Archives West Finding Aid

Dame Edith Sitwell was born September 7, 1887, in Scarborough, England, the eldest child of Sir George and Lady Ida Sitwell, and sister of Osbert (1892-1969) and Sacheverell (1897- ) Sitwell. She was privately educated. In 1914, she moved to London with her governess Helen Rootham and lived there for the next eighteen years. She resided in London and Paris throughout her life and spent most of her summers at the family estate, Renishaw Hall. For a brief period during World War I she worked as a clerk in a goverment office, after which she diligently pursued a writing career. She was awarded honorary doctorates of literature by the universities of Oxford, Leeds, Durham, and Sheffield. She was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1954 and became a Companion of Literature (awarded by the Royal Society of Literature) in 1963. Dame Edith died in London December 9, 1964. Poet, critic, anthologist, and champion of Modernism, Edith Sitwell entered the English literary world during the 1920s enmeshed in controversy, remaining there for nearly fifty years. Her avant-garde approach to art and fashion, quick-witted repartees, and flamboyant appearance combined to distinguish her as a major writer and eccentric personality. Edith's appearance and highly publicized personal vendettas were largely responsible for her striking image as a high priestess of modern poetry. Nearly six feet tall, she invented her own fashions, donning flowing robes, turbans, and huge aquamarine rings to accentuate her height and large features. Her lightning-quick responses, usually witty and often venomous, invited banter from critics and the press. Her better-known adversaries included D.H. Lawrence, Wyndham Lewis and Noel Coward. Edith was also generous, however, in her support for new, young writers. Dylan Thomas, Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot, and Aldous Huxley greatly benefited from her encouragement and promotional schemes.