Irish poet. With W H Auden and Stephen Spender, he was one of the influential left-wing poets of the 1930s. His later poetry moved from political concerns to a more traditional personal lyricism. He also wrote detective novels under the pseudonym
Nicholas Blake. He was British poet laureate 196872.
His poetry, which includes
From Feathers to Iron (1931) and
Overtures to Death (1938), is marked by accomplished lyrics and sustained narrative power.
The Complete Poems was published in 1992.
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