George Gascoigne

16th-century English poet and courtier

George Gascoigne wrote at a period when the terms of literature itself were being argued over.

The record lists George Gascoigne as 16th-century English poet and courtier.

George Gascoigne was born at Cardington in 1525. His recorded nationality is United Kingdom. He was educated at Trinity College.

Printing had made an author reachable by readers who would never meet them, and vernacular languages were displacing Latin.

He worked as poet, poet lawyer and writer.

The writing is recorded in English.

Books outlive their reviews, and the ones that last are seldom the ones that sold best.

That the work was written from United Kingdom matters: language, censorship and the reach of a publishing industry decide which books travel and which stay local.

George Gascoigne died in 1577, aged 52. The books remain, which is the only durable form a writing life takes.

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