200 years ago today, on the 23rd February 1821, John Keats died of TB in Rome. Unrecognised by the literary establishment in his lifetime, Keats is now one of English literature’s most beloved poets. To commemorate this bicentenary and his incredible life and work, Keats fans may enjoy reading Lucasta Miller's newly released biograph: A Brief Life in Nine Poems and One Epitaph.
The famous epitaph John Keats composed for his own gravestone - 'Here lies one whose name was writ in water' - seemingly damned him to oblivion. When he died at the tragic age of twenty-five, few critics imagined he would be considered one of the greatest English poets two hundred years later. Lucasta Miller takes Keats's best-known poems and excavates their backstories to resurrect the real Keats behind the myths. Combining close-up readings of his writing with the story of his brief but bright existence, Lucasta Miller reveals why Keats continues to speak to us across the generations.
PBS Members can order this new biography with 25% off here. You can also commemorate the occasion with this beautiful One Plum Poem Card featuring Ode on a Grecian Urn.