John Monks, born 24 May 1945, at Sheffield, attended Bishop Vesey's Grammar School, Sutton Coldfield, and King Henry VIII School, Coventry, before becoming a journalist. He worked in Yorkshire and the West Country before leaving newspapers for a brief spell on local radio. For 20 years he worked for the public service trade union NALGO (later UNISON) and was Director of Communications for UNISON when he took early retirement. He did a Ph.D. at Goldsmiths College, University of London, on the poet Edward Thomas. 'Stored Sunlight', his adaptation of James Farrar's 'The Unreturning Spring' in 2007, led to a revival of interest in Farrar's work. Monks was instrumental in the republication of 'The Unreturning Spring' the following year and has written a short play about Farrar's life, 'My time will come', that was performed in 2008.
From the guide to the Papers of John Monks concerning the poet James Farrar, 2008-2009, (Special Collections Archives, University of Exeter (GB0029))
