Biografie van de Engelse dichter (geb. 1906), gevolgd door een bespreking van zijn werk

Tells the story of a boy's growth to early manhood, seaside holidays, meddling arts, school bullies and an unexpected moment of religious awakening.

Written when Betjeman was 26 and criticised by the author himself in this edition for showing "sententiousness, arrogance and sweeping generalisation." Includes a potted autobiography of his early years showing how he came to write such a book.

When did you last hear of a poetry book selling in the millions? Well, since 1958 when John Betjeman's Collected Poems was first published, sales have exceeded 2.5 million and are still going strong. When he died in 1984, still as Poet Laureate, he was by far the UK's favourite poet (as Philip Larkin acknowledged). Thanks to his work as a broadcaster and architectural campaigner he was also a celebrity. However his life was full of insecurities, frustrations and busted relationships, and in terms of his work, his comments that 'he was not taken seriously by the TLS' said it all. Jonathan Smith, author of many successful novels, but also a playwright and educationalist, wrote two radio plays dramatising Betjeman's life which were first broadcast on the BBC in 2017 and which have now been combined into a single narrative, part biography, part fiction but providing an extraordinary - and above all, highly entertaining - journey into the mind and the life of John Betjeman. The book follows the poet from his time at Oxford where he wandered around clutching a teddybear, then having been kicked out, to the well trodden route of Prep School master (he was taken on as a cricket coach, knowing absolutely nothing about the game). Then onto his unfortunate marriage to Penelope Chetwode an English travel writer, and the only daughter of Field Marshal Lord Chetwode, who sadly was more interested in horses than humans. The book then centres on his lengthy affair with Lady Elizabeth Cavendish and his problems with son Paul, who emigrated to the USA and never really forgave Betjeman for his shortcomings as a parent. Beautifully written, we expect this book to be widely noticed in reviews.

John Betjeman (1906-1984) was undoubtedly the most popular Poet Laureate since Tennyson. But, beneath the thoroughly modern window on Britain that he opened during his lifetime lay the influence of his 19th-century Victorian forebears. This book - now available in paperback - explores Betjeman's identity through such Victorianism via the verse of that period, as well as its architecture, religious faith, and - more importantly - religious doubt. It was, nevertheless, a process which took time. In the 1930s, Betjeman's work was tinted with modernism and traditionalism. He found Victorian buildings 'funny' and wrote much in praise of the Bauhaus style, even though his early poetry was peppered with Victorian references. This leaning was incorporated into a greater sense of purpose during World War II, when he transformed himself from precious humorist into propagandist. The resulting sense of cohesion grew when the dangers of post-war urban redevelopment heightened the need to critique the present via the poetics of the past, a mood which continued up to and beyond his gaining the Laureateship in 1972. This duty proved to be a millstone, so the 'official' poems are thus explored by the author more fully than hitherto. The book concludes with a look back to Betjeman's 1960 verse-autobiography, Summoned by Bells, which is seen as the apogee of his achievement and a snapshot of his identity. Included here is the first critical appreciation of the lyrics embodied within the text, which are taken as a map of the young poet's literary growth. The book leads to a final appraisal of his originality, as evidenced by his glances towards postmodernism, feminism, and post-colonialism. The fact is that Betjeman never quite fits in anywhere. He is always a square peg in a round hole or a round peg in a square hole, often for the sheer enjoyment of so being. In a sense, his desire to be as non-conformist as a Quaker meeting house makes him a radical, rather than the reactionary that his interests imply. He was a champion of beauty and the British Isles, and clearly did much to make the British see the worth of their Victorian forebears.

Dennis Brown's book assesses Sir John Betjeman's contribution to poetry in the light of the way that his key themes have specific relevance to postmodern and environmental concerns, emphasising its ironic self-reflexivity, its rendering of Englishness and a 'soft' masculinity, and its ecumenical Christian tolerance.

This bibliography describes all John Betjeman's known writings, including his own books, contributions to periodicals and to books by others, lectures, and radio and television programs. Other categories include editorships and interviews, as well as a section devoted to writings about him. Manuscripts and drafts of his works are described in detail.

'Oh prams on concrete balconies, what will your children see? Oh white and antiseptic life in school and home and clinic, oh soul-destroying job with handy pension, oh loveless life of safe monotony, why were you created?' First and Last Loves is a collection of Betjeman's essays on architecture, first published to coincide with an exhibition at the Soane Museum, and a worthwhile volume in its own right. Introduced with a lively tirade against mediocrity entitled 'Love is Dead', Betjeman discusses a range of topics including conservation battles, modern architecture and his passion for railways.

John Betjeman, appointed Poet Laureate in 1972, is celebrated as the best loved poet of the twentieth century. His subtle blend of wit and melancholia, affection and criticism continues to attract an ever-expanding readership. From beneath his sparkling wit and deceptively simple nostalgia, Betjeman emerges as the authority on a broad range of subjects from conservation and church architecture to tradition and Englishness. In this selection of his greatest poetry and prose, cherished classics such as Slough, Pot Pourri from a Surrey Garden and A Subaltern’s Love-song sit beside rare gems like Metro-land, Betjeman’s critically acclaimed film script.