Although British educator, journalist, and poet Basil Bunting has published numerous books of poetry, most critics consider Briggflatts: an autobiography his best work. Bunting was born on March 1, 1900, in Scotswood, Northumberland, England, and died on April 17, 1985, in Hexham, England.
Bunting's first publication was a book of poetry, Redimiculum Matellarum, (1930). His early poetry went largely unnoticed because of a mistaken association with Mussolini; Ezra Pound, one of Bunting's admirers and promoters, was well-known as a Mussolini supporter. Bunting reached the height of his success in the 1960s, with many of his older works being reconsidered and reprinted alongside of his new output.
In addition to writing poetry, Basil Bunting has held a variety of positions, including assistant editor of Transatlantic Review, in 1923; newspaper music critic in London, England, 1925-28; financial sub-editor for the Evening Chronicle, Newcastle, England, from 1953 to 1966; and teacher of poetry at several English, American, and Canadian universities, between 1966 and 1973.
"Basil Bunting." Contemporary Authors Online. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2009. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC (accessed October 2009).
This original carbon typescript of Basil Bunting's Briggflatts: an autobiography bears three ink corrections made by the author.