T.E. Hulme

Thomas Ernest Hulme was born on 16th September 1883 at Gratton Hall, Endon, North Staffordshire. He attended Newcastle-under-Lyme High School for boys, St. John's College, Cambridge and the University of London, but left in 1906, without taking a degree, and set sail for Canada. He returned to England in 1907 but soon crossed to Brussels where he taught English and practised his languages.

Hulme wrote some of the first 'modernist' poems in English and played an important role in the literary and cultural history of his time as critic and philosopher. He was one of the first critics to write about modern painting and sculpture. When war broke out Hulme enlisted and was serving in the Royal Marines Artillery when he was killed in battle on 28th September 1917.

A small but frequently consulted collection, the papers at Keele includes Hulme's notes on language and style, manuscript and printed poems, some notes on contributions made by Hulme to The New Age and a number of letters written to Michael Roberts whose biography of Hulme appeared in 1938. Amongst these are several letters from Ezra Pound and from Faber and Faber, written by T. S. Eliot.

To supplement the collection, Hulme biographer Robert Ferguson has donated his collection of papers relating to T E Hulme. The gift includes fourteen files of correspondence, articles, transcripts, research notes and photographs.

The material is owned by Keele, is partially listed, and there are no restrictions on access.