Yesterday, a group of admirers gathered in Bow, England to celebrate the life and work of Cecily Fox Smith. She was a Victorian poet best remembered for her poems about ships and sailors in the last days of the age of sail. She wrote more than 600 poems which were published in more than two dozen volumes. The March 27, 1915 edition of the Spectator magazine reviewed her book “Sailortown” saying, “No one, not even Mr. Masefield, has written finer sea ballads or come closer to the heart of those who go down to the great waters.” AlPoetry.com has a wonderful collection of her work available online.
In recent years, her work has seen a revival as her poems have inspired musicians to write music to her verses. Over 70 of her poems have been adapted as songs. Here are two examples:
New Year Cicely Fox Smith 2014
“Lee Fore Brace” – A Song Lamenting a Loss at Sea
To read
The event at Bow was a great success with many performers and admirers of the lady’s work swapping songs and information.
it is to be hopped that this somewhat belated recognition will lead to an even greater interest in one of the world’s foremost writer and chronicler of nautical verse.