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The Life and Death of Henry Reed

The very fine British poet, Henry Reed, author of A Map of Verona, died 22 years ago today, 8 December, 1986. He has yet to entirely get his due, since he is one of those poets whose work was mainly done in the 1940s, something of a Sargasso Sea when it comes to wrecked reputations. Still, his poetry is beginning to come out of the despond, and Carcanet does a Collected Poems now. Reed is intriguing for any number of reasons, but fans of codes and cyphers may want to know he worked at Bletchley Park during WWII.
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steef said…
That portrait of Reed on the Thames is my favorite, with his contemplative eyebrow raised, and the cigarette burning unremembered in his left hand. You reminded me, today, that I have been neglectful in scanning my (ancient) photocopies of Reed's obituary from the Times, now remedied. It was good of you to remember him on this day. Thanks!
Tue Dec 09, 02:41:00 am 2008
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