1912.
Surrender 36 Before the Fates 38
THOMAS HARDY: (b. 1840). Wessex Poems, 1898; Poems of the Past and Present, 1901; The Dynasts; An Epic Drama, Part I, 1903-4; Part II, 1906; Part III, 1908; Time's Laughing Stocks and other Verses (Macmillan), 1910.
A Trampwoman's Tragedy 42 Chorus from "The Dynasts" (Part III) 47 The Ballad Singer 49
RALPH HODGSON: Contributions to the Saturday Review; Flying Fame Chap Books.
The Moor 50 Time, You Old Gipsy Man 51 Ghoul Care 53
W. G. HOLE: Procris and other Poems (Paul); Amoris Imago (Paul); Poems, Lyrical and Dramatic (Matthews), 1902; Queen Elizabeth, An Historical Drama (Geo. Bell & Sons), 1904; New Poems (Geo. Bell & Sons), 1907; The Chained Titan (Geo. Bell & Sons,) 1910; The Master: A Poetical Play in Two Acts (Erskine Macdonald), 1913.
Roosevelt-Village Street 54 The Haunted Fields 58 Captive in London Town 60
LAURENCE HOUSMAN: (b. 1867). Mendicant Rimes; Selected Poems (Sidgwick & Jackson).
The Fellow-Travellers 61 The Settlers 62 Song 63
EMILIA S. LORIMER: Songs of Alban (Constable), 1912.
Love Songs 64 Storm 65
JAMES A. MACKERETH: In Grasmere Vale and other Poems, 1907; The Cry on the Mountain, 1908; When We Dreamers Wake, a Drama for To-day (Nutt), 1909; A Son of Cain and other Poems (Longmans), 1910; In the Wake of the Phoenix (Longmans), 1911; On the Face of a Star (Longmans), 1913.
To a Blackbird on New Year's Day 66 La Danseuse 68 God Returns 70
ALICE MEYNELL: Poems (Collected Edition), 1913. Essays (selected from The Rhythm of Life, etc.) (Burns & Oates), 1914.
To the Body 72 Christ in the Universe 73 Maternity 74
WILL H. OGILVIE: The Overlander; The Land we Love; Whaup o' the Rede (Thomas Fraser, Dalbeattie); Rainbows and Witches (Elkin Matthews); Fair Girls and Grey Horses; Hearts of Gold (Angus & Robertson, Australia).
There's a Clean Wind Blowing 75 The Garden of the Night 76 The Crossing Swords 79
STEPHEN PHILLIPS: Eremus (Paul), 1894; Christ in Hades (Matthews), 1896; Poems, 1897; Paolo and Francesca, 1899; Marpessa, 1900; Herod, 1900; Ulysses, 1902; Nero, 1906; The New Inferno, 1910; New Poems, Lyrics and Dramas (John Lane), 1913.
Lures Immortal 80 Beautiful lie the Dead 82 Lyric from "The Sin of David" 83
EDEN PHILLPOTTS: Many novels: Dance of the Months; Sketches of Dartmoor and Poems (Gowans & Gray), 1911; The Iscariot, a Poem (Murray), 1912; Up-Along and Down-Along (Methuen), 1905; Wild Fruit (John Lane), 1911.
A Devon Courting 84 A Litany to Pan 85 Swinburne 87
DORA SIGERSON SHORTER: Verses, 1894; The Fairy Changeling, and other Poems, 1897; My Lady's Slipper and other Poems, 1898; Ballads and Poems, 1899; The Father Confessor, 1900; The Woman who went to Hell, 1902; As the Sparks fly Upward, 1904; The Story and Song of Earl Roderick, 1906; Collected Poems, 1909; The Troubadour, 1910; New Poems, 1912; Madge Linsey and other Poems (Maunsel, Dublin), 1913.
The Watcher in the Wood 88 The Nameless One 89 When I shall Rise 91
ARTHUR SYMONS: Images of Good and Evil, 1900; Poems, 1901; The Fool of the World and other Poems, 1906; The Knave of Hearts (Heinemann), 1913; Cities of Italy, 1908; The Romantic Movement in English Poetry, 1909.
Tanagra 92 Giovanni Malatesta at Rimini 93 La Melinite: Moulin Rouge 95
EVELYN UNDERHILL: Immanence, A Book of Verses (J. M. Dent & Sons), 1912; Mysticism; The Mystic Way.
Immanence 97 Introversion 99 Ichthus 100
MARGARET L. WOODS: Poems, Collected Edition (John Lane), 1913.
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