T. E. Hulme
Thomas Ernest Hulme, commonly known as T. E. Hulme, was an influential English poet, philosopher, and essayist born on September 16, 1883, in Endon, Staffordshire. He became a prominent public intellectual during the early 20th century, known for his involvement in various cultural and artistic movements in London prior to World War I. Hulme's academic journey began at Cambridge University, where he studied mathematics before transferring to University College, London, focusing on science while also engaging with philosophy. His experiences in Canada and subsequent studies in Brussels deepened his intellectual pursuits, particularly through the influence of French philosopher Henri Bergson.
Hulme is recognized as a key figure in the Imagist movement, although he published only a limited number of poems. He advocated for a new Classicism in the arts and was critical of lingering Romantic ideals, fostering discussions that included notable figures like Ezra Pound and Wyndham Lewis. His time spent in Germany further shaped his views on the evolution of artistic expression. Despite his military service during World War I, which resulted in his death in September 1917, Hulme's contributions to literature and philosophy continue to resonate, reflecting his commitment to the transformative power of art and critical thought.
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T. E. Hulme
Writer
- Born: September 16, 1883
- Birthplace: Endon, Staffordshire, England
- Died: September 28, 1917
- Place of death: Oost-Duinkerke Bains, the Netherlands
Biography
The poet, philosopher, and essayist Thomas Ernest Hulme was born on September 16, 1883, at Endon, in Staffordshire, England. Always known as T. E. Hulme, he occasionally used journalistic pseudonyms, yet he was among the best-known public intellectuals of his era. In the years preceding World War I, Hulme was at the center of several influential groups of poets, artists, and other notable cultural figures in London.
At the age of nineteen, Hulme entered Cambridge University, where he studied mathematics and became known as a robust and penetrating debater. Before his second year of studies had concluded, however, Hulme was expelled from the university for a misdemeanor that probably originated in a brawl. His next two years were spent studying science at University College, London, but he continued to attend some philosophy lectures at Cambridge.
At age twenty-two, Hulme traveled to Canada, where he remained for eight months supporting himself as a laborer. These months, though little documented, seem to have been formative, especially in his experience of the vast Canadian prairies. Returning home, Hulme soon moved to Brussels in order to improve his French, to learn German, and to study French philosophy. A critical influence upon Hulme at this time were the writings and ideas of the French philosopher Henri Bergson, whom he met in 1907 in Paris. Hulme was later to translate into English one of Bergson’s books.
Returning to England in 1908, Hulme’s interests turned to poetry. Though his verse is widely celebrated and he is credited as a principal source of the Imagist school of poetry, Hulme was not a prolific poet—when five of his short poems were published in 1912, in a magazine, they were whimsically titled “The Complete Poetical Works of T.E. Hulme.” More important to Hulme was promoting role of poetry and the visual arts in a new form of aesthetic consciousness. As a champion of a new Classicism in the arts and a critic of what he deemed an outdated, lingering Romanticism, Hulme set about encouraging among his contemporaries a vigorous philosophical debate on the arts. Notwithstanding his own vehement opinions, through personal warmth as well as breadth of intellect he succeeded in creating legendary meetings of artistic personalities, culminating in a salon during 1910 and 1911 that attracted not just artists and writers but also philosophers and politicians. Among those closely connected to Hulme at this time were the American poet Ezra Pound and the English painter and writer Wyndham Lewis.
Beginning in November, 1912, Hulme spent six months in Germany, where he met the noted art historian Wilhelm Worringer. The German scholar’s influence upon Hulme was considerable, and served to intensify his notions about the inevitability of radical changes in the arts.
Soon after the beginning of World War I, Hulme joined an artillery company of the British Army and in the spring of 1915 received a bullet wound, but he continued writing for publication. He was killed by a shell on September 28, 1917, near the Belgian town of Nieuwpoort, on the North Sea.