Ballads and Poems

JOHN MASEFIELD was born in 1878 and orphaned at an early age. At the age of 15 he embarked on a career at sea with a voyage to Chile, via Cape Horn. Wishing to become a writer he failed to report for a new position on a ship in New York and became a homeless vagrant before finding work in a bar and then a carpet factory. Returning to England in 1897, his first poem was published in 1899. His first volume of poetry, Salt-Water Ballads, was published in 1902 and his last volume, In Glad Thanksgiving, in 1967. Masefield became a best-selling author with an output that included novels, children's books, plays and works of contemporary history. Appointed Poet Laureate in 1930, he was awarded the Order of Merit in 1935. He died in 1967.