Reading the Collections, Week 4: Siegfried Sassoon, Poems

Would have more timely last week but better late than never …

Echoes from the Vault

Autograph version of ‘Brevities’ by Sassoon, from msPR6037.A9A17

I am that man who with a luminous look
Sits up at night to write a ruminant book.

I am that man who with a furrowed frown
Thinks harshly of the world – and corks it down.

I am that man who loves to ride alone
When landscapes wear his mind’s autumnal tone.

I am that man who, having lived this day,
Looks once on life and goes his wordless way.

I decided to read this small collection of poems by Siegfried Sassoon, not so much for the poetry but because I’ve always meant to investigate the story behind the manuscript and how it made its way up to St Andrews. I often use this work for teaching, because it’s a lovely volume from a well-known author and has an interesting story. But I’d never actually read it, and it was…

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