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…

Aubade, par Émile Blémont

Zinaida Serebriakova - Sleeping girl in the blue
Zinaida Serebriakova – Sleeping girl in the blue (Katyusha on a blanket) ( 1923) – provient de Pigtails in Paint

Voici mon troisième choix dans Les matins d’or et les nuits bleues, la première partie du recueil Les pommiers en fleur : idylles de France et de Normandie (1891). Le poète tente d’éveiller son aimée qui se complaît dans le sommeil, il la gronde comme une enfant. Il l’invite à l’accompagner dans les bois pour y célébrer leur amour. 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…

Katharine Bradley’s first love poems for Edith Cooper

Katharine Bradley and Edith Cooper
Katharine Bradley and Edith Cooper

The English poet and playwright Katharine Harris Bradley was born on October 26 or 27, 1846, the second daughter of Charles Bradley, a tobacco merchant, and Emma Harris. Her father died in 1848. Her elder sister Emma, born in 1835, married John Robert Cooper in 1860. Their first daughter Edith Emma Cooper was born on January 12, 1862. After the birth of her second daughter Amy Katharine in 1865, Emma Cooper became invalid for life. In July 1867, Katharine Bradley and her widowed mother joined the Cooper family, and Katharine took care of the household and her two nieces. Her mother Emma Harris died in 1868, leaving Katharine as legal guardian of Edith and Amy. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

Edge of the World, by Faith No More

Boris Groh - Welcome
Boris Groh – Welcome (2019) – from ArtStation (reduced)

The rock band Faith No More was formed in 1979 in San Francisco, California. It released its third studio album The Real Thing on June 20, 1989. I like its 11th and last track, a funny song titled “Edge of the World,” which was also released as a single in 1991. The band’s lead singer Mike Patton wrote the lyrics, while the the bass player Billy Gould, keyboard player Roddy Bottum and drummer Mike Bordin composed the music. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

Au saut du lit, par Émile Blémont

Jules-Alexis Muenier - Retour du jardin
Jules-Alexis Muenier – Retour du jardin – provient de tuttartpitturasculturapoesiamusica.com

Dans Les matins d’or et les nuits bleues, la première partie du recueil Les pommiers en fleur : idylles de France et de Normandie d’Émile Blémont (1891), j’ai choisi ce beau poème, plein de tendresse, où l’auteur chante l’éveil et l’amour envers sa « petite inspiratrice », avec qui il veut être « comme Dante et Béatrice » et cueillir des fleurs qui ne se faneront jamais. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

Chuck Berry and Little Marie

Publicity photo of Chuck Berry
Publicity photo of Chuck Berry (1957) – from eBay

Chuck Berry released in June 1959 a single on Chess Records, with A-side “Back in the U.S.A.” and B-side “Memphis, Tennessee.” In that song, he is speaking to a long-distance telephone operator, asking to find the number of a girl named Marie who tried to phone him from Memphis, Tennessee. He explains that they were separated by her mother who “did not agree / And tore apart our happy home in Memphis, Tennessee.” He finally reveals that Mary is aged six. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…