John Oxenham

Born William Arthur Dunkerley in Manchester on November 12, 1852, he wrote under the name John Oxenham and became known as a remarkably productive English man of letters. His career ranged across journalism, poetry, novels, and hymn writing, and the pen name became far better known than his birth name.

He was involved in publishing as well as writing, helping to found The Idler and later working on other periodicals. That background shows in the direct, readable style of his books and poems, which often aim to encourage, uplift, or quietly provoke thought rather than simply impress.

Dunkerley spent much of his life in England, including years in Ealing and later Worthing, and he died on January 23, 1941. Today he is remembered both for his large body of popular writing and for the way his poems and hymns carried a plainspoken, heartfelt kind of faith to a wide audience.