Lionel Johnson – Poetry and Prose

This is a compelling introduction to Lionel Johnson, Catholic convert and one of the finest poets and critics in England at the turn of the 20th century.

Lionel Johnson (1867-1902) was a significant figure in late Victorian literature, leaving his mark on both the English Catholic literary revival and the Irish Literary Renaissance. A major influence on poets who would become titans of 20^th century literature such as William Butler Yeats, Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot, he has been admired by critics as disparate as the Christian thinker Paul Elmer More and the Jewish literary figure Harold Bloom. His mysterious life and death, and association with the Decadent movement, have also given rise to numerous legends.

Apart from the masterful craftsmanship of his lyric poetry and the depth of his prose, Johnson’s work focuses on timeless themes such as beauty, mortality and spirituality. It is all the more surprising that he has been neglected by students of literary history. For the first time, this landmark anthology brings together the best of his poetry and prose (much of it uncollected until now), together with a generous selection of unpublished correspondence. This volume comes with a full critical and biographical introduction to his work that restores Lionel Johnson to his rightful place in the history of English literature.