Blyton's poetry for adults

Discuss Blyton's magazines, short stories and poetry here.
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Mathias123
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Blyton's poetry for adults

Post by Mathias123 »

Hello
I've seen one or two poems by Enid Blyton which deal with social issues ("juvenile delinquency" etc) but I was wondering if anyone knew if this poem was ever published? It was sent personally by EB to Neville Chamberlain just after the Munich Crisis in autumn 1938. There's a sense of sincerity about the poem I think.
Andrew.

Neville Chamberlain
Here is a man who did not fear to lose
His reputation, high position, fame,
A man with courage wise enough to choose
What might be deep humiliation, shame;
A man direct enough in mind and heart
To brush aside all precedent and fly
Straight to the problems core to play his part;
Persistently, with dignity, to try
His lonely strength against relentless force;
No politician he – a statesman rare
Who champions all the lands at peace, a source
Of brilliant common-sense beyond compare
To make the issues crystal-clear he fought,
Reduced the angry turmoil to a plan
And ranged behind him hope and prayer and thought.
The moment came – and with it rose the Man.
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Anita Bensoussane
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Re: Blyton's poetry for adults

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Welcome to the forums, Andrew. A very interesting poem which I don't think I've ever seen before.

Enid Blyton wrote a poem about Winston Churchill too and I seem to recall reading somewhere that she also sent that to the man himself:

http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/foru ... =45#p94454" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

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Rob Houghton
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Re: Blyton's poetry for adults

Post by Rob Houghton »

Great to see a positive poem about Neville Chamberlain - a son of Birmingham! :-) he gets such a lot of bad press, but this shows that Enid felt he had the right idea.
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Re: Blyton's poetry for adults

Post by pete9012S »

‘Guilty Women’, Foreign Policy, and Appeasement in Inter-War Britain
By Julie V. Gottlieb mentions the poem:

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=oAD ... on&f=false" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Chamberlain receives this mention in her biography:

Barbara Stoney. Enid Blyton
The first autumn at Green Hedges got off to a bad start when the whole family developed influenza and once again Hugh had a bout of pneumonia – though not as serious as during the summer.

Hugh was, however, very worried about the international situation and became even more sure, after the Munich crisis, that – despite Chamberlain’s assurances – the country would soon be at war.

Enid dismissed his fears as groundless, and refused to believe he was serious when he expressed his willingness to be called up as a reserve officer should the need arise. She never liked to have the pattern of her life disturbed and, at that time, everything seemed to be running smoothly.

She now had room in the house for a cook as well as a general maid and it was easier than ever to delegate all her domestic affairs, the management of her daughters and the care of her pets and concentrate fully on her writing. The large garden was tended by a new gardener, a Mr Tapping, for Dick Hughes had been left behind at Old Thatch.
Enid also composed a poem about their new house Green Hedges too:

GREEN HEDGES

What shall we call you, little new house,
With your chimneys red and tall?
Your leaded windows and cosy nooks,
Your sunny corners and smiling looks,
And your creepers all over the wall?

I think we shall love you, little new house,
With your big trees all around,
And your quaint green hedges and secret bowers,
Your hidden lawns and your glowing flowers,
Your daisies all over the ground!

Will you shelter us well, you little new house,
And welcome my family here,
And love my two little girls at play,
With their birds and animals happy and gay,
For many and many a year?

We’ll call you Green Hedges, little new house
It’s just the right name for you, We’ll be like the birds for they build their nest
In the hedgerows high that they love the best,
And we’ll build in Green Hedges, too.
" A kind heart always brings its own reward," said Mrs. Lee.
- The Christmas Tree Aeroplane -

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