Review: Glyn Maxwell on Edward Lear

Glyn Maxwell, author of many books of poems for grown-ups, as well as plays in verse and opera libretti and books about writing poetry, looks back on encountering the work of Edward Lear, he of the owl and pussy-cat.

The first lines of poetry that struck me, a little boy lost in the library of an old house, struck me from both sides, like two assailants.…