author
Sir John Collings Squire
1884–1958
An influential English poet, critic, and editor, he helped shape literary conversation between the wars through the pages of the London Mercury. His writing mixed polished verse with sharp opinions, and his circle became famous enough to earn its own nickname: the “Squirearchy.”
4 Audiobooks
The Three Hills, and Other Poems
by Sir John Collings Squire, Charles Baudelaire
Poems - First Series
by Sir John Collings Squire
Poems - Second Series
by Sir John Collings Squire
Tricks of the trade
by Sir John Collings Squire
About the author
Born in Plymouth in 1884, Sir John Collings Squire studied history at St John’s College, Cambridge, and went on to build a career as a journalist, poet, critic, and editor. He became literary editor of the New Statesman and later the founding editor of the London Mercury, one of the most important British literary magazines of the interwar years.
Squire was closely associated with the Georgian poets, and his own work was known for its formal control, clarity, and wit. Alongside poetry, he wrote essays, criticism, history, and anthologies, becoming a prominent and sometimes controversial figure in literary life.
He was knighted in 1933 and remained a recognizable presence in English letters for decades. Beyond the page, he was also known for captaining the literary cricket team called the Invalids, a detail that nicely captures the mix of seriousness and clubbable charm that surrounded him.