I give here yet another love poem from Asylum Poems, the fascinating collection of verses that John Clare composed when he was interned in an insane asylum because of his schizophrenic hallucinations. Contrasting with his numerous sentimental poems, this piece is sensuous and wild; behind poetic images—and a silence—hides the poet’s fullness of heat and passion. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
Dowson’s poem Transition was probably first published in the volume Decorations in 1899. According to Desmond Flower, Dowson wrote it on December 26, 1890 (thus a few weeks after Ad Domnulam Suam, of October 19, 1890). In a letter to Arthur Moore dated the same day, he wrote (the misspelling of the name “Carroll” is Dowson’s, not mine): CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
What spirit is so empty and blind, that it cannot recognise the fact that the foot is more noble than the shoe, and skin more beautiful than the garment with which it is clothed?
— Michelangelo
In recent years, Pigtails in Paint suffered repeated attempts at censorship, and Poets and Lovers became a “collateral damage” of these attacks. Today I will discuss the first source of censorship, so-called “child protection” organisations. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
Un roman écrit par un sorcier en 1917 peut guider nos passions. Il n’y a ici aucune fiction. Tout cela est vrai. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
This is probably one of the best-known poems of John Clare. Again, it comes from the collection Asylum Poems that he wrote while he was interned in a lunatic asylum. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
In a recent post, I gave some excerpts of love letters exchanged by Katharine Bradley and Edith Cooper in 1885, the year they celebrated their private marriage. Today, I give two beautiful short quotes from further love letters. Again, they are taken from their complete correspondence edited by Sharon Bickle, and I will refer to these letters by their number in that collection. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
This sweet poem by John Clare comes from his beautiful collection Asylum Poems, written while he was interned in a lunatic asylum. It tells the love he shared with a young girl, and he gives her a lovely name: Mary Littlechild. It probably refers to his first love, Mary Joyce, whom he courted briefly at age 16, until her father put an end to their relation. She remained his ideal of love and beauty, and when he lost reason, Clare believed that Mary Joyce was his true wife. In July 1841, Clare absconded from the asylum and walked 140 km home, intent on returning to Mary. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
Il y a une semaine, j’ai publié le poèmes « La Reine de Mai » provenant du recueil Le Livre d’Heures de l’Amour (1887), à propos d’une reine de mai appelée Claire, qu’il aimait et qui mourut dans son enfance.
Treize ans plus tôt, en 1874, Aicard avait publié chez Alphonse Lemerre le recueil Poèmes de Provence, qui obtint le Prix Montyon de l’Académie française et fit de lui le poète de cette région. On y trouve un poème assez semblable, consacré à son amour d’enfance, morte trop tôt. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
In a post presenting the poem Ad Domnulam Suam by Ernest Dowson, I said that Dowson wrote it in October 1890, and that it was probably inspired by his beloved Adelaide Foltinowicz, then aged twelve years and a half. In it, he expressed his love for a young girl, and at the same time a desire to stop before this love could grow too strong; he also said that the girl would soon grow out of childhood, and this could spell the end of that love. He seemed to be afraid that his love for Adelaide would finally end as she grew into adulthood. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
Il y a un an, j’ai publié un poème de Jean Aicard intitulé « La Reine de Mai », provenant de son recueil de vers La Chanson de l’Enfant. En voici un autre de même titre, de son recueil Le Livre d’Heures de l’Amour. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
