Letter from Edward Thomas to the poet Gordon Bottomley. Sent from Elses Farm, The Weald, Kent. Archival ref: 424/1/1/1/10/28
The Weald
18.i.05

My dear Gordon
Your letters & the translation
& the music of The Maids of Caermarthen
(with Fowler) have just come, and I am
made very glad. But perhaps I
shan't be able to say so because to tell
the truth I am now so pressed by work &
so unable to acquire concentration naturally
that I have taken some of the devil (and
take is sometimes thrice a week) to
help me.. if I l dally long it is not
a help, but a great hindrance, so I
must be quick.
I have already planned to use
"The Maid of Llandebie, I mean your
translation. Of course it is not you,
& it is not the Welsh Lyric, but it
can be sung & it has already reminded me
of the original. Therefore, without your
name, but with your apologies, I have
inserted it in my 3rd chapter.
So far I haven't made a
place for the other, but I certainly will.
The spondees are heavier tho not so much
slower than in the original. Your remark
about spondees tempts me. But I must only
recall that a classical master once said to me
'there is only one spondee in English & that
is beef-steak as it is usually pronounced'.
Your version has the disadvantage that it does
not look quite so well without the music as
the Welsh does, & perhaps the internal rhyme
is not inevitable in it. But I quite see
why you prefer it, as I do, to the Maid
of Llandebie which comes near to [illegible]
instead of simplicity. - - No, I have
not time. I am already nervous & heady.
But I don't follow line 4 of stanza 2,
'And quick as such scent of blossoms?
is it to stand thus? also, I dislike
'zestful'.
Before I forget it, the woman &
the room at Gunter Grove were clean.
I haven't time to say 'how clean'.
I shall rejoice over 'Wales' just
because it includes these songs & I
fear for that reason only. I hope Blacks
won't refuse to print the airs. If
only you would send me a poem,
something perhaps in the mood of
"The Crier', which I am tempted to quote in
my' November' or 'February".
True, I haven't violence. The nearest
approach to it is the sham humor which
I insert in order to make it very clear that feeble
seriousness is as ridiculous to me as to
others. I shall not fight against it.
No, you are not getting old, because
you are not settling down. I sometimes
fear that I am settling down - with
nothing underneath.
The rough waters of the 'Venture' -
I meant the poor reviews.
I was glad I went to Balmer.
I have lent him some De Quincey volumes,
I fear in vain, perhaps they are not so
good as my vision of them in his studio.
Is he getting on? I feel quite sorry &
angry that I cannot help him even by
suggestions.
You are right about Fowler. Conway
might be quite fine in the original.
Between us we shall not make another
fortune for the Scotchmen. Did you
know he was a friend of Ashcroft Nobles'?
Perhaps then your 'Ohohey'
comes from the Greek 'euoi' which

is 'evohe' in Latin.
I have already made on attempt
at Palmer's suggestion, & tho i have
failed I am going on. I can't be at once
so clear in detail & so large
as he is, without more time: so I
have to give up the detail & my
largeness usually comes to vagueness.
How odd of you to like my criticisms,
& what criticisms? You can't have
seen my things in Sturge Moore in
the 'Chronicle' - 4 or 5 at different
times: & I get worse.
'Theseus' & 'Medea' are so
unlike Tennyson & so much better that
I can't find fault with them, except
that the two are curiously little
people in my imagination, after reading
his poems.
I must be quick if I am to work
tonight. It is now 8, & I
must write my 'May' for the book.
It is hard because Cartmel & the
larches keep coming in.
Helen sends her love with mine
to you all. She envies me my
letter & so should I envy her if it was hers.
Ever yours
Edward Thomas