Selected by Dr Oliver Tearle Stevie Smith (1902-71) was one of the most distinctive and individual poets of the twentieth century. Born in Hull in England as Florence Smith, she was given the nickname ‘Stevie’ after a famous jockey of the time, because she was so small. Her poetry is […]
A critical reading of a classic poem ‘Not Waving but Drowning’ is the best-known poem by Stevie Smith (1902-71). In 1995, it was voted Britain’s fourth favourite poem in a poll. First published in 1957, ‘Not Waving but Drowning’ fuses the comic and the tragic, moving between childlike simplicity and […]