author
John Freeman
1880–1929
A self-made English poet and essayist, he left a successful insurance career to write full time and became associated with the Georgian poetry circle. His work is often noted for its thoughtful, clear style and its feeling for nature and ordinary life.
1 Audiobook
Poems New and Old
by John Freeman
About the author
Born John Frederick Freeman in London in 1880, he started work very young and built a career in insurance before turning fully to literature. That unusual path into writing gives his life story a grounded, determined quality that still stands out.
Freeman became known as a poet, essayist, and critic, and was closely connected with the Georgian literary world. He was a friend of Walter de la Mare, and his poetry won wider recognition in the early 20th century, including the Hawthornden Prize for Poems 1909–1920.
He died in 1929, leaving behind work remembered for its plain strength, reflective mood, and close attention to the natural world. For listeners coming to him now, he can feel like a writer who brought both discipline and quiet feeling to everything he wrote.