{"product_id":"2940170726011","title":"The Poetry of Ivor Gurney","description":"\u003cp\u003eIvor Bertie Gurney was born in Gloucester on 28th August 1890. A chorister at Gloucester cathedral Ivor began to compose music at 14 before winning a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music in 1911.  Noted for his enormous potential he was equally thought by many to be un-teachable.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHis studies were interrupted by World War I and his enlistment with the Gloucestershire Regiment. He was wounded in April 1917. He returned to duty but was gassed a few months later. After his release from hospital he was posted to Seaton Delaval, a mining village in Northumberland, where he wrote poems including 'Lying Awake In The Ward'.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHis first volume of poetry, Severn and Somme, was published in November 1917, followed by War's Embers in 1919.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUnfortunately his life was blighted by bi-polar disorder which had developed from his mid-teens and culminated in his first major breakdown whilst still in uniform in 1918.  The trigger was a failed relationship with Annie Drummond.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfter the war he seemed to thrive for a while but the bi-polar return with increasing severity in 1922 to the point where we was declared insane.  Although he continued to write poems and a few pieces of music he was to spend the next fifteen years of his life until his death in various mental hospitals.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIvor Gurney died on 26th December 1937.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis volume comes to you from Portable Poetry, a specialized imprint from Deadtree Publishing.  Our range is large and growing and covers single poets, themes, and many compilations.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"COUNTERPOI","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47169315733744,"sku":"2940170726011","price":6.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940170726011_p0.jpg?v=1763816570","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940170726011","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}