But what I like best of all about my matchbox is that it is an empty one

August 8, 2016 2:48 AM

A letter of thanks for an unusual gift, a poem about a dying queen (with audio of the poet reading it), and a short story about a devoted couple with a shocking secret (with an introduction by Edith Pearlman): all are from the pen of the English novelist, short-story writer, poet, musicologist, translator & biographer; feminist, lesbian & communist Sylvia Townsend Warner (1893-1978).

A selection of further reading about STW:

- Sylvia Townsend Warner: the neglected writer - an essay by Sarah Waters about Townsend Warner and her debut novel Lolly Willowes (The Guardian).
- The Good Witch of the West: a suvey of some posthumous publications of Townsend Warner's stories, letters, etc. by Eleanor Perenyi (NYRB).
- Kingdom of Two: a review of an edition of Townsend Warner's decades-long correspondence with her New Yorker editor William Maxwell by Miranda Seymour (NYT).
- A two-part review of an edition of Townsend Warner's diaries by Jonathan Law at The Dabbler: (i) Surprised By Joy; (ii) My Bloody Valentine.
- Sylvia's Gifts: Meetings with Sylvia Townsend Warner in the 1970s. A charming account of visits to Townsend Warner's Dorset home, by Tinch Minter [click on the download link for a PDF].

Also, another poem: Go the Long Way, the Long Way Home (YouTube)

Only a few of her books are in print, notably the three of her novels published by NYRB.

Many of her short stories were first published in the New Yorker. Subscribers to that publication should be able to read them in its on-line archive.

posted by misteraitch (4 comments total)

Now I am sad I cannot see the agreeable hedgehog and magnificent volcano.
posted by gusottertrout at 3:19 AM on August 8, 2016 [1 favorite]

Apologies, the bit about there only being a few books of hers in print just isn’t true: viz. the seven titles on offer from Virago Modern Classics; the four volumes courtesy of Faber Finds; Counterpoint Press’ The Music at Long Verney; and the New Collected Poems from Carcanet Press, and quite possibly others I have missed.
posted by misteraitch at 4:19 AM on August 8, 2016 [3 favorites]

I will definitely be on the look out for the Virago books. I've loved what I've read from their imprint so far and the linked writings I've read so far suggest her books won't disappoint either.
posted by gusottertrout at 8:00 AM on August 8, 2016

She also wrote a biography of T.H. White, the author of The Once and Future King, the Arthurian legend re-telling which includes The Sword in the Stone.
posted by larrybob at 12:13 PM on August 8, 2016 [1 favorite]