McGrath-

C. Fox Smith was quite successful in gaining literary and public recognition in her own time. That's quite evident considering her publication record, and the major publishers who began working with her during the World War 1 period. And the contemporary reviews support that conclusion. Actually, she did amazingly well considering how young she was when she got her first poetry books published. However, after the 1930s, interest in her work appeared to decline, only to be revived in the late 1990s by our folk music community; there are few if any other major poets who have had 90 of their poems adapted for singing.

Why interest declined is a question we'd like to have explored some more. Was it because she was a stronged-willed woman who did not fit in with the literary establishment? Did literary tastes shift from her style of poetry and her long term interest in the Age of Sail? She certainly did not stop writing excellent poetry, some of which continued to be published in Punch magazine until the year of her death in 1954. Perhaps, the publication of our book will provoke some serious interest if this poet from contemporary literary historians. We would hope so but we won't hold our breath.

Charley Noble