Cecil Day-Lewis

Cecil Day-Lewis (or Day Lewis) (27 April 1904 – 22 May 1972) was an English poet born in Ballintubber, County Laois, Ireland. He was educated at Wadham College, Oxford, where he made the acquaintance of W. H. Auden.

Related Topics:
27 April - 1904 - 22 May - 1972 - Poet - Ballintubber - County Laois - Ireland - Wadham College, Oxford - W. H. Auden

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After working as a school-teacher for some years, he eventually became a full-time writer, supplementing his poetry income by writing crime novels. His twenty novels of mystery and detection, published under the pseudonym Nicholas Blake, include the classic whodunnits Thou Shell of Death (1935) and The Beast Must Die (1938).

Related Topics:
Pseudonym - Whodunnits - Thou Shell of Death - The Beast Must Die

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During the Second World War he worked as a publications editor in the Ministry of Information. After the war, he joined publisher Chatto & Windus as a director and senior editor. He later taught poetry at Oxford (where he was Professor of Poetry) and other universities.

Related Topics:
Second World War - Ministry of Information - Chatto & Windus - Oxford - Professor of Poetry

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He lived with his second wife, the actress Jill Balcon, in Croom's Hill, Greenwich, London.

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Jill Balcon - Greenwich, London

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In 1968, Day-Lewis was appointed Poet Laureate, a position he held until his death four years later. He was buried in Stinsford churchyard, Dorset, near the grave of Thomas Hardy.

Related Topics:
1968 - Poet Laureate - Stinsford - Dorset - Thomas Hardy

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He had three children. Out of his first marriage came a son, TV critic and writer Sean Day-Lewis, who wrote a biography of his father (C. Day Lewis: An English Literary Life) published in 1980 and another son, Nicholas. From his second marriage came Academy Award winning actor, Daniel Day-Lewis and journalist Tamasin Day-Lewis.

Related Topics:
Sean Day-Lewis - Academy Award - Daniel Day-Lewis - Tamasin Day-Lewis

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