Henry Reed (poet)

Henry Reed (February 22, 1914 - December 8, 1986) was a British poet, translator, radio dramatist and journalist.

He was born in Birmingham and educated at a local grammar school, followed by Birmingham University. At university he associated with W. H. Auden, Louis MacNeice and Walter Allen. He went on to study for an MA and then worked as a teacher and journalist. He was called up to the Army in 1941, spending most of the war as a Japanese translator. Post-war he worked for the BBC as a radio broadcaster and playwright, where his most memorable set of productions was the Hilda Tablet series in the 1960s.

His most famous poem is Naming of Parts, a witty parody of army basic training. Published in A Map of Verona in 1946, it was his only collection to be published within his lifetime.