Poets

A war baby, Philippa Lane was born in Chichester, West Sussex, England on March 7,1941. Her only vivid memory of early childhood in South-East England is the sound of Nazi missiles (doodlebugs) cruising overhead en route for the threatened destruction of London. If one were shot down, as occasionally might happen, it could explode horribly close and destroy a part of her beloved countryside instead.

At the age of seven, Philippa was sentenced to a boarding school education. She went to Stone Court in Hastings, as cold as its name implies. She remembers her mother telling her that at her new school, the people who ran it were nuns, adding: “They’re different from you and me.” “What are they? ” asked Philippa. “It doesn’t matter, dear, but they dress differently.” Her first impression was that they were rather large penguins. Philippa vaguely recalls that there were some classrooms with desks and blackboards, but she was so preoccupied with the dilemma of whether the nuns were male, female, or, perhaps, both, her only real recollection are textures, smells, noises, imaginings and fantasies. Also, she remembers being so close with nature exploring every inch of the wonderful grounds, woods and gardens.

She started writing poetry around ten years of age, and her early poetry is closely linked with her relationship with nature. At the age of eleven, junior students were sent to complete their formal education at the senior school, St. Mary’s, run by blue-stoc..