On reaching Chile he suffered from sunstroke and was hospitalised. He was awed by the beauty of nature, including a rare sighting of a nocturnal rainbow, on this voyage. This first voyage brought him the experience of sea sickness, but his record of his experiences while sailing through extreme weather shows his delight in seeing flying fish, porpoises and birds. In 1894 Masefield boarded the Gilcruix, destined for Chile.
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied Īnd all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,Īnd the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.įrom " Sea-Fever", in Salt-Water Ballads (1902)
I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,Īnd all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,Īnd the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,Īnd a grey mist on the sea's face and a grey dawn breaking. Masefield gives an account of life aboard the Conway in his book New Chum.
While he was on the ship he listened to the stories told about sea lore, continued to read, and decided that he was to become a writer and story-teller himself. It was aboard the Conway that Masefield's love of story-telling grew. He spent several years aboard this ship, and found that he could spend much of his time reading and writing. After an unhappy education at the King's School in Warwick (now known as Warwick School), where he was a boarder between 18, he left to board HMS Conway, both to train for a life at sea and to break his addiction to reading, of which his aunt thought little. His father died soon afterwards, following a mental breakdown. His mother died giving birth to his sister when Masefield was six, and he went to live with his aunt. Masefield was born in Ledbury in Herefordshire, to George Masefield, a solicitor, and his wife Caroline. Among his best known works are the children's novels The Midnight Folk and The Box of Delights, and the poems The Everlasting Mercy and " Sea-Fever". John Edward Masefield OM ( / ˈ m eɪ s ˌ f iː l d, ˈ m eɪ z-/ 1 June 1878 – ) was an English poet and writer, and Poet Laureate from 1930 until 1967.
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