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Before You Become a Poet, Work in a Bar: John Masefield in the Village by John Flood, Grand Central Branch Library May 30, 2012

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John Masefield, Digital ID 1663556, New York Public LibraryJohn Masefield, Digital ID 1663556, New York Public LibraryBefore he was the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, John Masefield scrubbed floors in a saloon at Greenwich Avenue and Sixth Avenue in the Village.

My guess, that's good training to be a poet or a writer of any kind.

His birthday is June 1.

Here's the first part of one of his poems:

"Sea Fever"

I must go down to the seas again,
to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship
and a star to steer her by;
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song
and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face, and
a grey dawn breaking

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Hard work and poetry

Submitted by Emily N on May 31, 2012 at 11:51 AM.

Thanks for sharing this, I loved reading the NYRB reissue of "The Box of Delights, Or, When the Wolves Were Running" last winter. It's a British classic children's fantasy novel by Masefield. I think it shows the influence of his experience in the bar and at the carpet loom in his attention to detail and love for the physical world learned through work.

Before you become a Poet...

Submitted by Soulful Poetess on August 2, 2012 at 1:25 PM.

I never thought such odd training could produce such a great poet. I really enjoyed reading "Sea Fever" as well as "The Everlasting Mercy" now i just need to find a good bar to work on my own skills.

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