author

John Spateman

1697–1749

An 18th-century English poet best known for blank-verse works that take on grand subjects with surprising moral urgency. His surviving publications suggest a writer deeply concerned with war, faith, and the human cost of violence.

1 Audiobook

War : $b A poem in blank verse

War : $b A poem in blank verse

by John Spateman

About the author

John Spateman (1697–1749) was an English poet associated with mid-18th-century London print culture. Reliable catalog and digitization records connect him with at least two poems published in 1745: War: A Poem in Blank Verse and Jesus. A Poem. In Blank Verse.

War is the easier of the two to trace today, thanks to its survival in major public-domain archives. The poem presents war not as glory but as suffering and moral failure, which gives Spateman a notably serious, reflective voice.

Very little biographical detail about his life appears to be widely documented online beyond his dates and his published works. No confirmed portrait was found from the sources checked, so a profile image is not included.