E. H. Visiak
Encyclopedia
Edward Harold Physick was an English writer, known chiefly as a critic and authority on John Milton
; also a poet
and fantasy writer. He used the pseudonym
E. H. Visiak from 1910.
, London
. Both his father, Edward James Physick (the younger), and his grandfather, Edward James Physick (the elder), were sculptors. His maternal uncle was W. H. Helm, writer and critic.
He went to Hitchin
Grammar School (now Hitchin Boys School), and became a clerk with the Indo-European Telegraph Company. He contributed poetry to The New Age
and Dora Marsden
's New Freewoman.
During World War I
the poetry he wrote, in opposition to it, cost him his job. When conscription was introduced, he became a conscientious objector
. After a short time teaching he became an independent scholar
, living very quietly. During the 1930s he collaborated on some short stories, with John Gawsworth
in particular.
A friend and enthusiast of the Scottish novelist David Lindsay
, Visiak wrote three short macabre novels, The Haunted Island, Medusa and The Shadow, and the autobiography
Life's Morning Hour.
appears in the anthology Horror: 100 Best Books (1988; revised edition 1992).
John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
; also a poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and fantasy writer. He used the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
E. H. Visiak from 1910.
Life
He was born in EalingEaling
Ealing is a suburban area of west London, England and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Ealing. It is located west of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically a rural village...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Both his father, Edward James Physick (the younger), and his grandfather, Edward James Physick (the elder), were sculptors. His maternal uncle was W. H. Helm, writer and critic.
He went to Hitchin
Hitchin
Hitchin is a town in Hertfordshire, England, with an estimated population of 30,360.-History:Hitchin is first noted as the central place of the Hicce people mentioned in a 7th century document, the Tribal Hidage. The tribal name is Brittonic rather than Old English and derives from *siccā, meaning...
Grammar School (now Hitchin Boys School), and became a clerk with the Indo-European Telegraph Company. He contributed poetry to The New Age
The New Age
The New Age was a British literary magazine, noted for its wide influence under the editorship of A. R. Orage from 1907 to 1922. It began life in 1894 as a publication of the Christian Socialist movement; but in 1907 as a radical weekly edited by Joseph Clayton, it was struggling...
and Dora Marsden
Dora Marsden
Dora Marsden was an English feminist editor of avant-garde literary journals, and an author of philosophical writings.-Early life:...
's New Freewoman.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
the poetry he wrote, in opposition to it, cost him his job. When conscription was introduced, he became a conscientious objector
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
. After a short time teaching he became an independent scholar
Independent scholar
An independent scholar is anyone who conducts scholarly research outside universities and traditional academia. Independent scholars play an especially important role in areas such as art history and other humanities fields...
, living very quietly. During the 1930s he collaborated on some short stories, with John Gawsworth
John Gawsworth
John Gawsworth , a pseudonym of Terence Ian Fytton Armstrong , was a British writer, poet and compiler of anthologies, both of poetry and of short stories. He also used the pseudonym Orpheus Scrannel...
in particular.
A friend and enthusiast of the Scottish novelist David Lindsay
David Lindsay (novelist)
David Lindsay was a Scottish author now most famous for the philosophical science fiction novel A Voyage to Arcturus .-Biography:...
, Visiak wrote three short macabre novels, The Haunted Island, Medusa and The Shadow, and the autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
Life's Morning Hour.
Critical reception
His novel Medusa: A Story of Mystery (1929) became popular in the 1960s. An essay on the novel by Karl Edward WagnerKarl Edward Wagner
Karl Edward Wagner was an American writer, editor and publisher of horror, science fiction, and heroic fantasy, who was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and originally trained as a psychiatrist. His disillusionment with the medical profession can be seen in the stories "The Fourth Seal" and "Into...
appears in the anthology Horror: 100 Best Books (1988; revised edition 1992).
Poetry
- Buccaneer Ballads (1910)
- Flints and Flashes (1911)
- The Phantom Ship (1912)
- The Battle Fiends (1916)
Novels
- The Haunted Island (1910)
- Medusa: A Story of Mystery (1929)
- The Shadow (1936)
Literary criticism
- Milton Agonistes: a metaphysical criticism (1923)
- Mirror of Conrad (1956)
- Portent of Milton: Some Aspects of His Genius (1968)
- The Strange Genius of David Lindsay (1970; with J. B. Pick and Colin WilsonColin WilsonColin Henry Wilson is a prolific English writer who first came to prominence as a philosopher and novelist. Wilson has since written widely on true crime, mysticism and other topics. He prefers calling his philosophy new existentialism or phenomenological existentialism.- Early biography:Born and...
)
As editor
- The Mask of Comus (1937)
- Milton's Lament for Damon and his other Latin poems (1935; with Walter W. Skeat)
- Richards' Shilling Selections from Edwardian Poets (1936)
- Milton: Complete Poetry and Selected Prose, with English Metrical Translations of the Latin, Greek and Italian Poems (1938)
Critical study/anthology
- Harrison-Barbet, Anthony (Introduction by Colin WilsonColin WilsonColin Henry Wilson is a prolific English writer who first came to prominence as a philosopher and novelist. Wilson has since written widely on true crime, mysticism and other topics. He prefers calling his philosophy new existentialism or phenomenological existentialism.- Early biography:Born and...
). E. H. Visiak: Writer and Mystic (2007), Nottingham, England: Paupers' Press ISBN 978-0946650927