Biography Thomas Sturge Moore

Poet Biography

Thomas Sturge Moore (March 4, 1870– July 18, 1944) was an English poet, author and artist. He was born on 4 March 1870 and was educated at Dulwich College, the Croydon Art School and Lambeth Art School. He was a long-term friend and correspondent of W. B. Yeats. He was also a playwright, writing a Medea influenced by Yeats' drama and the Japanese Noh style.

Sturge Moore was a prolific poet and his subjects included, morality, art and the spirit. His first pamphlet, Two Poems, was printed privately in 1893 and his first book of verse, The Vinedresser, was published in 1899. His love for poetry lead him to become an active member of the Poetry Recital Society. His first (of 31) plays to be produced was Aphrodite against Artemis (1906), staged by the Literary Theatre Club of which he became a member in 1908. He received a civil list pension in 1920 in recognition for his contribution to literature and in 1930 he was nominated as one of seven candidates for the position of Poet Laureate. He died on 18 July 1944.

He adopted the name 'Sturge' as a way of avoiding confusion with the poet Thomas Moore.

He was the brother of the famous philosopher George Edward Moore, one of the founders of the Analytic tradition in philosophy.