Michael Roberts

About

A 20th-century British editor, poet, critic and teacher, he is best known for editing The Faber Book of Modern Verse. He also published several collections of poetry, including These Our Matins (1930) and Orion Marches (1939).

Before Fame

He studied chemistry at King's College, London and mathematics at Trinity College, Cambridge. During the mid-1920s, he briefly belonged to the Communist Party of Great Britain.

Trivia

His birth name was William Edward Roberts; he took the name Michael after studying the work of Russian intellectual Mikhail Lomonosov.

Family Life

He wed Janet Adam Smith in 1935. The couple had three sons and one daughter; all four children grew up to be professors and/or writers.

Associated With

He edited a 1933 poetry anthology called New Country that featured the work of W.H. Auden.