Francis Scarfe
Encyclopedia
Francis Scarfe was an English poet, critic and novelist, who became an academic, translator and Director of the British Institute in Paris.
He was born in South Shields
; he was brought up from a young age at the Royal Merchant Seaman's Orphanage. He was educated at Durham University
and Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge
. He then studied at the Sorbonne
.
While in Paris he wrote surrealist verse, and dabbled in communism
, from which he then retreated. He taught at the University of Glasgow
briefly before the outbreak of World War II
, in which he worked in the British Army
's Education Corps. He was posted to Orkney, and the Faroe Islands
. While in Orkney he lodged with the family of the young George Mackay Brown
, on whom he was a major influence.
His book from 1942 was one of the first to engage critically with the Auden Group
, if superficially; he returned to Auden in a post-war book of greater depth. After the war he held a number of academic positions.
He was born in South Shields
South Shields
South Shields is a coastal town in Tyne and Wear, England, located at the mouth of the River Tyne to Tyne Dock, and about downstream from Newcastle upon Tyne...
; he was brought up from a young age at the Royal Merchant Seaman's Orphanage. He was educated at Durham University
Durham University
The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
and Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge
Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge
Fitzwilliam College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge in England.The college traces its origins back to 1869 and the foundation of the Non-Collegiate Students Board, a venture intended to offer students from less financially privileged backgrounds a chance to study...
. He then studied at the Sorbonne
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
.
While in Paris he wrote surrealist verse, and dabbled in communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
, from which he then retreated. He taught at the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
briefly before the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, in which he worked in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
's Education Corps. He was posted to Orkney, and the Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
. While in Orkney he lodged with the family of the young George Mackay Brown
George Mackay Brown
George Mackay Brown , was a Scottish poet, author and dramatist, whose work has a distinctly Orcadian character...
, on whom he was a major influence.
His book from 1942 was one of the first to engage critically with the Auden Group
Auden Group
The Auden Group is the name given to a group of British and Irish writers active in the 1930s that included W. H. Auden, Louis MacNeice, Cecil Day-Lewis, Stephen Spender, Christopher Isherwood, and sometimes Edward Upward and Rex Warner...
, if superficially; he returned to Auden in a post-war book of greater depth. After the war he held a number of academic positions.
Works
- Inscapes (1940) poems
- Forty Poems and Ballads (1941)
- Auden & After: The Liberation Of Poetry, 1930-41 (1942) criticism
- Promises (?) first novel
- W. H. AudenW. H. AudenWystan Hugh Auden , who published as W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet,The first definition of "Anglo-American" in the OED is: "Of, belonging to, or involving both England and America." See also the definition "English in origin or birth, American by settlement or citizenship" in See also...
(1948) criticism - Underworlds (1950) poems
- Single Blessedness (1951) novel
- The Unfinished Woman (1954) novel
- The Art of Paul ValéryPaul ValéryAmbroise-Paul-Toussaint-Jules Valéry was a French poet, essayist, and philosopher. His interests were sufficiently broad that he can be classified as a polymath...
(1954) - Picasso by Frank Elgar and Robert Maillard (1956) translator
- Baudelaire (1961, Penguin Books) editor
- Conversations on the Dresden Gallery, by Louis AragonLouis AragonLouis Aragon , was a French poet, novelist and editor, a long-time member of the Communist Party and a member of the Académie Goncourt.- Early life :...
and Jean CocteauJean CocteauJean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau was a French poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, playwright, artist and filmmaker. His circle of associates, friends and lovers included Kenneth Anger, Pablo Picasso, Jean Hugo, Jean Marais, Henri Bernstein, Marlene Dietrich, Coco Chanel, Erik Satie, María...
(1982) translator - Complete Verse of Charles P. Baudelaire (1986 Anvil Press PoetryAnvil Press PoetryAnvil Press Poetry is an independent poetry publisher based in Greenwich, south-east London. It was founded in 1968 by Peter Jay and specialises in contemporary English poets, with a leavening of Irish and American, and in a range of translated poetry, from ancient classics to modern and...
) translator - Baudelaire: the Poems in Prose (1989, Anvil Press PoetryAnvil Press PoetryAnvil Press Poetry is an independent poetry publisher based in Greenwich, south-east London. It was founded in 1968 by Peter Jay and specialises in contemporary English poets, with a leavening of Irish and American, and in a range of translated poetry, from ancient classics to modern and...
) translator