Godfrey John, C.S.B., was a poet, writer, lecturer, and teacher.
Biography Godfrey John was born and grew up in Wales. He served in the Royal Air Force, and graduated from Cambridge University,"Christian Science Lecture Scheduled for Monday" Ludington Daily News, Ludington, Michigan (June 13, 1991). Retrieved November 19, 2013 where he was boxing team captain and a "light blue", and was a British amateur heavyweight boxing champion. For more than 40 years, poems and essays by John were published in the Christian Science Monitor."Thanks awfully" Christian Science Monitor (July 24, 2003). Retrieved November 19, 2013
Godfrey John moved to the United States in 1958, where he lived and worked and received a first award from the Academy of American Poets.Biographical notes, back cover. Five Seasons (1977) He was a professor of English at several colleges in the United States, including Principia College,"Unforgettable Faculty: College English Professor, Godfrey John". 2009. Principia Purpose. p. 28. and later worked as an arts critic for the Christian Science Monitor. He became a public practitioner of Christian Science.Kim Shippey (September 19, 2005). "Writing... a kind of prayer" The Christian Science Sentinel. Retrieved November 19, 2013 In 1970, he moved to Canada, where he became a dual citizen (Canadian and British). In Canada, he also became a Christian Science teacher and served briefly on the Christian Science Board of Lectureship. For many years he was also active as a voluntary probation and parole officer.John, Godfrey (2001). Compassion Wins: Collected Poems and Essays 1977-2000. Thomson-Shore, Inc. inside cover. He had two children with his wife Rosalind, and lived in Toronto."Midnight is Our Noon (How Christ Dissolves Crisis)" Lariat, Vol. 21, Num. 6, 18 October 1990.
Publications Godfrey John was widely published in the Christian Science periodicals, including the Monitor, for over 40 years. He published a collection of poems and essays in the books Five Seasons (Foursquare Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1977) and Compassion Wins (Thomson-Shore, Inc., Dexter, Michigan, 2001). The foreword of his first book was written by Henrietta Buckmaster, and the second by Rushworth Kidder.Henrietta Buckmaster. Forward, Five Seasons, p. xv. (1977)Rushworth Kidder. Foreword, Compassion Wins, pp. v-vi. (2001) He is also published in a number of anthologies including Boundless Light: Poems of Healing.Boundless Light: Poems of Healing. Boston: CSPS. p. 120.
Some of his poems are in the Welsh cywydd form.
References
External links Writings of Godfrey John on Christian Science JSH-Online Godfrey John poems on Moodesigns