Stevie Smith

Birth: 1902-09-20 , Kingston upon Hull

Death: 1971-03-07 , Ashburton

Stevie Smith was an English poet and novelist known for her unique and eccentric voice, which combined humor, melancholy, and a peculiar social insight. Her work, often characterized by an apparent simplicity that hides deep reflections on life, death, and faith, has earned a special place in 20th-century literature.

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Awards

1969

Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry

Gold medal awarded by the Queen of the United Kingdom to a poet for a notable work or a life dedicated to poetry.

1966

Cholmondeley Awards

Annual award granted to British poets for works published in the UK, focusing on quality and merit, without specific categories.

Poems List

Marred pleasure’s best, shadow makes the sun strong.

I only asked my friends to be friendly and polite,/! found them indifferent and censorious;/The one 1 left to silence, the other to reproach:/God send me over all such friends victorious.

Life in the [London] suburb is richer at the lower levels. At these levels the people are not self-conscious at all, they are at liberty to be as eccentric as they please, they do not know that they are eccentric.

Christianity in the suburb is cheerful. The church is a centre of social activity and those who go to church need never be lonely.

O happy dogs of England/Bark well at errand boys/If you lived anywhere else/You would not be allowed to make such an infernal noise.

“If a lady comes up to you and tells you that your dear mama is lying in a faint on the pavement round the corner, don’t you believe her, don’t have anything to do with her, do not go with her into the cab. It is the White Slave Traffic.”

If you cannot have your dear husband for a comfort and a delight, for a breadwinner and a crosspatch, for a sofa, chair, or a hot-water bottle, one can use him as a cross to be borne.

This Englishwoman is so refined She has no bosom and no behind.

She has no bosom and no behind.

This Englishwoman is so refined

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Career and Work

Florence Margaret Smith (1902-1971), better known as Stevie Smith, was an English writer whose work is distinguished by its originality and an unmistakable style. She began her literary career with the novel Novel on Yellow Paper (1936), which brought her immediate recognition. Other novels followed, such as The Holiday (1940) and Servants! Servants! (1944), all marked by a peculiar tone that mixed sharp humor with the exploration of psychological and social issues.

However, it was in poetry that Stevie Smith found her most enduring expression. She published several collections of poems, including A Scullion's Wake (1945), The Frog Prince and Other Poems (1966), and Collected Poems (1975). Her poetry is loved for its apparent spontaneity, its recurring themes such as loneliness, death, love, and religion, and its use of colloquial language that, paradoxically, reaches profound existential truths. Often, her poems were accompanied by her own drawings, which complemented the playful and dark tone of her work.

Personality and Legacy

Stevie Smith was known for her vibrant and eccentric personality. Despite a life marked by personal challenges and fragile health, she maintained a resilient spirit and a sharp eye for the world. Her humor, often dark, was a defining characteristic of her work and her life. Stevie Smith's legacy lies in her ability to address the most difficult aspects of human existence with captivating lightness and intelligence, creating a body of work that is at once amusing, moving, and profoundly insightful.