Peter Dale
Encyclopedia
Peter John Dale is a British poet and translator particularly noted for his skilful but unobtrusive use of poetic form.
, Surrey in 1939. He took his BA in English at St Peter's College, Oxford
, where he studied between 1960–3. He became Chair of the University Poetry Society
and made friends during this period with fellow poets Ian Hamilton
and William Cookson
. He soon joined the latter as associate editor and later co-editor of Agenda
until 1996. Other friends from that time whose careers intersected with his own were Kevin Crossley-Holland
and Grey Gowrie.
A teacher until his retirement in 1993, Dale eventually became Head of English at Hinchley Wood School
. Besides his many collections of verse, other books include translations of François Villon
, Jules Laforgue
, Tristan Corbière
and Dante
, as well as several interviews with other poets and translators. A few of his own poems refer to his classroom experience, but in general he has remarked that "I like to work in absolute silence, which is hardly what a classroom has to offer. During invigilations the odd epigram could be managed." A selection of such epigrams was eventually published in 2007.
In 1963 he married Pauline Strouvelle, by whom he had a son and a daughter. In 2008 he moved from Sutton, Surrey to Cardiff
. He is currently an editorial director of the publisher Between The Lines and Poetry Editor of Oxford Today.
in his translation of Dante. His own poems, though usually formal on the surface, employ numerous variations in rhyme, metre and line length, though it is important to remember some of his short, free poems, and to recognise the liberties taken even in his most traditional work, to appreciate his broad range as a poet. He himself has said that "a poet shouldn't draw attention to his stylistic self; the poem should be a lens through which something crucial is seen."
Dale's lyric style is intimate whilst avoiding the histrionic pitfalls of the confessional mode. The poems themselves often address another person, but in the main avoid biographical reference. The tension in the poetry is generated by attempts to communicate and frustration that such efforts are never wholly successful, as implied by the title of his sonnet sequence One Another. He takes this demonstration of the clash between dialogue and duologue further in his later sequence Local Habitation in which three points of view are counterpointed through a narrative of changing relationships and moods.
Although his poetry has sometimes been described as quiet, Dale has answered that "Sentences in their rhythms and juxtapositions may be more passionate than words as words. To give one example, the emotion in "A Time to Speak" isn't to be found in individual words but in the sentence rhythms, the tension between speech-rhythm and metric, the pauses, the timing and, on this occasion, the images. But the poem won’t seem much to anyone with little experience of life."
Translations
Other
Career
Dale was born in AddlestoneAddlestone
Addlestone is a town in the borough of Runnymede in the county of Surrey, England.Immediate surrounding towns and villages include Weybridge, Ottershaw, Chertsey, and New Haw. It is near Junction 11 of the M25 motorway and is served by Addlestone railway station on the Chertsey Branch Line. It also...
, Surrey in 1939. He took his BA in English at St Peter's College, Oxford
St Peter's College, Oxford
St Peter's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom, located in New Inn Hall Street. It occupies the site of two of the University's oldest Inns, or medieval hostels - Bishop Trellick's, later New Inn Hall, and Rose Hall - both of which were...
, where he studied between 1960–3. He became Chair of the University Poetry Society
Oxford University Poetry Society
The Oxford University Poetry Society aims to be the centre of poetic life within the University of Oxford, and was founded in 1946 by Martin Starkie.-Society activities:...
and made friends during this period with fellow poets Ian Hamilton
Ian Hamilton (critic)
Robert Ian Hamilton was a British literary critic, reviewer, biographer, poet, magazine editor and publisher....
and William Cookson
William Cookson
William Cookson was a British poet, writer on poetry and literary editor, best-known for his influential poetry magazine Agenda....
. He soon joined the latter as associate editor and later co-editor of Agenda
Agenda (poetry journal)
Agenda is a literary journal published in London and founded by William Cookson. Agenda Editions is an imprint of the journal operating as a small press.-History and editorial orientation:...
until 1996. Other friends from that time whose careers intersected with his own were Kevin Crossley-Holland
Kevin Crossley-Holland
Kevin John William Crossley-Holland is an English translator, children's author and poet.-Life and career:Born in Mursley, north Buckinghamshire, Holland grew up in Whiteleaf, a small village in the Chilterns...
and Grey Gowrie.
A teacher until his retirement in 1993, Dale eventually became Head of English at Hinchley Wood School
Hinchley Wood School
Hinchley Wood School is a foundation secondary school located in Hinchley Wood, Surrey, England.Hinchley Wood School consists two sites next to each other. On one site is a Primary School, with pupils from the ages of four to eleven, and on the second site is a Secondary School with students from...
. Besides his many collections of verse, other books include translations of François Villon
François Villon
François Villon was a French poet, thief, and vagabond. He is perhaps best known for his Testaments and his Ballade des Pendus, written while in prison...
, Jules Laforgue
Jules Laforgue
Jules Laforgue was an innovative Franco-Uruguayan poet, often referred to as a Symbolist poet. Critics and commentators have also pointed to Impressionism as a direct influence and his poetry has been called "part-symbolist, part-impressionist".-Life:...
, Tristan Corbière
Tristan Corbière
Tristan Corbière , born Édouard-Joachim Corbière, was a French poet born in Coat-Congar, Ploujean in Brittany, where he lived most of his life and where he died....
and Dante
DANTE
Delivery of Advanced Network Technology to Europe is a not-for-profit organisation that plans, builds and operates the international networks that interconnect the various national research and education networks in Europe and surrounding regions...
, as well as several interviews with other poets and translators. A few of his own poems refer to his classroom experience, but in general he has remarked that "I like to work in absolute silence, which is hardly what a classroom has to offer. During invigilations the odd epigram could be managed." A selection of such epigrams was eventually published in 2007.
In 1963 he married Pauline Strouvelle, by whom he had a son and a daughter. In 2008 he moved from Sutton, Surrey to Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
. He is currently an editorial director of the publisher Between The Lines and Poetry Editor of Oxford Today.
Poetic style
Dale is particularly noted for his skilful use of poetic form, as for example in the sustained use of terza rimaTerza rima
Terza rima is a rhyming verse stanza form that consists of an interlocking three-line rhyme scheme. It was first used by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri.-Form:Terza rima is a three-line stanza using chain rhyme in the pattern A-B-A, B-C-B, C-D-C, D-E-D...
in his translation of Dante. His own poems, though usually formal on the surface, employ numerous variations in rhyme, metre and line length, though it is important to remember some of his short, free poems, and to recognise the liberties taken even in his most traditional work, to appreciate his broad range as a poet. He himself has said that "a poet shouldn't draw attention to his stylistic self; the poem should be a lens through which something crucial is seen."
Dale's lyric style is intimate whilst avoiding the histrionic pitfalls of the confessional mode. The poems themselves often address another person, but in the main avoid biographical reference. The tension in the poetry is generated by attempts to communicate and frustration that such efforts are never wholly successful, as implied by the title of his sonnet sequence One Another. He takes this demonstration of the clash between dialogue and duologue further in his later sequence Local Habitation in which three points of view are counterpointed through a narrative of changing relationships and moods.
Although his poetry has sometimes been described as quiet, Dale has answered that "Sentences in their rhythms and juxtapositions may be more passionate than words as words. To give one example, the emotion in "A Time to Speak" isn't to be found in individual words but in the sentence rhythms, the tension between speech-rhythm and metric, the pauses, the timing and, on this occasion, the images. But the poem won’t seem much to anyone with little experience of life."
Works
Poetry- Nerve (limited edition of 200, 'hand-set and printed in a hurry') 1959.
- Walk from the House, Fantasy Press, Oxford, 1962.
- The Storms, Macmillan, London, 1968
- Mortal Fire, Macmillan, London, 1970.
- Mortal Fire: Selected Poems, Agenda Editions, London; Ohio University Press, USA, 1976. ISBN 0821401858
- Cross Channel, Hippopotamus Press, Sutton, 1977. ISBN 0-904179-13-3
- One Another: a sonnet sequence, Agenda Editions/Carcanet New Press, London & Manchester, 1978. ISBN 0-902400-21-5 (h/b); 0-902400-22-3 (p/b). Revised ed., The Waywiser Press, Chipping Norton UK and Dufour Editions, Baltimore MD, 2002. ISBN 1-904130-05-5
- Too Much of Water: Poems 1976–82, Agenda Editions, London, 1983. ISBN 0-902400-312 (h/b); 0-902400-304 (p/b)
- A Set of Darts: epigrams for the 90s (with W.S.Milne and Robert Richardson), Big Little Poem Books, Grimsby, 1990.
- Earth Light, Hippopotamus Press, Frome, 1991. ISBN 0-904179-55-9 (h/b); ISBN 0-904179-56-7 (p/b)
- Edge to Edge: New and Selected Poems, Anvil Press, London, 1996. ISBN 978-0-85646-272-6
- Da Capo, Agenda Editions, London, 1999. ISBN 9780902400603
- Under the Breath, Anvil Press, London, 2002, ISBN 978-0-85646-347-1
- Eight by Five (epigrams), Rack Press, Presteigne, Wales, 2007. ISBN 0952721759
- Local Habitation: a sequence of poems, Anvil Press, London, 2009. ISBN 978-085646-418-8
Translations
- The Legacy, The Testament and Other Poems of François Villon, Macmillan, London, 1973; St Martin's Press, New York, 1973; Anvil Press revised edition, London, 2001. ISBN 978-0-85646-323-5
- The Seasons of Cankam: Love Poems Translated from the Tamil (with Kokilam Subbiah), Agenda Editions, London, 1975. ISBN 0-902400-11-8
- Selected Poems of François Villon, Penguin, Harmondsworth, 1978, 1988, 1994
- Narrow Straits: Poems from the French, Hippopotamus Press, Frome, 1985. ISBN 0-904179-34-6
- Poems of Jules Laforgue, Anvil Press Poetry, London, 1986 (new ed. 2001), ISBN 0856461458
- Dante: The Divine Comedy, Anvil Press, London, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007. ISBN 978-0-85646-287-0, 978-0-85646-280-1,
- Wry-Blue Loves (Les amours jaunes) and Other Poems by Tristan Corbière, Anvil Press, London, 2005. ISBN 978-0-85646-377-8
- Paul Valéry, Charms and Other Writings, Anvil Press, London, 2007. ISBN 978-0-85646-398-3
Other
- An Introduction to Rhyme, Agenda/Bellew, 1998. ISBN 1-85725-124-5
- Michael Hamburger in Conversation with Peter Dale, Between the Lines, Chipping Norton; Dufour Editions, Baltimore MD, 1998. ISBN 978-0-9532841-1-5
- Anthony Thwaite in Conversation with Peter Dale and Ian Hamilton, Between The Lines, Chipping Norton; Dufour Editions, Baltimore MD, 1999. ISBN 978-0-953284-12-2
- Richard Wilbur in Conversation with Peter Dale, Between The Lines, Chipping Norton; Dufour Editions Baltimore MD, 2000. ISBN 978-0-9532841-5-3
- Peter Dale in Conversation with Cynthia Haven, Between The Lines, Chipping Norton, 2005. ISBN 978-1903291-13-9