Sidney Keyes

Sidney Arthur Kilworth Keyes (27 May 1922 – 29 April 1943) was an English poet of World War II.

Life[]

Early years and education[]

Keyes was born on 27 May 1922.^[1] His mother died shortly afterwards and he was raised by his paternal grandparents.^[2] Keyes started writing poetry when still very young, with Wordsworth, Rilke and Jung among his main influences.^[2] He attended Dartford Grammar School and then boarded at Tonbridge School (Hillside, 1935-1940) during his secondary education, after which he won a history scholarship to Queen's College, Oxford.^[2][3] While at college, Keyes wrote the only two books of his lifetime, The Cruel Solstice and The Iron Laurel.^[4] During his time in Oxford, Keyes fell in love with the young German artist Milein Cosman, but his love was not returned. He also befriended fellow poets John Heath-Stubbs and Michael Meyer, edited The Cherwell magazine, and formed a dramatic society.^[2]

The Iron Laurel was published in 1942, when Keyes was 20 years old. His poetry was also published in the New Statesman, The Listener and other poetry journals.^[2]

Military service[]

Keyes left Oxford and joined the army in April 1942,^[5] entering active service that same year.^[6] He was sent with the Queens Own Royal West Kent Regiment to fight in the Tunisia Campaign of World War II in March 1943.^[2][7] Prior to his service, Keyes had already written more than half of the 110 poems that would later be gathered in The Collected Poems of Sidney Keyes.^[5] During combat, he was reported to have continued writing poetry. However, these works have not survived.^[8]

Death[]

Keyes fought and died in action on 29 April 1943, covering his platoon's retreat during a counter-attack,^[2] shortly before his 21st birthday.^[7] It has also been stated that he died at the hands of the enemy, following his capture.^[9]

Recognition[]

In 1943, Keyes was awarded the Hawthornden Prize for The Cruel Solstice and The Iron Laurel.^[10] He has been described as one of the outstanding poets of the Second World War.^[2]

Footnotes[]

Bibliography[]

• Berryman, John (1947), "Review: Young Poets Dead", The Sewanee Review, Johns Hopkins University Press, 55 (3)
• Hynes, Samuel (1990), "Review: Sidney Keyes, Poet", The Sewanee Review, Johns Hopkins University Press, 98 (2)
• Dickey, James (March 2004), Donald Greiner (ed.), Classes on Modern Poets and the Art of Poetry, University of South Carolina Press
• Kendall, Tim (2006), Modern English War Poetry, Oxford University Press
• Kendall, Tim; Geoffrey Hill (2009), The Oxford Handbook of British and Irish War Poetry, Oxford University Press
• Cosman, Milein, Memories of Sidney Keyes
• Roy, Pinaki. “Sidney Keyes: The War-poet who ‘groped for Death’”. War, Literature and the Arts (U.S. Air Force Academy) (ISSN 2169-7914), 26 (1), 2014: http://wlajournal.com/wlaarchive/26/Roy.pdf

External links[]

• Works by Sidney Keyes at Faded Page (Canada)