Beschreibung:

DescriptionT.E. Lawrence
Autograph letter signed ("TE Shaw" and "TES"), to James Louis Garvin, editor of The Observer,
writing with lively outrage having "been stung to horror by an article in the Observer today" on the subject of contemporary poetry, in which the author ("...some hoary old toad immured deep in a rotting tree...") confessed ignorance of Cecil Day Lewis, and conjecturing that the writer, Basil de Selincourt, was a cricket correspondent on secondment ("...Put him back into flannels, please QUICK..."), 4 pages, quarto, 13 Birmingham Street, Southampton, 15 July 1934, minor dust staining
"...Ignorance about the vasty past is inevitable, excusable, praiseworthy almost: but to make a fool of oneself about the poets of the yesterday through which one has supposed 'lived' -- Pshaw and Tush to him. Dead for a ducat..."
T.E. LAWRENCE ON THE POETRY OF THE THIRTIES. Basil de Selincourt was a respected literary journalist and author of several books on nineteenth-century poets. His ignorance of Cecil Day-Lewis's work is surprising, given that by 1934 the young poet had a high profile in literary circles as one of the young generation of poets - satirised as the MacSpaunday group - who combined experimentalism with left-wing activism. 
PROVENANCE:Roy Davids; his sale, Part II, Bonhams, March 29, 2011, lot 147Condition reportCondition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colors and shades which are different to the lot's actual color and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation. The condition report is a statement of opinion only. For that reason, the condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot. NOTWITHSTANDING THIS ONLINE CONDITION REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE/BUSINESS APPLICABLE TO THE RESPECTIVE SALE.