Robert von Ranke Graves is buried at Deià Church on the Island of Majorca,
Europe. (The church and its tiny cemetery are located at the
top of the village, on a ledge above a deep gorge. There is no gravestone
- only a small block of concrete into which his name and dates
were scratched.)
Gravestone of Robert Graves
Robert Graves
Robert Graves was born in London and educated at Charter-house and St
John's College, Oxford. He served in the First World War - taking a
commision in the Roya Welch Fusiliers. His first collection Over the
Brazier was published in 1916 and was informed by his wartime
experiences. During the war his was friendly with both
Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred
Owen. In 1946 Graves moved back to Ca Na Lluny in Deià with his second wife Beryl
Hodge. (He had previously lived here with the American poet Laura Riding
prior to WW2.) With the exception of occasional trips abroad, he lived on
the island until his death in 1985. He used the town as the setting for
many of his stories, including the historical novel Hercules my
Shipmate. His house is now a museum. Between 1950-74 Graves had a string of relationships with younger
women - his 'muses' - who inspired him to write some of the finest love poetry of the
20th century.
Graves was professor of poetry at Oxford University from 1961-1966.
Graves is also remembered for his unorthodox historical
novels such as I, Claudius (1934), his autobiography Good-bye
to All That (1929) and his study of poetic inspiration - The
White Goddess (1948).
From 1974 onwards his mental and physical health declined and he
died on 7 December 1985.
See also
Georgian poets
and Poets on Poetry.
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