Rewards of Wonder

In September 1922, poet and composer Ivor Gurney (1890-1937), was certified insane and committed to a mental asylum, where he remained until his death. This text, begun in 1921 and completed in 1924, was the first of several volumes of poetry written in the City of London Mental Hospital. The central theme of this collection is moments of epiphany, and landscapes include his native shire, London, and the Western Front. Gurney arranged these poems into a unified volume, and the book offers insights into Gurney's illness, and his sanity, rooted in memory and a sense of England. It is published as part of Carcanet's Ivor Gurney programme.