Joan Barton (1908–1986) was an English poet and bookseller. She was born in Bristol and studied at Colston's Girls' School and Bristol University.[1] While working in a bookstore in Bristol, and later running her own in Marlborough, she corresponded with a number of poets who responded positively to her poetry and encouraged her to seek publication; these included John Betjeman, Walter de la Mare and Cecil Day-Lewis.[1] A steadily increasing number of published poems led to her first collection, published when she was in her 60s; not long after, her poem "The Mistress" was included by Philip Larkin in The Oxford Book of Twentieth Century English Verse.[2] In 1975, she was profiled by Anne Stevenson for the series The Living Poet on BBC Radio 3.[1][3] She published two more collections, including a chapbook in 1979.
Books edit
- The Mistress and Other Poems. Hull: Sonus Press, 1972.
- Ten Poems. Salisbury: Perdix Press, 1979.
- A House Under Old Sarum: New and Selected Poems. Liskeard: Harry Chambers/Peterloo Poets, 1981.
References edit
- ^ a b c "Joan Barton Archive Collection". Hull University Archive. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
- ^ Larkin, Philip, ed. (1973). The Oxford Book of Twentieth Century English Verse. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 431. ISBN 0198121377.
- ^ Michaels, Mary (Spring 2008). "Joan Barton: A Poet Rediscovered". Bristol Review of Books (5). Retrieved 24 October 2020.