James Reeves

British writer (1 July 1909 – 1 May 1978). Reeves is principally known for his poetry, plays and contributions to children's literature and the literature of collected traditional songs. His published books include poetry, stories and anthologies for both adults and children. He was also well known as a literary critic and a broadcaster. Reeves was born in Wealdstone in the London Borough of Harrow, where he attended Stowe School, and won a scholarship to Jesus College, Cambridge. From 1932 to 1952 he taught English in a number of schools and teachers' training colleges, subsequently becoming a freelance author and editor. His first collection of poems, The Natural Need, was published in 1936 by the Seizin Press, run by Robert Graves and Laura Riding, whose work Reeves's early poetry sometimes resembles. Numerous further volumes by Reeves include The Imprisoned Sea (1949), The Talking Skull (1958), The Statue, and Poems and Paraphrases (1972). Collected Poems of 1974 is the fullest edition of his verses.