George Barker was born on 26 February 1913 inLoughton,Essex, a stone's throw fromEpping Forest. His father, George Barker (1879–1965), who had worn many hats from a temporary police constable to a butler atGray's Inn,[1][2] brought to the family a history of military service, having risen to the rank of Major duringWorld War I. Marion Frances (1881–1953), née Taaffe, his mother, hailed fromMornington,County Meath. It was inChelsea,London, at the age of six months,[3][4][5][6] that Barker began his urban odyssey.
Barker’s youth was spent in the company of his younger brother Kit, who would later make his mark as a painter. Their upbringing later inBattersea and subsequently at Upper Addison Gardens,Holland Park[7] exposed them to a vibrant milieu that undeniably seeded Barker’s poetic sensibilities.
His formal education began at anL.C.C. school and continued atRegent Street Polytechnic. However, the confines of structured learning could not contain Barker's burgeoning creative energy. Leaving school early, he meandered through various jobs before finding his true calling in poetry. His early works, includingThirty Preliminary Poems (1933),Poems (1935), andCalamiterror (1937)—the latter a fervent response to theSpanish Civil War[8] and a scathing critique of theSpanish Nationalists.[9] —heralded the arrival of a formidable literary talent.
The 1930s saw Barker’s association withT.S. Eliot atFaber and Faber, a connection that proved pivotal. This endorsement led to his appointment as Professor of English Literature in 1939 atTohoku University (Sendai, Miyagi,Japan). His time there, though cut short by the war, was artistically fruitful, giving birth to thePacific Sonnets.
In his travel to theUnited States, his life intertwined dramatically with that ofElizabeth Smart. Their passionate and stormy affair produced four children[10] and left an indelible mark on both their creative outputs. Concurrently, Barker fathered three children -- two of which were twins; Anthony and Anastasia -- with his first wife, Jessica.[11] He returned to England in 1943. From the late 1960s until his death, Barker made his home inItteringham,Norfolk, with his second wife,Elspeth Barker, herself a writer and journalist. This rural retreat provided the backdrop for his poemAtThurgarton Church (1969), inspired by the nearby village.
Barker’s life was a mosaic of intense personal relationships and artistic fervour. His 1950 novelThe Dead Seagull was a response to Smart’sBy Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept, which had revealed their affair.[12]Robert Fraser edited Barker'sCollected Poems (ISBN0-571-13972-8) that were published in 1987 by Faber and Faber. Barker’s alignment with theNew Apocalyptics,[13] a movement rebelling against the realism of the 1930s with surreal and mythic motifs, underscored his independence and distinctive voice.[14]
Though his output varied in quality, Barker’s literary landscape includes revered works likeThe True Confession of George Barker, hailed byC.H. Sisson as his masterpiece.[15] Barker, ever self-aware, admitted the difficulty in capturing his life’s tumultuous narrative, saying, "I've stirred the facts around too much... It simply can't be done."[16] Yet,Robert Fraser’s 2001 biography,The Chameleon Poet: A Life of George Barker, endeavours to trace the contours of his complex existence.
^George Barker, Martha Fodaski, Twayne Publishers, 1969, p. 13
^Encyclopaedia of British Writers, From 1800 to the Present, second edition, 20th Century and Beyond, ed. George Stade et al, DWJ Books LLC, 2009, p. 35
^Rough Draft: The Modernist Diaries of Emily Holmes Coleman, 1929-1937, ed. Elizabeth Podnieks, University of Delaware Press, 2012, p. 252
^Sansom, Ian (2 March 2002)."Master of the red Martini".The Guardian. Retrieved8 July 2008.Jessica has just given birth to his twins, Elizabeth Smart is busy giving birth to her second child by him, and he is spending most of his time drinking in London.
^I Ousby ed.,The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English (1995) p. 38
^I Ousby ed.,The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English (1995) p. 38
^C. H. Sisson,English Poetry 1900-1950 (1981) p. 243
^C. H. Sisson,English Poetry 1900-1950 (1981) p. 248
^The Chameleon Poet: A Life of George Barker (Jonathan Cape Ltd, 2002,ISBN978-0-7123-0540-2).
Daniel Farson,Soho in the Fifties (Michael Joseph, London, 1987).
An Anthology fromX (Oxford University Press, 1988)
Patrick Swift 1927-83 (Gandon Editions, Kinsale, 1993).
Selected Poems, HOMAGE TO GEORGE BARKER (On his Sixtieth Birthday). John Heath-Stubbs & Martin Green, eds, 1973. Includes portrait of Barker by Swift seen here.
The Chameleon Poet: A Life of George Barker, Jonathan Cape Ltd (21 Feb 2002),ISBN978-0-224-06242-8
