James Blair Leishman was born on 8 May 1902. He was educated at Rydal School and St John's College, Oxford. He was Assistant Lecturer, Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in English Literature at University College Southampton from 1928 to 1946 and Lecturer in English Literature at Oxford University from 1946 until his death on 14 August 1963. Publications: The metaphysical poets: Donne, Herbert, Vaughan, Traherne, (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1934); The monarch of wit: an analytical and comparative study of the poetry of John Donne, (London: Hutchinson, 1951); Selected poems of Friedrich Hölderlin; the German text, translated with an introduction and notes by J.B. Leishman, (London, Hogarth Press, 1954); Poems 1906 To 1926 / Rainer Maria Rilke Translated By J.B. Leishman, (London, Hogarth Press, 1957); Selected works / by Rainer Maria Rilke, Vol. 2 Poetry translated by J.B. Leishman, (London, Hogarth Press, 1960); Themes and variations in Shakespeares sonnets, (London, Hutchinson, 1961); Duino Elegies: the German text / Rainer Maria Rilke; with an English translation, introduction and commentary by J.B. Leishman & Stephen Spender, (London, Hogarth Press, 1963); The art of Marvell's poetry, (London, Hutchinson, 1968).