Basil Bunting (1900-1985) was one of the leaders of the British literary avant-garde. Critics describe his poetry as reflecting the influences of Robert Browning, William Wordsworth, and his friend, Ezra Pound. Pound's support of Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini is thought to have adversely affected how Bunting's writings were accepted. A Quaker, Bunting was jailed as a conscientious objector during World War I. He attended the London School of Economics and Political Science from 1919 to 1922. He married Marian Culver in 1930 and Sima Alladadian in 1948; he was the father of four children. In addition to his accomplishments as a poet, Bunting served as assistant editor of the Transatlantic Review in Paris (1923); newspaper music critic in London (1925-1928); attache to the British embassy in Teheran, Persia (1943-1951); financial sub-editor of the Evening Chronicle, Newcastle, England (1953-1966); and taught poetry at several English, American and Canadian universities (1966-1973).
From the guide to the Basil Bunting Collection, 1970-1987, (Miami University)
