Edmund George Valpy Knox (10 May 1881 – 2 January 1971) was a poet and

satirist This is an incomplete list of writers, cartoonists and others known for involvement in satire – humorous social criticism. They are grouped by era and listed by year of birth. Included is a list of modern satires. Under Contemporary, 1930-1960 ...

who wrote under the pseudonym Evoe. He was editor of ''

Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...

'' 1932–1949, having been a regular contributor in verse and prose for many years.

Life

Knox was the eldest son of

Edmund Arbuthnott Knox Edmund Arbuthnott Knox (6 December 1847 – 16 January 1937) was the fourth Bishop of Manchester, from 1903 to 1921. He was described as a prominent evangelical. Born in Bangalore, the second son of the Reverend George Knox and Frances Mary Anne ...

, a descendant of

John Arbuthnott, 8th Viscount of Arbuthnott John Arbuthnott, 8th Viscount of Arbuthnott DL FRSE (16 January 1778 – 10 January 1860) was a Scottish peer and soldier. Known as "the rich Lord" he built the bridge in front of Arbuthnott House, Kincardineshire. He was the first member of t ...

. He was a brother of the Roman Catholic priest and author

Ronald Knox Ronald Arbuthnott Knox (17 February 1888 – 24 August 1957) was an Catholic Church in England and Wales, English Catholic priest, Catholic theology, theologian, author, and radio broadcaster. Educated at Eton College, Eton and Balliol Colleg ...

, the codebreaker

Dilly Knox Alfred Dillwyn "Dilly" Knox, CMG (23 July 1884 – 27 February 1943) was a British classics scholar and papyrologist at King's College, Cambridge and a codebreaker. As a member of the Room 40 codebreaking unit he helped decrypt the Zimmer ...

, the Anglican priest and New Testament scholar

Wilfred Knox Wilfred Lawrence Knox (1886–1950) was an English Anglicanism, Anglican priest and theologian, one of four brothers who distinguished themselves. After leaving University of Oxford, Oxford with a first-class honours degree in classics, Knox soon ...

, the author

Winifred Peck Winifred Peck, née Knox, (1882–1962) was an English novelist and biographer. Biography Winifred Frances Knox was born in Headington, England in 1882. Her father was Edmund Arbuthnott Knox, the fourth Bishop of Manchester. Knox was one of ...

, and Ethel Knox. His daughter, the novelist

Penelope Fitzgerald Penelope Mary Fitzgerald (17 December 1916 – 28 April 2000) was a Booker Prize-winning novelist, poet, essayist and biographer from Lincoln, England. In 2008 ''The Times'' listed her among "the 50 greatest British writers since 1945". ''The Ob ...

, wrote a biography of the four brothers titled ''The Knox Brothers''. He was educated at

King Edward's School, Birmingham King Edward's School (KES) is an independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the British Public school (UK), public school tradition, located in Edgbaston, Birmingham. Founded by Edward VI of England, King Edward VI in 1552, it ...

and

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

. His first marriage was in 1912 to Christina Frances Hicks, born 1885. They had children

(born 1916, died 2000) and Edmund Rawle Valpy Knox (journalist, died 5 June 1994). Christina died in 1935. He remarried in 1937, to

Mary Shepard Mary Eleanor Jessie Knox née Shepard (25 December 1909 – 4 September 2000) was an English illustrator of children's books. She is best known for the ''Mary Poppins'' stories written by P. L. Travers (1934 to 1988). She used her married na ...

, illustrator of ''

Mary Poppins It may refer to: * ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character. * Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers. * ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film sta ...

'' and daughter of

E.H. Shepard Ernest Howard Shepard OBE MC (10 December 1879 – 24 March 1976) was an English artist and book illustrator. He is known especially for illustrations of the anthropomorphic animal and soft toy characters in ''The Wind in the Willows'' and ''W ...

who illustrated ''

Winnie the Pooh Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear and Pooh, is a fictional Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. The first collection of stories about the character w ...

'' and ''

The Wind in the Willows ''The Wind in the Willows'' is a children's novel by the British novelist Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. It details the story of Mole, Ratty, and Badger as they try to help Mr. Toad, after he becomes obsessed with motorcars and gets ...

''. He served in the Lincolnshire Regiment during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and ''Punch'' reported in October 1917 that he had been wounded. As a poet, he was noted for his ability to provide topical satirical poems for ''Punch'' in the style of well-known contemporary poets such as John Drinkwater,

John Masefield John Edward Masefield (; 1 June 1878 – 12 May 1967) was an English poet and writer, and Poet Laureate from 1930 until 1967. Among his best known works are the children's novels ''The Midnight Folk'' and ''The Box of Delights'', and the poem ...

Walter de la Mare Walter John de la Mare (; 25 April 1873 – 22 June 1956) was an English poet, short story writer, and novelist. He is probably best remembered for his works for children, for his poem "The Listeners", and for a highly acclaimed selection of ...

Edmund Blunden Edmund Charles Blunden (1 November 1896 – 20 January 1974) was an English poet, author, and critic. Like his friend Siegfried Sassoon, he wrote of his experiences in World War I in both verse and prose. For most of his career, Blunden was als ...

Robert Bridges Robert Seymour Bridges (23 October 1844 – 21 April 1930) was an English poet who was Poet Laureate from 1913 to 1930. A doctor by training, he achieved literary fame only late in life. His poems reflect a deep Christian faith, and he is ...

and

J. C. Squire Sir John Collings Squire (2 April 1884 – 20 December 1958) was a British writer, most notable as editor of the ''London Mercury'', a major literary magazine in the interwar period. He antagonised several eminent authors, but attracted a coterie ...

– usually managing to evoke the poet's general style and manner without resorting to parodying any particular poem. Although best known for satire, some of his more serious poems, written during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

while he held the editor's chair at ''Punch'', evoke by turns wistful nostalgia, grim determination, and a longing for eventual peace, often using metres from Greek or Latin poetry or historical English forms. Although for the greater part of his life an agnostic, he gradually drifted back into the Church of England.

Books

Collections of Evoe's writings, usually reprinted from the pages of ''Punch'', were published as follows: *The Brazen Lyre (1911) *A Little Loot (1920) *Parodies Regained (1921) *These Liberties (1923) *Fiction as She is Wrote (1923) *An Hour from Victoria (1924) *Fancy Now (1924) *Quaint Specimens (1925) *Poems of Impudence (1926) *It Occurs to Me (1926) *Awful Occasions (1927) *I'll Tell the World (1928) *Gorgeous Times (1928) *Wonderful Outings (1928) *Here's Misery! (1928) *This Other Eden (1929) *Blue Feathers (1929) *Things that Annoy Me (1932) *Folly Calling (1932) *Slight Irritations (1933) *In My Old Days (1969)

Notes

References

* Penelope Fitzgerald, ''The Knox Brothers'', New York: Coward, McCann, & Geoghegan, 1977; revised edition, Washington, DC: Counterpoint, 2000.

External links

*
Edmund George Valpy Knox
at

University of Toronto Libraries The University of Toronto Libraries system is the largest academic library in Canada and is ranked third among peer institutions in North America, behind only Harvard and Yale. The system consists of 39 libraries located on University of Toronto' ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knox, E. V. 1881 births 1971 deaths English people of Scottish descent English Anglicans English satirists People educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham English male poets 20th-century English poets Punch (magazine) people 20th-century English male writers