Walter John de la Mare (1873-1956)
This award winning poet, novelist and short story writer is renowned for his rich imagination and spiritual romanticism. He wrote prolifically for both children and adults including psychological horror stories such as Seaton’s Aunt and All Hallows and his famous poem for children The Listeners, which has stood the test of time.
De La Mare was born in Charlton, Kent and went to school at St. Paul’s Cathedral Choir School in London. At sixteen he started work in the statistics department of Anglo-American Oil where he worked for many years.
Having four children, he found it difficult to balance family life with writing but in 1908 he received a Civil List pension and was then able to concentrate solely on his creative work.
His awards included The James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction and the 1947 Carnegie Medal for British children’s books.
Source http//www.poetryarchive.org/poet/walter-de-la-mare