David Jones

1 November 1895 (in Brockley, Kent) - 28 October 1974 (in Harrow). Painter and modernist poet.

Shaped British Modernism by attributing peculiar characteristics to his art. One of his most well known works is the poem In Parenthesis, a personal account of his experiences during the First World War, in which he reflects the breakdown that individuals as well as society suffered, hauntingly mirroring the brutality of war.

Biography

David Jones was born Walter David Michael Jones to James Jones, a printer, and his wife Alice on 1 November 1895 in Brockley, Kent. From 1909 until 1914, Jones attended the Camberwell School of Arts, before joining the Royal Welsh Infantry in 1915. Jones served on the military front in France until being wounded in one of the biggest battles on the Western front, The Battle of the Somme, in June 1916. After recovering from his wounds in England, Jones eventually returned to the Western front until March 1918. Jones, in order to further refine his arts, rejoined the Camberwell School of Arts after the war, before transferring to London’s Westminster School of Art in 1921. It was in 1921 that Jones also converted to Catholicism as his experiences during World War I had not only changed his views and perceptions on religion, but had also shaped his inspiration and his vision as an artist. Prior to attending the Westminster School of Art, Jones had joined the artisans The Guild of St. Joseph and St. Dominic in 1920, being enhanced spiritually and artistically by Eric Gill. In the 1930s and 1940s, Jones suffered from several nervous breakdowns as a consequence of his experiences in the war. In 1955, Jones was awarded the honor of Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). Jones died on 28 October 1974 in Harrow.

Art

David Jones' art work often mirrored his Christian beliefs, Welsh heritage or mythological subjects, which he depicted by way of watercolour paintings of landscapes or portraits. When Jones became interested in the different meaning of a word, images or symbols, Jones also began to experiment with paintings made out of fragments of texts. With his artwork, Jones aimed at criticising the "corrupting influence“ (David Jones Society) of industrialisation on society. Some of his art work, such as View from Gatwick House, Essex, April (1946), is on display at the Tate Gallery.

Poetry

David Jones most important poetic work was the 187 pages long poem In Parenthesis, which was published in 1937 and mirrors his experiences during World War I. David Jones decided to call the poem In Parenthesis, because, as he stated in the preface to his poem, "not was the war a parenthesis, but life in general" (VI). The poem itself describes the several stages of Jones‘ military service from going to France in December of 1915 all the way to The Battle at the Somme seven months later. The prose style of the poem can be described as dislocated and fragmented, without using any regular rhyme pattern. Jones' speech, however, depicts aspects of vividness and precision. In employing a unique prose style, Jones succeeds in presenting a "profound and shattering disclosure of combat’s physical destruction and spiritual outrage.“ (poetryfoundation.org) of war in general. In addition, Jones uses quotes from the Welsh epic Y Gododdin and various religious texts in order to highlight the relationship between past and present, not only criticising war but the "corrupting influence“ (David Jones Society) of industrialisation on society. In his second poem, The Anathemata (1952), Jones again went new ways. By choosing a revolving structure for the poem, interchanging between the English, Welsh and Latin language, Jones tries to explore the Western culture from various geographical, mythical and religious angles.

Sources

"David Jones“. Poetry Foundation. Accessed 12 July 2021. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/david-jones.

"David Jones“. The David Jones Society. Accessed 11 July 2021. http://www.david-jones-society.org/david-jones.html.

Jones, David. In Parenthesis (1937). Digital Library of India. 2015. Accessed 13 July 2021. https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.13580/page/n15/mode/2up.

Thurston, Luke. "Jones, Walter David Michael (1885 – 1974), painter and poet.“ Dictionary of Welsh Biography. 2015. Accessed 12 July 2021. https://biography.wales/article/s10-JONE-MIC-1895.

Edwards, Alun and Colin Hughes. "The David Jones Collection.“ The First World War Poetry Digital Archive. University of Oxford. Accessed 11 July 2021. http://ww1lit.nsms.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/collections/jones