Denis Glover | |
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| Born | Denis James Matthews Glover 9 December 1912 Dunedin, New Zealand |
| Died | 9 August 1980 (aged 67) Wellington, New Zealand |
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| Education | University of Canterbury, BA |
| Spouses | Mary Granville
(m. 1936; div. 1970)Gladys Evelyn Cameron
(m. 1971) |
| Partner | Khura Skelton (1954–1969) |
Denis James Matthews Glover DSC (9 December 1912 – 9 August 1980) was a New Zealand poet and publisher. Born in Dunedin, he attended the University of Canterbury where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts, and subsequently lectured. He worked as a reporter and editor for a time, and in 1937 founded the Caxton Press, which published the works of many well-known New Zealand writers of the day (including Glover's own poetry). After a period of service in World War II, he and his friend Charles Brasch founded the literary magazine Landfall, which Caxton began publishing in 1947.
Glover's later years were marred by alcoholism, forcing him to resign from Caxton Press and subsequent roles, and affecting his personal life. After a move to Wellington with a new partner, he continued to work as a copywriter, publisher and teacher, and amongst other things served as a member of the New Zealand Literary Fund Advisory Committee from 1955 to 1958 and as president of the Friends of the Turnbull Library from 1963 to 1965. In the mid-1970s he was awarded an honorary doctorate of literature from Victoria University of Wellington. During his life he published many poetry collections and other works; one of his best-known poems is "The Magpies" (1941).