The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp

Book excerpt: What is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare?' (LEISURE BY W.H. DAVIES) Loneliness and criminality determined William Henry Davies’ childhood and teenage-years. At the age of 22 he decided to leave Wales for America to chance his luck abroad. But getting there was not as easy as expected. At that point in time, he became a tramp. In his best-known work THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A SUPER-TRAMP, Davies tells the story of his lifetime. He explains in a very intimate and touching way what it is like to grow up in Great Britain at the end of the 19th century. Furthermore, he describes how he felt during his vagabond life and what made him settle back in the UK. After all, Davies develops into the most popular poet of his time.