Ernest Dowson and the ages of woman

The writer Ernest Dowson (1867–1900) was a lover of young girls, his deep feelings for them are expressed in several of his poems, notably those that I published from his three collections Poésie Schublade, Verses, and Decorations. More insight can be gained from his correspondence, namely The Letters of Ernest Dowson edited by Desmond Flower and Henry Maas, and New Letters from Ernest Dowson edited Desmond Flower. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

Le Panneau, by Oscar Wilde

Woman with little girl, Mankayen Garden
Woman with little girl, Mankayen Garden (c.1890)

Under the title “Fantaisies Décoratives,” Oscar Wilde published in Lady’s Pictorial, Christmas Number 1887, two poems: “Le Panneau” and “Les Ballons.” In a letter to the illustrator John Bernard Partridge, postmarked September 24, 1887, he wrote that the poem “Le Panneau” is “a suggestion for a design for a Japanese panel” and that “the girl under the rose tree is Japanese.” CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

One year of love and poetry

Dick Whittington - Dancing pupils, Southern California
Dick Whittington – Dancing pupils, Southern California (1926) – from historyinphotos.blogspot.fr

Possibly there are some readers who, every three days at 6 p.m. Paris time, visit this site in order to read a new post. Today they will find an unusual one, similar to another one that appeared exactly six months ago, as it is not devoted to presenting a writer or a poem.

Poets and Lovers is alive since one year. The database was created on March 17, 2019, then it got its domain name on the 20th. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

Requiescat, Oscar Wilde’s tribute to his sister Isola

An envelope containing strands of Isola Wilde's hair, found among Oscar Wilde's possessions when he died
An envelope containing strands of Isola Wilde’s hair, found among Oscar Wilde’s possessions when he died – Photograph: Merlin Holland Picture Archive

Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde was born on October 16, 1854 in Dublin, the second son of William Robert Wills Wilde, a famous otolaryngologist and ophthalmologist, and Jane Francesca Agnes Elgee, a poet and supporter of the Irish nationalist movement. His mother wanted a daughter, and as a toddler, Oscar was raised and clothed as a little girl. The feminine and intellectual way in which she educated him must have contributed to his sensitive and aesthetic temperament, quite opposed to that of his father. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…