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The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp

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description The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp Overview

The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp is a 1908 memoir by Welsh poet W. H. Davies, with a preface by George Bernard Shaw. Davies recounts his years traveling as a vagrant in Britain, Canada, and the United States, describing casual labor, freight hopping, begging, imprisonment, and the loss of a leg in an accident.

The book provides a firsthand literary account of itinerant life around the turn of the twentieth century and is intended for readers of autobiography, social history, and travel writing.

help The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp FAQ

Did George Bernard Shaw really write the preface to The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp?

Yes, George Bernard Shaw wrote the preface to W. H. Davies's 1908 memoir. Shaw was instrumental in helping Davies get the book published after reading his poetry.

How did W. H. Davies lose his leg, and is it described in The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp?

Davies lost part of his right leg after being struck by a train while attempting to hop a freight in Canada. The accident is one of the central events recounted in the memoir and ended his years of riding the rails.

Is The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp connected to the Supertramp rock band?

Yes, the British rock band Supertramp took their name from Davies's book. The memoir's title gave the band its name when they formed in 1969.

What countries does Davies travel through in The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp?

Davies recounts his wanderings across Britain, Canada, and the United States during the 1890s. He describes begging, casual labor, spells in jail, and freight-hopping across all three countries.

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