Tom Raworth (Tom Thomas Moore Raworth) Biography

British poet, born in Bexleyheath, Kent, educated at the University of Essex, and the University of Granada, Spain. Since 1969 he has worked as a writer-in-residence at numerous universities in the UK and the USA. He founded the Matrix and Goliard Presses in 1959 and 1965 respectively (see small presses). From the outset, his poetry displayed a striking independence of both conventional verse forms and existing experimental techniques. His early volumes, which include Weapon Man (1965) and The Relation Ship (1966), contained numerous disquieting and occasionally quasi-surreal studies of disregarded aspects of domestic routine; subsequent collections include Ace (1974), Sky Tails (1978), Tottering State (1983; revised 1987), Lazy Left Hand (1986), and Catacoustics (1991). Much of Raworth's best-known poetry achieves a cinematic quality through rapid accumulations of imagery recreating shifts of mood and perception. His other works include A Serial Biography (1969), which arose from his extensive correspondence with Ed Dorn.