Jon Stallworthy

Jon (Howie) Stallworthy (18 January 1935 19 November 2014)[1] FBA FRSL was Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Oxford. He was also a Fellow (and was twice Acting President) of Wolfson College, a poet, and a literary critic.

Stallworthy was born in London. His parents, Sir John Stallworthy and Margaret Stallworthy, were from New Zealand and moved to England in 1934. Stallworthy started writing poems when he was only seven years old. He was educated at the Dragon School, Rugby School and at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he won the Newdigate prize. His works include seven volumes of poetry, and biographies of Wilfred Owen and Louis MacNeice. He has edited several anthologies and is particularly known for his work on war poetry.

While researching the local history of New Zealand Stallworthy discovered an obscure volume entitled Early Northern Wairoa written by his great-grandfather, John Stallworthy (1854–1923), in 1916. From this book he learned that his great-great-grandfather, George Stallworthy (1809–1859), had left his birthplace of Preston Bissett in Buckinghamshire, England, for the Marquesas as a missionary. This discovery led in turn to him finding family-related letters in the archives of the London Missionary Society. Stallworthy's book A Familiar Tree (Oxford University Press, 1978) is a collection of poetry inspired by events depicted in these documents. Singing School is an autobiography which emphasises Stallworthy's development as a poet.

Stallworthy wrote a short summary of war poetry in the introductory chapter to the Oxford Book of War Poetry (Edited by Jon Stallworthy, Oxford University Press, 1984), as well as editing several anthologies of war poetry and writing a biography of Wilfred Owen. In 2010 he received the Wilfred Owen Poetry Award from the Wilfred Owen Association.[2] In the course of his literary career, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the British Academy.[3]

Published works

References

  1. Wilfred Owen Association website. Accessed 20 November 2014
  2. Wilfred Owen Association website. Accessed 22 November 2014
  3. Wolfson College, Oxford: Professor Jon Stallworthy. Accessed 22 November 2014

External links

Academic offices
Preceded by
Sir David Smith
(Acting) President of Wolfson College, Oxford
2000
Succeeded by
Sir Gareth Roberts
Preceded by
Sir Gareth Roberts
(Acting) President of Wolfson College, Oxford
2006–2008
Succeeded by
Hermione Lee