A Craftsman Poet
Among village craftsmen, a notable place is taken by Mr.
H. A. Shelley, of whose work in elm wood, a feature of a recent agricultural show at Oxford, something was said at the time.
He exhibited under the wing of the Oxford Community Council, which has inspired, directed and advertised the
work of Oxfordshire craftsmen with skill and energy. If some of these would typewrite less literature— with apologies for the word—and do more such work, the reconstruction of village life would proceed much more- steadily. Mr. Shelley, who does not bear the name for nothing, is a poet as well as a craftsman ; and his modest book of Songs and Lyrics, to which I made some reference the other day, is in fact inspired by his delight in form. Is not the following verse as good a plea as we have for handy- work of the mediaeval sort ?
" A thousand years have trained your hands To fashion all your art demands ; A thousand years have trained your eyes To choose the lino where beauty lies. So to a craft your leisure lend, Make gentle art your warmest friend : Ho is sublime whose mind and zeal Make poetry of stone and steel."
It is surprising that Mr. Shelley does not say more of his own favourite medium, the wood of the elm, that dome and pillar of English scenery.. He should write an answer to
Kipling's rather unkind " Ellum she hateth mankind." * * * *
Previous page
