Gerda Mayer

Gerda Mayer was a notable English poet, born in 1927 in Karlovy Vary, Czechoslovakia, to a Jewish family. Her early life took a dramatic turn when, at the age of eleven, she escaped to England from Prague in 1939 on a Kindertransport flight. This pivotal event marked the beginning of her life in a new country, where she would eventually establish herself as a poet. Mayer's introduction to poetry began at a remarkably young age, with her composing her first poem in German at just four years old.

Mayer pursued her education in Dorset and Surrey, and as she grew older, she began to write poetry in English. Her literary career was marked by the publication of several volumes of verse, and her poems were featured in numerous anthologies. Despite her notable body of work, Mayer remained somewhat underappreciated, with poet Carol Ann Duffy noting that she was a fine poet "who should be better known." Mayer passed away in 2021, leaving behind a legacy as a talented and dedicated poet.