"Telephone Discussion" is precisely what its title implies: a fictitious conversation between an African guy and a white landlord with available lodging. Some of the idioms in the poem indicate that the poem is set in England, most likely in London. One such idiom is "copper-bottomed," which here means having an assured income. The phrase comes from an old method of making copper pots durable by coating them with a mixture of copper and tin. This poem was written by John Donne. Donne was an English metaphysical poet and priest who lived from 1572 to 1631. Donne was born into a wealthy family in Norfolk, England. He was educated at Cambridge University and the Inns of Court in London. During this time, he developed his poetic talent by contributing poems to various publications. He was ordained as a priest in 1600 but was rejected by both the Catholic and Protestant churches because of his ardent support for executing priests who had been involved in the English civil war. Donne then moved to Brussels, Belgium, where he lived for eight years. When he returned to England, he became a member of King Charles I's inner circle and was appointed secretary to Sir Edward Herbert, ambassador to the Holy See. However, Donne soon fell out of favor with the king and was imprisoned twice for writing poems that were viewed as treasonous to the crown.