John Ferrar Holms (1897–1934) was a British literary critic.

Early life

He was born in India to a British civil servant and an Irish mother. Holms was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...

and Sandhurst. He was commissioned in 1915 as a second lieutenant in the

Highland Light Infantry The Highland Light Infantry (HLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1881. It took part in the First and Second World Wars, until it was amalgamated with the Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1959 to form the Royal Highland Fusi ...

, and awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

in 1917. In March 1918 he was captured and was held as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

Mainz Citadel The Mainzer Zitadelle (Citadel of Mainz) is situated at the fringe of , near Mainz Römisches Theater station. The fortress was constructed in 1660 and was an important part of the Fortress Mainz. History The Jakobsberg hill, where the citadel wa ...

with, among others,

Hugh Kingsmill Hugh Kingsmill Lunn (21 November 1889 – 15 May 1949), who dropped his surname for professional purposes, was a versatile British writer and journalist. The writers Arnold Lunn and Brian Lunn were his brothers. Life Hugh Kingsmill Lunn was born a ...

, J. Milton Hayes and

Alec Waugh Alexander Raban Waugh (8 July 1898 – 3 September 1981) was a British novelist, the elder brother of the better-known Evelyn Waugh, uncle of Auberon Waugh and son of Arthur Waugh, author, literary critic, and publisher. His first wife was Bar ...

.Waugh, Alex (2012) ''Thirteen Such Years'' A&C Black

Career

He published literary criticism in the ''

Calendar of Modern Letters ''The Calendar of Modern Letters'' was a short-lived British literary review journal. It was established by the poet Edgell Rickword, and published from March 1925 to July 1927. Contributors included Edmund Blunden, Robert Graves, Siegfied Sasso ...

'' between 1925 and 1927 and one short story titled "A Death." He was associated with

Djuna Barnes Djuna Barnes (, June 12, 1892 – June 18, 1982) was an American artist, illustrator, journalist, and writer who is perhaps best known for her novel ''Nightwood'' (1936), a cult classic of lesbian fiction and an important work of modernist litera ...

Edwin Muir Edwin Muir CBE (15 May 1887 – 3 January 1959) was a Scottish poet, novelist and translator. Born on a farm in Deerness, a parish of Orkney, Scotland, he is remembered for his deeply felt and vivid poetry written in plain language and wit ...

Emily Coleman Emily Holmes Coleman (1899–1974) was an American born writer, and a lifelong compulsive diary keeper. She also wrote a single novel, '' The Shutter of Snow'' (1930). This novel, about a woman who spends time in a mental hospital after the birth ...

Antonia White Antonia White (born Eirene Adeline Botting; 31 March 1899 – 10 April 1980) was a British writer and translator, known primarily for ''Frost in May'', a semi-autobiographical novel set in a convent school. It was the first book reissued by Virag ...

, and

Peggy Guggenheim Marguerite "Peggy" Guggenheim ( ; August 26, 1898 – December 23, 1979) was an American art collector, bohemian and socialite. Born to the wealthy New York City Guggenheim family, she was the daughter of Benjamin Guggenheim, who went down with t ...

. Holms was Peggy Guggenheim's lover from 1928 to his sudden death in 1934. Djuna Barnes dedicated her novel ''

Nightwood ''Nightwood'' is a 1936 novel by American author Djuna Barnes that was first published by publishing house Faber and Faber. It is one of the early prominent novels to portray explicit homosexuality between women, and as such can be considered l ...

'' to Holms and Guggenheim. His time spent at the 14th-Century manor Hayford Hall in Devon, in 1932 and 1933 with Djuna Barnes and Emily Coleman had a profound effect on Barnes and ''Nightwood.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holms, John Ferrar 1897 births 1934 deaths British literary critics People educated at Rugby School Highland Light Infantry officers Recipients of the Military Cross World War I prisoners of war held by Germany British World War I prisoners of war