Dannie Abse facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dannie Abse
CBE FRSL
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Born | Cardiff, Wales |
22 September 1923
Died | 28 September 2014 | (aged 91)
Nationality | Welsh |
Education |
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Genre | Poetry |
Notable awards |
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Spouse | Joan Abse |
Dannie Abse was a famous Welsh writer and a doctor. He was born on September 22, 1923, and passed away on September 28, 2014. His poems won him many important awards. Besides writing, he also worked as a doctor in a special clinic for over 30 years.
Dannie Abse's Early Life
Dannie Abse was born in Cardiff, a city in Wales. He had two older brothers. One was Leo Abse, who became a politician and worked to make changes in society. His other brother was Wilfred Abse, a well-known doctor who studied how the mind works.
Even though his family was Jewish and middle-class, Dannie went to St Illtyd's Catholic High School. This was a Catholic school in a working-class area called Splott. After high school, Dannie decided to study medicine. He went to the University of Wales College of Medicine, then Westminster Hospital Medical School, and also King's College London.
Dannie Abse was a huge fan of the Cardiff City football team. He started watching them play in 1934. Many of his writings mention how much he loved this team, known as "The Bluebirds."
His Life as a Poet and Physician
Even though Dannie Abse is most famous for his poetry, he also had a long career in medicine. He worked as a doctor in a chest clinic for more than thirty years. His writing earned him many literary awards and special honors. In 1989, the University of Wales gave him an honorary doctorate, which is a special degree.
His very first book of poems, After Every Green Thing, came out in 1949. Later, in 1954, he published Ash on a Young Man's Sleeve, which was a book about his own life. He won the Welsh Arts Council Award twice, in 1971 and 1987. He also received the Cholmondeley Award in 1985. From 1983, he was a Fellow of The Royal Society of Literature, a group that honors great writers.
Dannie Abse often wrote about his real-life experiences, both at home and at work. Many of his poems showed how his Jewish background and Welsh traditions came together.
For many years, Abse lived in the north-west part of London, especially near Hampstead. He wrote a regular column for the local newspaper there, called the Hampstead and Highgate Express. These articles were later put together into books.
In 2005, a sad event happened: his wife, Joan Abse, passed away in a car accident. Dannie Abse was also hurt, breaking a rib. After this, he wrote a poetry collection called Running Late, which was published in 2006. He also wrote The Presence in 2007, a book about the year after his wife's death. This book won the Wales Book of the Year award in 2008. It was even turned into a play for BBC Radio 4. He also won the Roland Mathias prize for Running Late.
In 2009, Dannie Abse released a collection of all his poems. In the same year, he received the Wilfred Owen Poetry Award. He was also a judge for the first Hippocrates Prize for Poetry and Medicine in 2010. For his contributions to poetry and literature, Dannie Abse was given the title of Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2012.
Dannie Abse passed away on September 28, 2014, just six days after his 91st birthday.
His Published Works
Dannie Abse wrote many different kinds of books. He published numerous collections of poetry throughout his life, starting in 1948 and continuing until 2014. Some of his well-known poetry collections include After Every Green Thing, Walking Under Water, and Collected Poems.
He also wrote several fiction books, which are stories he made up. These include Ash on a Young Man's Sleeve and O Jones, O Jones.
Besides poems and stories, Dannie Abse wrote plays for the stage and for radio. Some of his plays include Fire in Heaven and The Dogs of Pavlov. His radio plays include Conform or Die. Error: no page names specified (help). In Spanish: Dannie Abse para niños