Robert Graves

About Robert Graves

Robert Graves, an English poet, was born on July 24, 1895 near London. He became known as a war poet during the first World War, for which he enlisted. He spent a lot of time in the trenches and was injured on a couple occasions. While on active duty, Grave published three books of poetry.

In January 1918, he married Nancy Nicolson, and the couple had four children together. Unfortunately, the couple's marriage lasted less than ten years.

Graves met American poet and theorist Laura Riding in 1926, and she is said to be the most important element in his poetic career because she changed the way he wrote. The two of them ended up together after his separation from Nancy Nicolson. The couple moved to America after spending time in Majorca, a Spanish island, but Laura left him for another writer in 1939. They had not been married.

A year later, a third and final relationship was started with Beryl Hodge. After marrying, the couple moved to Majorca, and they had four children together.

In 1985, Graves was commemorated on a stone at Westminster Abbey with 15 other war poets. He was the only one still living at the time.

Graves continued writing until ten years before his death, when memory loss left him in a very dependent state. He passed away in Majorca on December 7, 1985 from heart failure.

Interesting Facts about Robert Graves

1. His father was also a poet.
2. When Graves was in school, he enjoyed boxing and mountain climbing rather than studying.
3. Although he wasn't, he was pronounced dead by a surgeon on the battlefield during World War I, and a telegram was sent to his parents informing them of his "death".
4. After the war, Graves tried running his own small business, but it quickly failed.
5. He worked on a children's book with his first wife.
6. Graves' first wife refused to take his last name.
7. He published more than 140 books, including 55 collections of poetry.
8. Graves was considered for the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature.
9. I, Claudia and its sequel were novels by Robert Graves that got turned into a TV series in the 1970s.
10. Graves' home in Majorca is now a museum.

References

• poetryfoundation.org
• The Robert Graves Trust
• poets.org