1904-1972. Irish poet, British poet laureate 
1968-1972. With Auden and Spender, he was one 
of the influential left-wing poets of the 
1930s. He also wrote detective novels under 
the pseudonym Nicholas Blake. Born at
Ballintubber, Ireland, he was educated at
Oxford and then taught at Cheltenham College
1930-35. His work, which includes From
Feathers to Iron 1931, and Overtures to Death
1938, is marked by accomplished lyrics and
sustained narrative power. Professor of
poetry at Oxford 1951-56, he published
critical works and translations from Latin of
Virgil's Georgics and Aeneid. In 1968 he
succeeded Masefield as poet laureate. His
autobiography, The Buried Day 1960, was
followed by a biography written by his eldest
son Sean 1980.