BETJEMAN, John.

£650 · Offered by Peter Harrington · No longer available

Summoned By Bells. First edition, inscribed by the author on the half-title, "Signed for Ruthven by his old chum John Betjeman". The recipient was the poet Ruthven Todd (1914-78), who was associated with the Scottish Literary Renaissance and New Apocalypse movement, and who was the close friend of Dylan Thomas. Todd is perhaps best known for his poignant elegy for Thomas, "Laugharne Chruchyard in 1954" (1956).This autobiographical poem in blank verse gives an account of the future Poet Laureate's early life up to his schoolmastering days. It "enjoyed a popularity not seen since the days of Rudyard Kipling and A. E. Housman" (ODNB).

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.