G. S. Fraser

George Sutherland Fraser (8 November 1915 - 3 January 1980) was a Scottish poet and literary critic, and academic. He was born in Glasgow, later moving with his family to Aberdeen. He went to the University of St. Andrews.

Related Topics:
8 November - 1915 - 3 January - 1980 - Scottish - Glasgow - Aberdeen - University of St. Andrews

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During World War II he served in the British Army in Cairo and Eritrea. He was published as a poet in Salamander, a Cairo literary magazine. At the same time he was involved with the New Apocalyptics group, writing an introductory essay for the anthology The White Horseman, and formulating as well as anyone did the idea that they were successors to surrealism.

Related Topics:
World War II - British Army - Cairo - Eritrea - New Apocalyptics - Surrealism

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After the war in London, he was a prominent figure, working as a journalist and critic. Together with his wife Paddy he made friends with a gamut, from the intellectual leader William Empson to the eccentric John Gawsworth. He worked with Ian Fletcher to have Gawsworth's Collected Poems (1949) published. His direction was that of the traditional man of letters (soon to become extinct). In 1949 he accepted the job of replacing Edmund Blundenas Cultural Adviser to the U.K. Liaison Mission in Tokyo. This ended badly when he suffered a breakdown in 1951 while in Japan. Subsequently he was much less the poet than the all-purpose writer.

Related Topics:
William Empson - John Gawsworth - Man of letters - Edmund Blunden

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He became a lecturer at the University of Leicester in 1959, remaining there until retirement in 1979.

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