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{{Short description|British poet}}
{{About|the author of Dante Called You Beatrice|the British tenor|Paul Potts}}
'''Paul Hugh Howard Potts''' (19 July 1911 – 26 August 1990) was a British poet and the author of ''Dante Called You Beatrice'' (1960), a memoir of unrequited love.<ref>Paul Potts, ''Dante Called You Beatrice'', Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1960</ref>
{{About|the author of ''Dante Called You Beatrice''|the British tenor|Paul Potts|the genocidal leader of Cambodia|Pol Pot}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
'''Paul Hugh Howard Potts''' (19 July 1911 – 26 August 1990), a British-born poet who lived in [[British Columbia]] in his youth,<ref>Paul Potts, ''Dante Called You Beatrice'', Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1960</ref><ref>Potts is often called a Canadian, for example by Ronald Caplan in ''George Orwell's Friend'' which has him "born in British Columbia", but other sources - including the ''Times'' obituary - give his birthplace as Datchet in the UK.</ref> was the author of ''Dante Called You Beatrice'' (1960), a memoir of unrequited love. One of the women treated in the memoir was Jean Hore, who married the writer [[Philip O'Connor]] but ended up confined as a [[schizophrenic]] for over fifty years until her death.<ref>Paul Potts, ''Dante Called You Beatrice'', Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1960</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://newpartisan.squarespace.com/home/happily-never-after-or-the-rubbish-tower.html|title=- Happily Never After, or, the Rubbish Tower - New Partisan - New Partisan}}</ref><ref>Quentin and Philip: A Double Portrait, Andrew Barrow, Pan Books</ref>


==Family==
⚫
Born in [[Datchet]], [[Berkshire]]<ref>At that time in [[Buckinghamshire]]</ref> to a Canadian father and an Irish mother, Potts was educated in Canada, England and Italy, but from the early 1930s he lived in [[London]]. He frequented the [[Soho]]-[[Fitzrovia]] area where he would sell broadsheet copies of his poetry in the streets and pubs.<ref>"Paul Potts - Obituary", ''The Times'', London, 29 August 1990</ref><ref>Peter Stothard, [http://timescolumns.typepad.com/stothard/2008/03/he-once-stole-i.html "Soho, ring-marked and a little soiled"], TLS blog, 2 March 2008, retrieved 7 February 2013</ref>
Potts was born in [[Datchet]], [[Berkshire]]<ref>Datchet was at that time in [[Buckinghamshire]]</ref> to (Arthur George) Howard Potts (1869-1918), who had emigrated to Victoria, [[British Columbia]], [[Canada]], where he was a partner in a bakery and confectionery business,<ref>British Columbia Gazette, 1909, pg 3070</ref> and his Irish wife Julia Helen Kavanagh (also recorded as Cavanagh).<ref>Paul Potts, ''Dante Called You Beatrice'', Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1960</ref> Arthur Potts's father, Dr Walter Jeffery Potts (1837-1898),<ref>Imperial Vancouver Island: Who Was Who, 1850-1950, J. F. Bosher, 2010, pg 134</ref> had married Julia, daughter of [[Beevor baronets|Sir Thomas Branthwaite Beevor, 3rd Baronet]];<ref>A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire, Sir Bernard Burke, 31st Edition, volume 1, 1869, pg 88</ref> many descendants with the name 'Beevor-Potts' live in Canada.<ref>Imperial Vancouver Island: Who Was Who, 1850-1950, J. F. Bosher, 2010, pg 135</ref><ref>Dante Called You Beatrice, Paul Potts, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1960, pg 28</ref><ref>The Tormented Prince, J. Leigh Hirst, Brimstone Press, 2012, pg 1</ref>


==Education==
⚫
Among Potts's literary friends were [[George Orwell]] and the English poet [[George Barker (poet)|George Barker]].<ref>Taylor, D. J., ''Orwell: The Life'', Henry Holt and Company, 2003, ''passim''</ref><ref>Meyers, Jeffrey (ed.), Introduction to ''George Orwell'', Routledge, 1975, p.20</ref> Potts's memoir of Orwell, "Don Quixote on a Bicycle", appeared in [[The London Magazine]] in 1957,<ref>Rodden, John, ''George Orwell: The Politics of Literary Reputation'', Oxford University Press, 1989, rev. 2002, pp 128-129</ref><ref>Rodden, John, ''The Unexamined Orwell'', University of Texas Press, 2011, p.222</ref> and his 1948 essay “The World of George Barker” appeared in ''Poetry Quarterly''.<ref>Warren, Richard, [http://richardawarren.wordpress.com/paul-potts-on-the-world-of-george-barker/ "Paul Potts on ‘The World of George Barker’"], nd, blog post; retrieved 12 February 2013</ref>
⚫
He was educated in Canada, England (at [[Stonyhurst College|Stonyhurst]] until the age of sixteen<ref>Dante Called You Beatrice, Paul Potts, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1960, pg 25</ref>) and Italy (at a [[Jesuit]] college in [[Florence]]),<ref>The Visva-bharati Quarterly, volume 31, issue 2, 1965, pg 131</ref> but from the early 1930s he lived in [[London]]. He frequented the [[Soho]]-[[Fitzrovia]] area where he would sell broadsheet copies of his poetry in the streets and pubs.<ref>"Paul Potts - Obituary", ''The Times'', London, 29 August 1990</ref><ref>Peter Stothard, [http://timescolumns.typepad.com/stothard/2008/03/he-once-stole-i.html "Soho, ring-marked and a little soiled"], TLS blog, 2 March 2008, retrieved 7 February 2013</ref>

==Literary career==
⚫
Among Potts's literary friends were [[George Orwell]] and the English poet [[George Barker (poet)|George Barker]].<ref>Taylor, D. J., ''Orwell: The Life'', Henry Holt and Company, 2003, ''passim''</ref><ref>Meyers, Jeffrey (ed.), Introduction to ''George Orwell'', Routledge, 1975, p.20</ref><ref>[[Bernard Crick|Crick, Bernard]]. ''George Orwell: A Life'', Penguin, 1982, ''passim''</ref> Potts's memoir of Orwell, "Don Quixote on a Bicycle", appeared in ''[[The London Magazine]]'' in 1957<ref>Rodden, John, ''George Orwell: The Politics of Literary Reputation'', Oxford University Press, 1989, rev. 2002, pp 128-129</ref><ref>Rodden, John, ''The Unexamined Orwell'', University of Texas Press, 2011, p.222</ref> and became a chapter of ''Dante Called You Beatrice''. His 1948 essay “The World of George Barker” appeared in ''Poetry Quarterly''.<ref>Warren, Richard, [http://richardawarren.wordpress.com/paul-potts-on-the-world-of-george-barker/ "Paul Potts on ‘The World of George Barker’"], nd, blog post; retrieved 12 February 2013</ref>

==Later life==
In late middle-age, Potts was '...balding' with 'a [[stutter]] that he mixed with rapid blinking and an amused chuckle as he started a sentence', eventually becoming a dissolute figure 'barred from Soho pubs'.<ref>The Arms of the Infinite: Elizabeth Smart and George Barker, Christopher Barker, Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2010, pg 181</ref>

==Accidental death==
Potts died in 1990 of [[smoke inhalation]] from a fire in his bedroom; he had been house-bound for some years.<ref>The Arms of the Infinite: Elizabeth Smart and George Barker, Christopher Barker, Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2010, pg 181</ref>


==Bibliography==
==Bibliography==
(1940) ''A Poet's Testament'', with drawings by Cliff Bayliss and Scott MacGregor, foreword by [[Hugh MacDiarmid]]</br>
*(1940) ''A Poet's Testament'', with drawings by Cliff Bayliss and Scott MacGregor, foreword by [[Hugh MacDiarmid]]
(1944) ''Instead of a Sonnet'' (enlarged 1978)</br>
*(1944) ''Instead of a Sonnet'' (enlarged 1978)
(1960) ''Dante Called You Beatrice''</br>
*(1960) ''Dante Called You Beatrice''
(1970) ''To Keep A Promise''</br>
*(1970) ''To Keep A Promise''
(1973) ''Invitation to a Sacrament''</br>
*(1973) ''Invitation to a Sacrament''
(2006) [[Ronald Caplan]] (ed.), ''George Orwell's Friend: Selected Writings by Paul Potts''
*(2006) [[Ronald Caplan]] (ed.), ''George Orwell's Friend: Selected Writings by Paul Potts''


==See also==
==See also==
''[[Children of Albion: Poetry of the Underground in Britain]]'' (1969)</br>
*''[[Children of Albion: Poetry of the Underground in Britain]]'' (1969)
''[[Faber Book of Twentieth Century Verse]]'' (1953)</br>
*''[[Faber Book of Twentieth Century Verse]]'' (1953)
[[Jack_Lindsay#New_Lyrical_Ballads_.281945.29|''New Lyrical Ballads'']] (1945)
*[[Jack Lindsay (writer)#New Lyrical Ballads (1945)|''New Lyrical Ballads'']] (1945)


== References ==
== Notes and references ==
{{reflist|2}}
{{reflist|2}}


==Further reading==
==Further reading==
Latona, Robert, [http://newpartisan.squarespace.com/home/happily-never-after-or-the-rubbish-tower.html "Happily Never After, or, The Rubbish Tower"], New Partisan.
*Latona, Robert, [http://newpartisan.squarespace.com/home/happily-never-after-or-the-rubbish-tower.html "Happily Never After, or, The Rubbish Tower"], New Partisan.
*[http://findingaids.library.northwestern.edu/catalog/inu-ead-spec-archon-17 "Guide to the Paul Potts Papers"], Northwestern University Library, Evanston, IL

{{authority control}}


{{Persondata
| NAME = Potts, Paul Hugh Howard
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = poet and author
| DATE OF BIRTH = 19 July 1911
| PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Datchet]], [[Buckinghamshire]] (now in [[Berkshire]]), [[England]]
| DATE OF DEATH = 26 August 1990
| PLACE OF DEATH = [[St Bartholomew's Hospital]], [[Smithfield, London|Smithfield]], [[City of London]], [[London]]
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Potts, Paul}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Potts, Paul}}
⚫
[[Category:20th-century British writers]]
⚫
[[Category:English memoirists]]
⚫
[[Category:English poets]]
[[Category:1911 births]]
[[Category:1911 births]]
[[Category:1990 deaths]]
[[Category:1990 deaths]]
⚫
[[Category:20th-century English memoirists]]

[[Category:20th-century English poets]]

[[Category:20th-century English male writers]]

⚫
[[Category:20th-century British essayists]]

[[Category:People from Datchet]]
{{poet-stub}}
⚫
[[Category:English male poets]]
[[Category:English male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:English people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:People educated at Stonyhurst College]]
[[Category:Deaths by smoke inhalation]]

Latest revision as of 02:00, 7 November 2024

This article is about the author of Dante Called You Beatrice. For the British tenor, see Paul Potts. For the genocidal leader of Cambodia, see Pol Pot.

Paul Hugh Howard Potts (19 July 1911 – 26 August 1990), a British-born poet who lived in British Columbia in his youth,[1][2] was the author of Dante Called You Beatrice (1960), a memoir of unrequited love. One of the women treated in the memoir was Jean Hore, who married the writer Philip O'Connor but ended up confined as a schizophrenic for over fifty years until her death.[3][4][5]

Family

[edit]

Potts was born in Datchet, Berkshire[6] to (Arthur George) Howard Potts (1869-1918), who had emigrated to Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, where he was a partner in a bakery and confectionery business,[7] and his Irish wife Julia Helen Kavanagh (also recorded as Cavanagh).[8] Arthur Potts's father, Dr Walter Jeffery Potts (1837-1898),[9] had married Julia, daughter of Sir Thomas Branthwaite Beevor, 3rd Baronet;[10] many descendants with the name 'Beevor-Potts' live in Canada.[11][12][13]

Education

[edit]

He was educated in Canada, England (at Stonyhurst until the age of sixteen[14]) and Italy (at a Jesuit college in Florence),[15] but from the early 1930s he lived in London. He frequented the Soho-Fitzrovia area where he would sell broadsheet copies of his poetry in the streets and pubs.[16][17]

Literary career

[edit]

Among Potts's literary friends were George Orwell and the English poet George Barker.[18][19][20] Potts's memoir of Orwell, "Don Quixote on a Bicycle", appeared in The London Magazine in 1957[21][22] and became a chapter of Dante Called You Beatrice. His 1948 essay “The World of George Barker” appeared in Poetry Quarterly.[23]

Later life

[edit]

In late middle-age, Potts was '...balding' with 'a stutter that he mixed with rapid blinking and an amused chuckle as he started a sentence', eventually becoming a dissolute figure 'barred from Soho pubs'.[24]

Accidental death

[edit]

Potts died in 1990 of smoke inhalation from a fire in his bedroom; he had been house-bound for some years.[25]

Bibliography

[edit]
  • (1940) A Poet's Testament, with drawings by Cliff Bayliss and Scott MacGregor, foreword by Hugh MacDiarmid
  • (1944) Instead of a Sonnet (enlarged 1978)
  • (1960) Dante Called You Beatrice
  • (1970) To Keep A Promise
  • (1973) Invitation to a Sacrament
  • (2006) Ronald Caplan (ed.), George Orwell's Friend: Selected Writings by Paul Potts

See also

[edit]

Notes and references

[edit]
  1. ^ Paul Potts, Dante Called You Beatrice, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1960
  2. ^ Potts is often called a Canadian, for example by Ronald Caplan in George Orwell's Friend which has him "born in British Columbia", but other sources - including the Times obituary - give his birthplace as Datchet in the UK.
  3. ^ Paul Potts, Dante Called You Beatrice, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1960
  4. ^ "- Happily Never After, or, the Rubbish Tower - New Partisan - New Partisan".
  5. ^ Quentin and Philip: A Double Portrait, Andrew Barrow, Pan Books
  6. ^ Datchet was at that time in Buckinghamshire
  7. ^ British Columbia Gazette, 1909, pg 3070
  8. ^ Paul Potts, Dante Called You Beatrice, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1960
  9. ^ Imperial Vancouver Island: Who Was Who, 1850-1950, J. F. Bosher, 2010, pg 134
  10. ^ A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire, Sir Bernard Burke, 31st Edition, volume 1, 1869, pg 88
  11. ^ Imperial Vancouver Island: Who Was Who, 1850-1950, J. F. Bosher, 2010, pg 135
  12. ^ Dante Called You Beatrice, Paul Potts, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1960, pg 28
  13. ^ The Tormented Prince, J. Leigh Hirst, Brimstone Press, 2012, pg 1
  14. ^ Dante Called You Beatrice, Paul Potts, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1960, pg 25
  15. ^ The Visva-bharati Quarterly, volume 31, issue 2, 1965, pg 131
  16. ^ "Paul Potts - Obituary", The Times, London, 29 August 1990
  17. ^ Peter Stothard, "Soho, ring-marked and a little soiled", TLS blog, 2 March 2008, retrieved 7 February 2013
  18. ^ Taylor, D. J., Orwell: The Life, Henry Holt and Company, 2003, passim
  19. ^ Meyers, Jeffrey (ed.), Introduction to George Orwell, Routledge, 1975, p.20
  20. ^ Crick, Bernard. George Orwell: A Life, Penguin, 1982, passim
  21. ^ Rodden, John, George Orwell: The Politics of Literary Reputation, Oxford University Press, 1989, rev. 2002, pp 128-129
  22. ^ Rodden, John, The Unexamined Orwell, University of Texas Press, 2011, p.222
  23. ^ Warren, Richard, "Paul Potts on ‘The World of George Barker’", nd, blog post; retrieved 12 February 2013
  24. ^ The Arms of the Infinite: Elizabeth Smart and George Barker, Christopher Barker, Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2010, pg 181
  25. ^ The Arms of the Infinite: Elizabeth Smart and George Barker, Christopher Barker, Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2010, pg 181

Further reading

[edit]
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