Snatches of Verse by Peter Daymond

Unrecorded volume of self-published World War II verse, in very good condition. A volume of poetry, written in the years spanning 1937 - 1940. Green cloth boards age toned particularly to spine. Inscribed ‘for my mother, Peter’ to front free and ‘D.M. Daymond King’ written to top dated 1951. Text block clean and unmarked. Contains 24 poems. Early poems reflect idealised romantic themes focusing on travel and nature while later entries shift dramatically away from pastoral themes to wartime resistance explicitly targeting Adolf Hitler and capturing the psychological state of living through the Blitz.

Laid in are handwritten versions of two of the earlier poems titled ‘Wanderlust’ (’Written in a caravan at Porth, Newquay, Cornwall August 1937’) and ‘Dark Eyes’ (September 1936). The text of other poems not in the volume titled ‘Sunset’, ‘Daydreamer’ and ‘Sweet Melody of Night’ are additionally laid in as well as a couple of contemporary paper cuttings and 3 X written communication most probably to the author’s mother dated 1939 - 1954. 27pp. Printed by Batley Brothers Ltd.

These uncensored, unrecorded poems offer a unique insight into their author’s connection to this historical moment.