author
Edith Sitwell
1887–1964
Known for her bold voice, theatrical flair, and musical language, this British poet helped push English poetry in a more experimental direction. Her work ranged from witty, dazzling early verse to later poems shaped by war, faith, and compassion.
1 Audiobook
The wooden Pegasus
by Edith Sitwell
About the author
Born in Scarborough, England, in 1887, Edith Sitwell became one of the most distinctive literary figures of the 20th century. She was the eldest of the three famous Sitwell siblings and built a public image that was as memorable as her writing, but her reputation lasted because of the originality of her poems and criticism.
Her early poetry stood out for its sound, rhythm, and sharp imagery, especially in books such as The Mother and Other Poems, Clowns' Houses, and Façade, the last of which became especially well known through its collaboration with composer William Walton. Later, during and after the Second World War, her writing took on greater emotional and spiritual weight, and readers responded strongly to poems that joined technical brilliance with sympathy and seriousness.
Sitwell also wrote essays and biographies, and she remained an influential presence in British literary life for decades. She died in London in 1964, leaving behind work that still feels strikingly individual: ornate at times, but also deeply alert to suffering, beauty, and the power of language.