Why did his position of Professor of Poetry at Oxford University come so late in his life?
Blunden was elected Professor of Poetry in 1966 aged 70. He had accepted a nomination to stand in 1951, but withdrew when he discovered that Cecil Day Lewis was also a candidate. The opportunity arose again in 1956 but he declined when he found out that W.H Auden was the other nominee. In 1966 Robert Graves resigned his position, the only other candidate was an American poet Robert Lowell so Blunden was persuaded (against his better judgement) to stand. There followed a huge campaign between the two men, bringing the contest much more into the public eye. Ladbrokes odds were 5-4 against Blunden winning, the local and national press followed both campaigns and Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton (in Oxford for a production of Doctor Faustus) both publicly supported Blunden. The final count was 241 votes to Lowell and 477 to Blunden, the highest poll and largest majority ever recorded. So, Blunden finally took up this most prestigious position but in terms of his health and mental alertn
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