Francis Berry

Francis Berry (23 March 1915 – 10 October 2006 ) was an English poet and academic.

Life
He was born in Ipoh, Malaya, and educated at the University of London and the University of Exeter. After serving as a soldier, and then as a schoolteacher in Malta, he held various appointments in English literature. He was professor of English Literature at the University of Sheffield from 1947 to 1970, where he was a friend of William Empson. From 1970 until his retirement in 1980, he was professor at Royal Holloway, University of London. He also wrote radio plays, and a novel I Tell of Greenland (1977).

His first collection of poetry, Gospel of Fire, was published in 1933; his Collected Poems, drawing on 11 books, appeared in 1994. His work has been praised by G. Wilson Knight and Philip Hobsbaum.

His critical writing includes books on John Masefield and Herbert Read.

Publications

 * I tell of Greenland: an edited translation of the Saudarkrokur manuscripts. Francis Berry, London, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1977.