The wanderer and other poems

the long version

It's of interest to me because I am following up a reference to the poem "The Building of The City" that I came across in "The Garden City Utopia - a critical Biography of Ebenezer Howard" by Robert Beevers - Macmillan press - 1988 page 119. According to Beevers it was put to music by Rutland Boughton, who was apparently known for his composing of "The Immortal Hour". As part of a BA in Fine Art I am writing a dissertation on the utopian vision of Ebenezer Howard, the founder of Letchworth Garden City. The poem is certainly relevant as it relates to the circumstances and the excited spirit that must have been present in the enthusiasts who supported this project, many of whom became first citizens of Letchworth Garden City (founded 1906, and now close to target size of population 30 000). Howard was inspired to design his 'generic' Garden City by the apauling squalor that he observed in London slums towards the end of the ninteenth century. The industrial revolution had caused a population shift from the countryside to the cities. Not only did this result in pockets of poverty in cities, it also left uneconomic units in rural areas. Taking the best that city life had to offer and the best of country life was the essence of Howard's vision. Prudently he worked on this for several years, carefully considering the works of numerous sociological and economic experts. The brilliance of his final formula was the way he put together the theories of those he most respected. He was a spiritual man, of Christian background, a true altruist and a non-Marxist socialist. He strongly advocated a community in which there was co-operative ownership. This was the first town to be built from scratch in modern England and there is little doubt of its success.