To Monica: After Nine Years, by Francis Thompson

Bertha Wegmann - Portrait of a girl
Bertha Wegmann – Portrait of a girl (1880) – from tuttartpitturasculturapoesiamusica.com

Another poem of Francis Thompson published posthumously. Addressed to Monica Meynell, it alludes to an earlier poem dedicated to her, “The Poppy,” which was probably written in 1891 when the girl was 11 years old. Hence this one can be dated around 1900, written for a 20 years old Monica. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

Sonnets of a Little Girl, I, by Ernest Dowson

Duy Anh Phan (Doak Phan) - Mai Vi
Duy Anh Phan (Doak Phan) – Mai Vi – from flickr

Ernest Dowson wrote around 1885 a series of 7 “Sonnets of a Little Girl,” followed by an 8th called “Epilogue.” In his lifetime, only two were published: the 4th in November 1886 and a modified version of the 8th in November 1896; the latter with the title “A Last Word” is the last poem in verse in his final collection Decorations: in Verse and Prose(1899). CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

They plaited garlands in their time, by Michael Field

Lawrence Alma-Tadema - Spring
Lawrence Alma-Tadema – Spring (1894) – from Wikimedia Commons (reduced)

Throughout their adult life, Katharine Bradley and her niece Edith Cooper lived together as lovers and, under the pen name Michael Field, wrote jointly poetry and drama. One generally assumes that their love started in a Platonic mode when Edith was a teenager, and became sexual when she reached adulthood. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

A Mosaic, by Ernest Dowson

Mosaic of thermal fountain in Czigler Wing, Széchenyi Bath, BudapestMosaic of thermal fountain in Czigler Wing, Széchenyi Bath, Budapest
Zsigmond Vajda and Miksa Róth – Mosaic of thermal fountain in Czigler Wing, Széchenyi Bath, Budapest (1913) – from Wikimedia Commons (cropped)

The English writer Ernest Christopher Dowson (1867–1900) remains famous for his poetry, but he also wrote novels (with Arthur Moore) and short stories, and translated in English several works of French literature. He belonged to the group of writers and artists who called themselves ‘Decadents,’ ‘the movement’ or ‘fin de siècle. With a vague feeling of the decay of civilisation and of its imminent collapse, they rejected Victorian moralism and sentimentality, and strove for the beauty of art for art’s sake. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

Moonchild, by King Crimson

Christian Schloe
Christian Schloe – from tuttartpitturasculturapoesiamusica.com

The English progressive rock band King Crimson was formed in London in 1968. It has undergone numerous formations throughout its history, but its guitarist and founder Robert Fripp has remained its only constant member. Their debut studio album In the Court of the Crimson King (subtitled An Observation by King Crimson) was released on October 10, 1969. It is considered one of the first and most influential progressive rock albums ever released. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

Pet’s Punishment, by Joseph Ashby-Sterry

Angelo Cozzi - Anna
Angelo Cozzi – Anna – from Pigtails in Paint

Although Ashby-Sterry loved girls of various ages, he clearly stated his preference for 16-year-old ones, while he often called younger ones ‘pet.’ This shows that he did not love them in the same manner as older ones, and in some way he considered them as inferior beings. Sometimes, he presented them as little animals. For instance one poem in the collection Boudoir Ballads is titled “Little Chinchilla” (with subtitle “A Symphony in Fur”), and on first reading one wonders whether it is about a girl or a little furry animal; now, a poem in his other collection The Lazy Minstrel, titled “January,” confirms that he writes about a girl: one reads “A merry maiden” and “To Miss Chinchilla you confide, / How proud you are to be her guide.” Another poem in the latter collection, “The Kitten,” explicitly compares a 10-year-old girl to a kitten. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

Hey Little Girl, by Icehouse

Cover of the single "Hey Little Girl" by Icehouse (1982)
Cover of the single “Hey Little Girl” by Icehouse (1982) – from Discogs

The rock band Icehouse was formed in Sydney, Australia, in 1977, with the name Flowers; it changed it to Icehouse in 1981, as an allusion to the old, cold flat in which lived its singer and songwriter Iva Davies. Since 1990, the band is named Iva Davies and Icehouse. It released its second studio album Primitive Man in September 1982. Its 4th track “Hey Little Girl” was released as a single in October 1982, then again in 1983, and a series of re-mixes of the song were released in 1997 and 2002. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…