Poetry
His ambitions were for his poetry; in critical terms they were not to be fulfilled. On the other hand, he became a major figure for the Anglo-Welsh poetry tradition, and his poems were included in major anthologies. During the war he was for a time associated with the New Apocalyptics group. With his first book Ballad of the Mari Llwyd (1941) accepted by Faber and Faber, he had a publisher with a policy of sticking by their authors. In his case this may be considered to have had an adverse long-term effect on his reputation, in that it is generally thought that he over-published.
He wrote poetry for several hours every night and by way of contrast, Caitlin, Dylan Thomas's wife, could not recall her husband staying in even for one night during their whole married life! Vernon knew William Butler Yeats, T. S. Eliot and Philip Larkin. He was awarded a degree of Doctor of Literature from Swansea University in 1966 after retiring from the Bank. He was being considered for poet laureate at the time of his death.
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A poem by Vernon Watkins from the Anglo-Welsh Review. The widow mentioned may be Caitlin Thomas.
Read more about this topic: Vernon Watkins
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