on Sunday, and am just sending him a setting of that is “All Old”. He was very Gurney set nice.’ ‘The Ruin’ c. 1922: early letters reveal that his judgements of poets Graves’s changed frequently. In 1916 he wrote to Marsh from France on receipt of the first volume of I Georgian Poetry: ‘[O]ccasionally sometimes dislike W. H. Davies, though I thought Bird of ‘The was very good By July 1918, however, he was Paradise’ indeed.’ of a different opinion: to ‘I read Davies’s Poet’s Pilgrimage Nancy with great pleasure: a delicious book, we both loved it. Davies is a great man, one of the And in 1921 he was invited few.’ to contribute to The Owl. Gurney was already enthusing about Davies in early 1914 in a letter to Harvey, telling him to get, as I have just got, Davies (his Farewell to Poesie[,] Foliage latest book) and the finest lyric poetry in Songs of Joy’ – English. God bless the day when Haines recommended that last book to the Gloucester Library. What a Treasury of divine simplicity! He had set in the same year, and went Davies’s poem, ‘The Sea’, on to set seven more. In 1922 he wrote to Davies, enclosing one of his songs, probably ‘The Moon’: Dear Mr Davies, Ever since was first shown to me I have Nature Poems always been a sincere admirer of your work, and have carried your books in London, Gloucestershire and France. I wonder whether you ever came across Framilode […] – opposite Rudford, near Newnham on Severn? It was a place I read your poems most at I can think that the poem […]. which has a phrase about the ship of sunrise being launched was written also well set by there. [See ‘Early Morn’, Gurney.]
on Sunday, and am just sending him a setting of “All that is Old”. He was very nice.’ Gurney set ‘The Ruin’ c. 1922: Graves’s early letters reveal that his judgements of poets changed frequently. In 1916 he wrote to Marsh from France on receipt of the first volume of Georgian Poetry: ‘[O]ccasionally I sometimes dislike W. H. Davies, though I thought ‘The Bird of Paradise’ was very good indeed.’ By July 1918, however, he was of a different opinion: ‘I read Davies’s Poet’s Pilgrimage to Nancy with great pleasure: a delicious book, we both loved it. Davies is a great man, one of the few.’ And in 1921 he was invited to contribute to The Owl. Gurney was already enthusing about Davies in early 1914 in a letter to Harvey, telling him to get, as I have just got, Davies Farewell to Poesie[,] Foliage (his latest book) and Songs of Joy’ – the finest lyric poetry in English. God bless the day when Haines recommended that last book to the Gloucester Library. What a Treasury of divine simplicity! He had set Davies’s poem, ‘The Sea’, in the same year, and went on to set seven more. In 1922 he wrote to Davies, enclosing one of his songs, probably ‘The Moon’: Dear Mr Davies, Ever since Nature Poems was first shown to me I have always been a sincere admirer of your work, and have carried your books in London, Gloucestershire and France. […] I wonder whether you ever came across Framilode – opposite Rudford, near Newnham on Severn? It was a place I read your poems most at […]. I can think that the poem which has a phrase about the ship of sunrise being launched was written there. [See ‘Early Morn’, also well set by Gurney.]