Wednesday, December 1, 2010

The weekly portrait: Harold Monro

I have searched and searched and I cannot find a portrait of the poet Harold Monro (1879-1932) other than this which is, as you can see, that featured on the cover of his biography. I was tickled to find out a bit about him after reading the following in Marjorie Todd's memoir Snakes and Ladders:

"Most of the young men did actually work at one thing or another, I think, though there were always a few playboys among them. I once overheard a conversation between two of them, and so did the poet Harold Monro who was sitting next to me, leaning blindly forward with both hands on his stick.


After a while he asked them quietly, "what do you do?"


"Oh" one of the young men answered airily, "I drink you know, and I fornicate."


"For which firm do you fornicate?" asked Harold Monro."


So, on that note, I may have to find out more about him.