The Forest Maid, by John Clare

William-Adolphe Bouguereau - Enfant tressant une couronne
William-Adolphe Bouguereau – Enfant tressant une couronne (1874) – from Wikimedia Commons

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…

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Claire, par Jean Aicard

Photographie post mortem
Photographie post mortem – provient de VK

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…

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Growth, by Ernest Dowson

Élisabeth Chaplin - Jeunes filles en jaune
Élisabeth Chaplin – Jeunes filles en jaune (1921)

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…

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Some love letters between Katharine Bradley and Edith Cooper in the year 1885

Katharine Bradley and Edith Cooper
Katharine Bradley and Edith Cooper

Katherine Harris Bradley (1846–1914) and Edith Emma Cooper (1862–1913) had a triple relation: aunt and niece, lovers, and collaborative authors of poetry and drama. Their correspondence has been gathered by Sharon Bickle, and I will refer to their letters by their number in that collection. Many of them express their love in a lyrical way, and this is most striking for the year 1885. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

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Deux enfants au soleil, par Jean Ferrat

Couverture du premier album de Jean Ferrat
Couverture du premier album de Jean Ferrat – provient de Discogs

Jean Ferrat (1930–2010), de son vrai nom Jean Tenenbaum, est un auteur-compositeur-interprète français. Fils d’un immigré juif d’origine Russe déporté puis assassiné en 1942 à Auschwitz, il vécut le reste de la guerre caché d’abord par des militants communistes, puis par sa famille. Ces événements le marquèrent fortement, ce qui se manifestera plus tard par le caractère social et engagé de beaucoup de ses chansons, ainsi que par ses sympathies pour le PCF. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

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Love Lives Beyond the Tomb, by John Clare

Jana Brike
Jana Brike

Today, I present another beautiful little piece from the collection Asylum Poems that John Clare wrote while he was interned in a lunatic asylum. It is a message of hope, he tells us that love is everlasting, it “lives beyond the tomb, the earth, the flowers, and dew,” and it can be found with “the fond, the faithful, young and true.” The genuine heart-love of a young maiden brings the poet eternal happiness. The secret of a fruitful life is a young heart full of love. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

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Plus belle, par Jean Aicard

Sophie Gengembre Anderson - La tourterelle
Sophie Gengembre Anderson – La tourterelle – The Athenaeum

Voici un beau poème d’amour, que j’ai choisi dans Le Livre d’Heures de l’Amour. L’auteur s’adresse à sa bien-aimée, qui reste insensible à ses sentiments et lui semble d’une beauté orgueilleuse. Il l’enjoint de se transformer de bien-aimée en amoureuse, elle en deviendrait plus heureuse, et cela ne pourrait qu’accroître sa beauté. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

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Ad Domnulam Suam, by Ernest Dowson

Pierre-Auguste Renoir - Irène Cahen d’Anvers
Pierre-Auguste Renoir – Irène Cahen d’Anvers (ca.1880) – from Wikimedia Commons

This beautiful poem, whose title means “to his little lady” (or “mistress”), expresses the poet’s love for a young girl, and at the same time a desire to stop before this love could grow too strong. Anyway, the girl will soon leave the “fairy-land” of childhood and grow into adulthood, and this could spell the end of that love’s magic. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

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