The Books in My Life
Miller’s broad account of the writers who formed him, including Powys.
Read our take
The Immortal Bard
by Henry Miller
Miller’s four-page salute to John Cowper Powys: youthful idol, joyful philosopher, daily writer, and proof that age need not diminish imaginative life.
- 1973
- 5
About Henry Miller
The story, briefly
Spoiler-freeThe Immortal Bard is Henry Miller’s very brief tribute to John Cowper Powys. First printed as an essay in A Review of English Literature in January 1963, it recalls Miller’s admiration beginning in his twenties, his later visit to Powys at Corwen, and the strange youthful vitality he found in the aging writer. Village Press issued the essay as a five-page pamphlet in 1973. It should not be confused with Isaac Asimov’s unrelated story of the same title.
The story, in more detail
Miller approaches Powys as a reader whose allegiance survived decades. He praises not only the large novels and Autobiography but the smaller philosophical books in which Powys taught sensual attention and everyday wisdom. The essay’s central image is the old writer at Corwen appearing younger, healthier, and gayer than the lecturer Miller had idolized in youth.
The Morgan Library preserves a proof copy with “H.M. Tribute to Powys” written on its envelope. The British National Bibliography records the Village Press pamphlet, its 1973 London publication, five-page extent, and subject heading for Powys.
Themes and analysis
John Cowper Powys, rather than Shakespeare
The subject of The Immortal Bard is John Cowper Powys, the British novelist, lecturer, and philosophical writer. Miller describes an admiration that began when he was in his twenties and lasted almost fifty years. Hearing Powys lecture preceded their later friendship.
The tribute recalls a visit to Powys at Corwen in Wales. Miller finds the older writer still working every day and corresponding widely despite modest means. The encounter gives his praise a concrete starting point: a person whose way of living appears to confirm what Miller valued in his books.
What Miller admires
Miller singles out Powys’s Autobiography and A Glastonbury Romance, while also valuing the shorter books about how to live. His praise concerns an ability to connect reading with everyday perception. Literature is useful here because it enlarges the experience of being alive.
The essay’s admiration extends beyond human society. Miller describes Powys’s imaginative sympathy with plants, creatures, legends, and invented worlds. That breadth helps explain the word bard: he presents Powys as a maker of imaginative worlds, rather than simply a successful novelist.
Writing style and critical purpose
This is an affectionate tribute, not a balanced survey of Powys’s strengths and weaknesses. Miller makes his own long attachment part of the argument. His personal voice tells readers why Powys matters to him before attempting anything like a general evaluation.
The essay is also short enough to show Miller’s literary enthusiasm in concentrated form. Readers seeking the disagreements and give-and-take of the friendship should turn to Proteus and the Magician. A tribute and an exchange of letters show different sides of the same relationship.
From journal essay to pamphlet
The Immortal Bard first appeared in A Review of English Literature in January 1963. Village Press issued it as a separate pamphlet in London in 1973. Library catalogues describe five pages, while the original journal essay occupies pages twenty-one through twenty-four.
The Morgan Library holds a proof associated with the Henry Miller Literary Society. These different objects document the essay’s circulation; they do not identify several independent works. The unrelated Isaac Asimov story called The Immortal Bard also needs to be kept separate.
Why we recommend it
A lifetime of reading in miniature
Four pages compress nearly fifty years of admiration into a vivid encounter at Corwen.
A bridge to the correspondence
The tribute gives the emotional key to Miller and Powys’s later published letters.
What this book explores
Timeline
1963
The tribute appears in the January issue of A Review of English Literature.
1973
Village Press issues the essay as a five-page pamphlet.
Book editions
- Paperback
- Village Press
- 1973
- 9780950303239
Reader reviews
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Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch
A late book similarly concerned with friendship, philosophy, and sustaining imaginative life.
Read our takeThe Immortal Bard: frequently asked questions
Who is the immortal bard in Henry Miller’s essay?
John Cowper Powys, the British novelist, lecturer, autobiographer, and philosopher Miller had admired since his twenties.
When was the essay first published?
It appeared in A Review of English Literature in January 1963; Village Press issued the pamphlet in 1973.
Is this the Isaac Asimov story?
No. Asimov’s 1954 science-fiction story has the same title but is unrelated.
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References
References
The sources below include the primary text, editions, scholarship, archival materials, and other records that informed this page. They document The Immortal Bard, its publication, and its place in literary history.
1The Immortal Bard
EssaysHenry Miller, 1973Used forThe primary text represented by this page, used for descriptions of the work’s contents and for any quoted passages shown here.
2Henry Miller: The Immortal Bard (1963 essay excerpt)
WebsiteA Review of English Literature / eNotesUsed forWeb source consulted for documented facts and historical context presented on the The Immortal Bard page.
3The Immortal Bard — printed-book record
Official recordThe Morgan Library & MuseumUsed forOfficial record used to verify names, dates, institutional details, or other factual information on this page.
4The Immortal Bard — British National Bibliography record
Official recordOpen British National BibliographyUsed forOfficial record used to verify names, dates, institutional details, or other factual information on this page.
5The Happiest Man Alive: A Biography of Henry Miller
BiographySimon & Schuster, 1991Used forBiographical evidence used to verify chronology, relationships, and historical context connected to The Immortal Bard.
6Henry Miller: A Life
BiographyW. W. Norton, 1991Used forBiographical evidence used to verify chronology, relationships, and historical context connected to The Immortal Bard.
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Why these sources are here
The primary text is the baseline reference for every book page. Additional references document publication history, interpretation, and historical context where that evidence is available.
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