Since Edwin Muir’s death in 1959 at the age of 71, his poetry has slipped into the shadows, and he has become a somewhat neglected figure. Although he did much through his translations to promote the work of Franz Kafka, Muir is not obviously a modernist. His poetry tends to rely on traditional metres and rhymes and has a Latinate grammar. And yet it was Muir who wrote one of the greatest eco-poems of the 20th century. In fact, by virtue of his remote background and the retentive power of his memory, he was a born eco-poet.
Muir was born and brought up in the Orkney Islands before his family ...
There are approximately 982 more words in this article.
To read the rest of this article, please buy this issue, or join the Resurgence Trust. As a member you will receive access to the complete archive of magazines from May 1966.
If you are already a member, please Sign in