The Everlasting Circle
English Traditional Verse
Published on 18. September 2008
Book
Paperback/Softback
322 pages
978-0-571-24571-0 (ISBN)
Description
My one man, my two men shall mow me down my meadows,
My three men, my four men shall carry my grass away,
My four, my three, my two, my one, nay not mo,
For to mow my hay and carry it away
On a beautiful midsummer's day.
In The Idiom of the People (1958), James Reeves revisited the manuscripts of the folklorist Cecil Sharp to produce a selection of traditional English verse undiluted by early twentieth-century propriety. The Everlasting Circle (1960), his successor volume, takes a similarly faithful approach to the folk-verse collections of Sabine Baring-Gould, H. E. D. Hammond and George B. Gardiner.
Restored to their original vitality, the lyrics assembled here sing out joyfully and strong. Songs familiar to us still - 'The Cuckoo', 'The Carpenter's Wife - sit alongside lesser-known verse in a vibrant collection of England's folk heritage.
My three men, my four men shall carry my grass away,
My four, my three, my two, my one, nay not mo,
For to mow my hay and carry it away
On a beautiful midsummer's day.
In The Idiom of the People (1958), James Reeves revisited the manuscripts of the folklorist Cecil Sharp to produce a selection of traditional English verse undiluted by early twentieth-century propriety. The Everlasting Circle (1960), his successor volume, takes a similarly faithful approach to the folk-verse collections of Sabine Baring-Gould, H. E. D. Hammond and George B. Gardiner.
Restored to their original vitality, the lyrics assembled here sing out joyfully and strong. Songs familiar to us still - 'The Cuckoo', 'The Carpenter's Wife - sit alongside lesser-known verse in a vibrant collection of England's folk heritage.
More details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-trade)
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 135 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
440 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-571-24571-0 (9780571245710)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
James Reeves (1909-78) was a poet, educationalist and folklorist. He read English at Cambridge University, where he co-founded the influential literary magazine Experiment with Jacob Bronowski. After university, he forged a successful career in teaching, but failing eyesight forced him to retire in 1952, whereupon he became a full-time writer and editor. His other publications include Collected Poems, 1929-1974, Complete Poems for Children (1973), and, with Martin Seymour-Smith, Inside Poetry (1970).