The Poets' Club was a group devoted to the discussion of

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

. It met in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in the early years of the twentieth century. It was founded by Henry Simpson, a banker.

T. E. Hulme Thomas Ernest Hulme (; 16 September 1883 – 28 September 1917) was an English critic and poet who, through his writings on art, literature and politics, had a notable influence upon modernism. He was an aesthetic philosopher and the Imagism ...

helped set up the group in

1908 This is the longest year in either the Julian or Gregorian calendars, having a duration of 31622401.38 seconds of Terrestrial Time (or ephemeris time), measured according to the definition of mean solar time. Events January * January ...

, and was its first secretary. Hulme wrote a charter document: "Rules 1908". The group comprised mainly amateurs and met once a month, excluding the summer months of July, August, and September, for dinner, the reading of poems, and the presentation of short (20 minute) papers on various topics relating to poetry. Around the end of

Hulme read the Club his '' A Lecture on Modern Poetry.'' The Club produced several anthologies; the first two being — ''For Christmas MDCCCCVIII'' (January 1909) and ''The Book of the Poets' Club'' (December 1909). Two of Hulme's poems were included in the first, "Autumn" and "A City Sunset," and another two in the second. These are regarded as the first examples of

Imagism Imagism was a movement in early-20th-century poetry that favored precision of imagery and clear, sharp language. It is considered to be the first organized modernist literary movement in the English language. Imagism has been termed "a successi ...

. In 1909, Hulme began a side-project with F.S. Flint, both a critic and friend of the Poets' Club, called "The School of Images," introducing Ezra Pound to the group in April 1909. This group lasted less than a year but anticipated and motivated the Imagist movement. The fourth and final anthology of the Poets' Club — ''Christmas 1913'' — contained work by writers including: John Todhunter, E. Nesbit, Victor Plarr, Henry Simpson, Alexander von Herder, A. St. John Adcock,

Selwyn Image Selwyn Image (17 February 1849, Bodiam, Sussex – 21 August 1930, London) was a British artist, designer, writer and poet associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement. He designed stained glass windows, furniture and embroidery, and illustra ...

, and Margaret Scott Thomson.

Sources

* Patrick McGuinness (editor), ''T. E. Hulme: Selected Writings,'' Fyfield Books, Carcanet Press, 1998. (page xii) * Jewel Spears Brooker, ''Mastery and Escape: T. S. Eliot,''

University of Massachusetts Press The University of Massachusetts Press is a university press that is part of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The press was founded in 1963, publishing scholarly books and non-fiction. The press imprint is overseen by an interdisciplinar ...

, 1996, {{ISBN, 1-55849-040-X. (page 48) English male poets