Today’s poetry news round-up looks at the Lake District house that was the home of two poets that is still up for sale, the WB Yeats letters that fetched a significant amount at auction and the winner of this year’s Ruth Rendell Award.

Former Lake District Home of Two Famous Poets Sees Price Cut of £50,000

Greta Hall, the stunning Grade I country house that was the home of two famous poets, has been on the market now for 4 months. The property which is located in the heart of the Lake District not far from Keswick went on the market for £1.25 million back in August but has recently been reduced by £50,000 due to a lack of interest.

Both Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey previously lived in the property during the 19^th century.

The property which has plenty of period features, six bathrooms and parking for at least 10 cars is currently used as a guest house with the annexe being used for self-catering guests. It is surrounded by spacious grounds.

There are plaques located on either side of the double pillared front door; one for each of the house’s previous famous residents.

Southey, who was a friend of both Wordsworth and Coleridge, resided in the house from 1803 to 1843.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge, a founder of the Romantic Movement of poets in England, was a friend of William Wordsworth and lived in Greta Hall from 1800 to 1803.

The house is well known on an international level for its literary history, and this is only the second time in the last century that it has been placed up for sale.

WB Yeats Letters Fetch Fantastic Price at Auction

A collection of letters that were penned by the teenage WB Yeats was purchased at an auction at Sotheby of London earlier this week.

The pre-sale estimate on the letters was between £12000 and £18000. However, following a number of telephone bids, the hammer eventually came down on a final sale price of £47,880 with an anonymous winner being the successful bidder.

The bundle of letters contained 6 that had been penned to Ethel Veasey and 1 to Harley Cyril Veasey, her brother. The two boys were acquaintances from school, and Ethel was a friend of Yeats’ sister.

The letters give a remarkable look at the early days of the poet and how he coped with living in Dublin during the early part of his career. In the letters, he talks about his love of nature and one particular letter takes an in-depth look at his musing on landscapes.

The letters also give details of the house move that the poet and his family made in 1884, and how he felt about the change of circumstances and surroundings.

Nova Receives Ruth Rendell Award

Karl Nova, the hip hop artist, poet and author has been named as this year’s recipient of the Ruth Rendell Award as a result of his significant contribution during the last year to literacy levels in the UK.

The award has only been around since 2016, and is named after the best-selling author of the same name. Its main goal is to celebrate someone who has championed literacy each year.