Edith Sitwell

British writer, the first poet to be named a Commander of the British Empire; in 1954 she was made a Dame. Experimental and eccentric, her works included "Facade," 1922 "Collected Poems," 1930 and more. "The Pleasures Of Poetry," 1930-1932 was one of her many critical works. She also edited "Wheels," an annual magazine, during WW I. As she hated physical exercise, she wrote in bed. Her early work was lightly imagistic, macabre, wistful and exhibited a spectrum of color. Later, her work became more tightly knit, infusing simple matters with reverence and an aura of great significance.

Sitwell was born to a landed aristocracy in which all three kids were highly gifted but difficult to categorize; her two brothers were Osbert and Sacheverell. In 1954 she converted to Catholicism for which she held a deep religious passion. Three years later, she became a visiting professor at the Institute of Contemporary Arts.

Sitwell died on 9 December 1964, London, England.