Today I present a mysterious poem from Hips & haws. The poet does not dare to go into the moonlight, fearing some unspecified “infinite thing” that could “enwrap” him. The title mentions two virgins, but the text tells only about one, Diana, the virgin goddess of the hunt, the moon, and nature in Roman mythology. There seem to be hidden things or people, Diana “cannot hear them though she stands whitely among them,” and “she has no fear.” CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
Category: Poetry
Marjory Fleming and Isabella
Marjory Fleming’s cousin Isabella Keith, a young woman in her early twenties, was in charge of her education from the end of 1809 to the summer of 1811. She showed herself an affectionate and careful teacher, always patient despite Marjory’s unruly behaviour and frequent bursts of anger. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
A love sonnet by a reader
In my previous blog Agapeta, I devoted several posts to poems written by my readers, that is, people who liked my posts, commented on them, or subscribed to the blog. Among these poems, my favourite was written by one of my earliest readers, and it appeared in April 2014. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
The Bride, by Alfred Edgar Coppard
I present today my second selection from Coppard’s 1922 collection of verses, Hips & haws. A beautiful love poem, full of mystery and secret sensuality, where amorous passion hides behind music, honey and the beauty of nature … indeed, the bride is mute and invisible. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
Petite morte, par Gérard d’Houville (Marie de Heredia)
Marie Louise Antoinette de Heredia, la deuxième des trois filles de l’homme de lettres d’origine cubaine José-Maria de Heredia, naquit le 20 décembre 1875 à Paris. Elle épousa Henri de Régnier, puis devient la maîtresse de Pierre Louÿs, tous deux poètes et romanciers. Sous le nom de plume Gérard d’Houville, elle est l’auteure de romans et de poésies. Elle mourut le 6 février 1963 à Suresnes. Elle est enterrée au cimetière du Père-Lachaise. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
Marjory Fleming’s love of “well made Bucks”
Marjory Fleming was not a really beautiful girl. In her first journal of spring and summer 1810 (when she was 7 years old), she wrote:
—I am very strong & robust & not of the delicate sex nor of the fair but of the deficient in look People who are deficient in looks can make up for it by virtue.
In a letter to Marjory’s sister Isabella, dated April 1, 1811, her cousin Isabella Keith wrote: CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
Asmodel, by Aleister Crowley
This is a beautiful and strange poem about a loved girl who seems to come from an outer world, maybe from dreams, or from a star, a spiritual bride descending on the bed of the desiring poet, and their mystical union mixes extasy with agony. Both erotic and esoteric, full of hidden meanings, these verses are difficult to interpret. The 1905 edition of the poem states that the title means: ‘One of the “Intelligences” of the Planet Venus.’ CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
Marjory Fleming’s journals
Marjory Fleming was a Scottish child of the early 19th century, who died of meningitis one month before her ninth birthday and got posthumous fame from her writings: three journals, several poems and letters. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
Lettre de Minou Drouet à sa mère
Quand René Julliard fit paraître en septembre 1955 une plaquette hors commerce comprenant une sélection de poèmes et de lettres de Minou Drouet, une virulente polémique agita la presse pendant plusieurs mois, principalement sur leur authenticité ; nombreux affirmèrent qu’une enfant de 8 ans ne pouvait pas écrire avec autant de brio et d’intelligence. Plusieurs journaux (dont Elle) affirmèrent qu’il s’agissait d’une imposture, que sa mère (adoptive) était le réel auteur de ces textes. Cette controverse, en particulier ces accusations, heurtèrent profondément Minou. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
Song III, by Eric Stenbock
Myrtle, Rue and Cypress (subtitled A Book of Poems, Songs, and Sonnets), Stenbock’s second collection of verses, was published by Hatchards (Picadilly, London) in 1883, and reprinted by Hermitage Books in 1992. This latter edition was digitised for Internet Archive. In 2018, S N Books World (Delhi, India) reprinted it. As with other cheap Indian reprints, the page layout is faulty, with odd-numbered pages on the left and even-numbered pages on the right. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…