Ivor Gurney

Ivor Gurney was an English poet and composer born in Gloucester in 1890. He studied at the Royal College of Music and served in the First World War, which influenced his writing. His poetry often draws on the landscapes of Gloucestershire and the trauma of the trenches, combining lyrical observation with a stark, fragmented voice. He also composed songs, setting poems by A.E. Housman and others to music. His collections include Severn and Somme and War's Embers. He spent the last years of his life in mental hospitals and died of tuberculosis in 1937. His work has been increasingly studied for its contribution to war poetry and its blending of music and verse.