The Oxford book of local verses / chosen and with an introduction by John Holloway

Holloway, John

ISBN 10: 019214149X / ISBN 13: 9780192141491

Published by Oxford [Oxfordshire] : New York : Oxford University Press, 1987

About this Item

Near fine copy in the original gilt-blocked cloth. Slightest suggestion only of dust-dulling to the spine bands and panel edges. Remains particularly well-preserved overall; tight, bright, clean and strong. Physical description; xxi, 350 pages ; 22 cm. Notes; Includes indexes. Includes bibliographical references (pages 313-333). Subjects; Manners and customs ; Poetry. English poetry. Anonymous writings, English. Popular literature Great Britain. Folk poetry, English. Inscriptions, English Great Britain. English poetry ; Literary collections. Folk poetry, English ; Literary collections. English poetry England ; Literary collections. Inscriptions, English. Manners and customs. English poetry. England History, Local ; Poetry. Great Britain History, Local ; Poetry. EnglandGreat Britain. 1 Kg.

Seller Inventory # 427756

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Oxford book of local verses / chosen and with an introduction by John Holloway
• Publisher: Oxford [Oxfordshire] : New York : Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 1987
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 019214149X
• ISBN 13: 9780192141491
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st edition.

About this title

Synopsis

This delightful anthology is a treasure-house of England's heritage of popular verse, written by long forgotten local poets whose surviving work enriches our understanding of local customs and attitudes in much the same way that 'local 'cooking' describes the flavor of a region. Local verses have been perpetuated in a particular place sometimes through the oral tradition, also through local use as work-songs or seasonal celebrations, and, more tangibly, in the form of inscriptions and engravings, in stone, wood, glass or metal. This collection celebrates the largely anonymous but often inventive and gifted authors of the verses that appear preserved on village crosses, fountains, sundials, churches, house walls, bells, inn-signs, wells, caves and other monuments. It includes epitaphs, and also verses inscribed on moveable objects such as clocks and pottery, silverware and books. Country charms and weather rhymes, children's games and farming songs add to the variety of tone and style. When a North of England football team reached the championships in 1936 a local poet put pen to paper to wish his team luck; an inmate at Millbank scratched a few terse lines about English prisons on the bottom of his dinner-can; a Kent gunner petitioned for his discharge papers in verse; a rhyme describing willow-pattern designs was inscribed on a piece of Staffordshire pottery: these and many more are among the 550 or so verses arranged under ten, mainly regional headings, covering the United Kingdom from South and South-West England to the Welsh Borders and the North.

About the Author

About the author:
John Holloway is Emeritus Professor of English at the University of Cambridge where he was Professor of Modern English from 1972 to 1982. His publications include six volumes of poetry, as well as criticism.