William Henry Davies. Welsh author, poet, writer, and tramp. This is the story of our underdog W. H. Davies. A tramp, but no ordinary tramp. A beloved gentleman rose from delinquent to Super Tramp to poet and loved the deep and lyrical. As a self-proclaimed tramp poet, we remember him beyond his time.
William Henry Davies–The Tramp Poet
William Henry Davies is a well-known poet and author, born in a busy port in the Pillgwenlly district of Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales, on the 3rd of July 1871. Famous for his lyrical poetry about begging, nature, and his life as a creative Super Tramp. He spent most of his life as a self-proclaimed tramp or drifter. During his life, he travelled between the United Kingdom and the United States. The “tramp poet”, is a popular poet of our time. Describing himself as “poet, writer and a tramp, he defined his literary sensibilities, along with his fame. Much like Mr Davies, we have an inspired and rare appreciation for the common, which we use in our flavours of nature and Wales. With our premium distilled Welsh spirits, we pay tribute to our super tramp and lovable rogue while embracing the wonders of nature as he did.
The Life of a Drifter, Tramp, and Renown Poet.
An itinerant drifter on two continents, William Henry Davies was a wild man who surrendered to the discomforts of life on rail and road. Davies’ education, which sparked his interest in poetry. On completing his apprenticeship as a carver and gilder, he travelled in U.S.A. and Canada but lost his foot in a train accident in 1899. Shortly after this, he returned to the United Kingdom to succeed as a poet. He published his first book, The Soul’s Destroyer and Other Poems, in March 1905. By 1911 he had written eight books. For his vagabond poetry, he was the recipient of a Civil List pension and awarded the honorary degree of D. Litt. By the University of Wales. William Henry Davies died in Nailsworth in Gloucestershire on the in 1940, after writing fifty books.
Why We Chose William Henry Davies as Our Lovable Rogue?
W. H. Davies’ work is about his life where he elevated the mundane into an art form. Written in a natural to read style, also known as Defoe in the poetry world. As a master of English lyrics, we remembered him for his writing about nature, love, and his days as a wander as a poet. His poems compare favourably with the finest lyrics of the English language. His most popular works include The Complete Poems of W. H. Davies, 1944, and the Autobiography of a Super-Tramp, Beggars, and Later Days. This book inspired rock band Supertramp’s name.
His philosophy and approach to life were simple, become a slave to your craft. Like many authors of his time, William Henry Davies lived a wild, yet unprofitable life. He gave off the impression of being a lazy tramp, but he wrote fifty books and was a slave to writing. His approach was to choose his life tasks, finding joy in believing the finest life on earth was to choose a life you love. His poetry and writing was his ideal work, which is how he encapsulated happiness. For us, this happiness is distilling the finest spirits. We have incorporated his words on the bottlenecks of our signature release Welsh spirits. These include our Steeltown range of Welsh Dry Gin and Steeltown Welsh Vodka and our Dragon’s Breath signature release Spiced Rum.
Watch this video from Poetry Reincarnations to find out more about W. H. Davies philosophy towards life. It includes a reading animation of his poem Leisure which is found on our Steeltown range of Welsh Dry Gin and Welsh Vodka.
Steeltown Contemporary Welsh Spirits
Practical everyday spirits that focus on the taste inspired by the industry and fruity florals from the region. Our range includes the contemporary Steeltown Welsh Dry Gin with sweet floral characteristics accompanied by flavour bursts of citrus and a hint of menthol spice. Our Steeltown Welsh Vodka is contemporary and complex with delicate citrus and pepper tones that are bright and full of character with a hint of black pepper. Find out more about our contemporary style Steeltown Gin with citrus sweetness or brighten up your palette with our blended Steeltown Vodka. Inspired by the industry of Newport, South Wales and our lovable rogue William Henry Davies.
Dragon’s Breath Speciality Welsh Spirits
Dragon’s Breath is an oak-aged premium speciality spirit that captures the spicy fire of the dragon. This range features lightly spiced rum and spirits infused with cinnamon and vanilla with undertones of caramel. Light and fruity with sweet spice, woody notes, and black pepper. Try our Dragon’s Breath Spiced Rum today and ignite the Welsh within, just like William Henry Davies.
Spend the evening with us at our virtual tasting on the 18th of June 2021.
Join us at the Spirit of Wales Virtual Tasting Event where we celebrate the life of William Henry Davies and the fiery passion of the Welsh. We say cheers to the industries that raised him and the nature that captured his imagination to bring you The Spirit of Wales. Discover the Spirit of Wales and celebrate all things Welsh with us as we take you on a tour of our distillery and then play a fun quiz with great prizes up for grabs. Join us at the Spirit of Wales Distillery as we say iechyd da to our lovable rogue. A great destination to discover our Welsh spirits that embody a rich cultural heritage with our premium distilled Welsh spirits and Fever-Tree mixer and tonic pairings.
The four tastings include:
- Our second signature release from the Steeltown range, a contemporary Welsh Vodka with Fever-Tree Mexican Lime Soda
- Our first signature release from the Steeltown range, a contemporary Welsh Dry Gin with Fever-Tree Mediterranean Tonic Water.
- The first signature release from the Dragon’s Breath range, a speciality Welsh Spiced Rum Fever-Tree Madagascan Cola.
- The last release of the Spirit of Wales Distillery Release Collection, a Welsh Blueberry Gin with Fever-Tree Aromatic Tonic Water.
We limit this experience to 20 attendees, so get hold of your friends and book as a group, couple, or individual participants around the UK.
We look forward to meeting you and sharing our Welsh passion and spirit of William Henry Davies.