|
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Lee_(poet)
Joseph Lee (poet)
Joseph Johnston Lee
1876
Dundee, Scotland
Died
1949 (aged 72–73)
Dundee, Scotland
Nationality
Scottish
Occupation
Poet, Journalist, Artist, Soldier
Known for
War Poetry
Joseph Johnston Lee (1876 – 1949) was a Scottish journalist, artist and
poet, who chronicled life in the trenches and as a prisoner of war during
World War I. He is also remembered for his fight with then poet laureate
Robert Bridges over the literary value of Robert Burns' work. He has been
described as "Scotland's 'Forgotten' War Poet",[1] as well as "Dundee's
forgotten war poet."[2]
Biography
Born in Dundee, in 1876 Joseph Johnston Lee was the grandson of Sergeant
David Lee, who had fought in the Napoleonic Wars. Lee began his working life
at the age of 14. After a spell of employment in the office of a local
solicitor, he went to sea as a steamship's stoker.[3]
In 1904 Lee worked as an artist in London drawing cartoons for the Tariff
Reform League, and subsequently became a newspaper artist. He returned to
Dundee in 1906 and started to write for, produce and edit several local
periodicals, most notably The City Echo and The Piper O' Dundee.[3] In 1909
he founded and edited The Tocsin a monthly periodical which promoted the
labour movement in Dundee. This publication won praise from leading figures
in the Labour Party including Keir Hardie and Philip Snowden, but folded
after less than a year.[4][5]
In 1909 he became gained employment with the Dundee newspaper and periodical
publishers John Leng & Co. He was soon a regular contributor of poetry to
their weekly newspaper The People's Journal, a publication which he would go
on to edit.[3] He published his first book of poems, Tales o’ Our Town, in
1910. In April 1914 his play Fra Lippo Lippi, Painter of Florence was
produced and performed by students of the Dundee Technical College and
School of Art.[6]
Although he was aged almost 40 when World War I began, Lee enlisted in the
4th Battalion of the Black Watch in 1914 and eventually rose to the rank of
Sergeant. During this time he sent sketches and poems back home to Scotland.
These were eventually collected in two books of poetry, Ballads of Battle
and Work-a-Day Warriors. In 1917 he gained a commission as a second
lieutenant in the 10th Battalion of the King's Royal Rifle Corps.[3] Later
that year he was reported to be missing in action.[7] In fact Lee had been
captured and became a prisoner of war in Germany.[3] His time spent as a POW
was later depicted in his book A Captive in Carlsruhe.[8]
In 1924 Lee married Miss Dorothy Barrie, who was a well-known viola player.
The couple settled in Epsom and Lee became sub-editor on the News
Chronicle.[3] He also studied at the Slade School of Art during this
period.[1] He returned to Dundee in 1944, and died there in 1949.[3]
Reputation as a poet
Lee's war poetry was widely praised when it was published during the
conflict.[9] His poem The Green Grass was acclaimed by John Buchan as one of
the best war poems he had read.[1] Lee's reputation as a war poet once
ranked alongside those of Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon and Rupert Brooke.
However as the works of Owen and Sassoon grew in popularity, Lee's fame
waned.[1]
Lee's biographer Bob Burrows suggests that one reason why Lee's poetry
failed to achieve the lasting recognition of that of his more famous
contemporaries was because he did not have the backing of an influential
supporter. He also notes that Lee came through the War relatively unscathed
and returned to his old work as a journalist after his release from
captivity in Germany. Burrows also suggests that Lee had no ambition to be a
great literary figure and thus did little to push his work. In addition he
puts forward the view that Lee's working class origins would have made it
difficult for his work to achieve widespread acclaim.[10]
Legacy
Joseph Lee's papers are now held by Archive Services at the University of
Dundee. They include Lee's correspondence with Robert Bridges as well as
material relating to his time as a prisoner of war. The collection also
features copies of Lee's publications and material relating to them,
including a letter from Keir Hardie.[3][11][12] An exhibition devoted to Lee
was held at the University of Dundee in 2005 and was opened by his great
niece.[13][14] In 2011 materials from Lee's papers, including extracts from
the diary he wrote during his spell as a prisoner of war, were featured in
an exhibition held by Archive Services to mark Remembrance Day.[15] A
biography of Lee, by Bob Burrows, was published in 2004.[9]
Publications
Lee's first major collection of poetry, Tales o’ Our Town (Dundee: George
Montgomery, 1910), features around sixty poems, most of which relate to
people, places and events in his native Dundee. The volume also contains
illustrations drawn by Lee.[16] His first collection of war poetry, Ballads
of Battle (London: John Murray, 1916), contains 38 poems and 17
illustrations drawn by Lee.[17] Work-A-Day Warriors (London: John Murray,
1917) contains 39 poems, including four which had previously been published
in The Spectator and one, "The Carrion Crow", which had earlier been
published in The Nation. As with his earlier works, this volume also
contains drawings by Lee.[18] The New York Times regretted Lee’s choice of
title for this volume, as it felt it failed “to convey the real depth of Mr.
Lee’s work”.[19]
References
1. Urquhart, Frank (12 November 2005). "Tribute to 'forgotten' Scots war
poet". The Scotsman. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
2. Joseph Lee: Dundee's forgotten war poet". BBC News. 9 July 2014.
Retrieved 9 July 2014.
3. "University of Dundee Archives Services Online Catalogue Joseph Johnston
Lee". University of Dundee. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
4. "Tracing the development of Red Scotland". University of Dundee.
Retrieved 30 May 2011.
5. Baxter, Kenneth & Kenefick, William (2011). "Labour Politics and the
Dundee Working Class c 1895-1936". In Jim Tomlinson and Christopher A.
Whatley. Jute No More. Dundee: Dundee University Press. pp. 207–208. ISBN
978-1-84586-090-5.
6. "Archive Services Online Catalogue MS 88/4". University of Dundee.
Retrieved 27 May 2014.
7. "Missing". The Scotsman. 17 December 1917.
8. Lee, Joseph Johnston (1920). A Captive at Carlsruhe and other German
prison camps. London: John Lane. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
9. "Dundee's forgotten war poet remembered". University of Dundee. Retrieved
17 June 2011.
10. Burrows, Bob (2004). Fighter Writer: The eventful life of Sergeant Joe
Lee Scotland's forgotten war poet. Derby: Breedon Books. pp. 194–195. ISBN
1-85983-399-3.
11. "General Election Special 2". Archives, Records and Artefacts at the
University of Dundee. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
12. "MS 88 JOSEPH JOHNSTON LEE, JOURNALIST AND POET (1876-1949)". University
of Dundee. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
13. "Joseph Lee War Poet & Artist - Museum Services". University of Dundee.
Retrieved 7 June 2011.
14. "New Exhibition of Work of Joseph Lee, Dundee's First World War Poet".
University of Dundee. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
15. "World War Exhibition". Archives, Records and Artefacts at the
University of Dundee. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
16. Lee, Joseph (1910). Tales o’ Our Town. Dundee: George Montgomery.
17. Lee, Joseph (1916). Ballads of Battle. London: John Murray.
18. Lee, Joseph (1917). Work-A-Day Warriors. London: John Murray.
19."Some Recent Books of Verse". New York Times. 6 October 1918. Retrieved 9
February 2012.
Ballads of Battle
Poems - Tales O' Our Town
Work-a-Day Warriors |
