J. B. B. Wellington – Mother’s Jewels (1917) – The Royal Photographic Society Collection, Bath, UK
Poets and Lovers, the second version of Agapeta, exists since six months. More precisely, it started at an experimental level on a confidential site on March 17, then it got its current domain name on the 20th. Like Pigtails in Paint, it is hosted by Rainbow Digital Media. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
When a child seems precocious and does things generally regarded as above the capacities of her age, one often wonders what role her parents did play in her achievements. Did she develop her gifts by herself, independently of any adult influence? Or did her parents encourage her talent? Or did they train her intensively like a circus animal in order to artificially create a genius? CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
Frans De Geetere – illustration pour Les Chants de Maldoror (vol. 2, p. 6), Paris, Blanchetière (1927)
Dans l’article « Les Chants de Maldoror, par Isidore Ducasse, Comte de Lautréamont », j’ai présenté cette œuvre déroutante, tournant autour du personnage de Maldoror, anti-héros révolté se déclarant maudit et en guerre contre Dieu et l’humanité. Au fil des pages l’auteur nous livre de façon décousue les pensées et imprécations de cet homme, et occasionnellement ses actions, certaines assez insignifiantes, d’autres spectaculaires, comme collaborer au carnage d’une femelle requin avant de faire l’amour avec elle (Chant 2, strophe 13). CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
Ruth Jonas – illustration for “The Proposals” in Venus Invisible (1928)
In 1928 appeared Nathalia Crane’s fourth collection of poetry, Venus Invisible and Other Poems. Again, the title comes from one of the poems, but in this case not a noteworthy one. In my opinion, the most important work in the book is the long poem “Tadmor,” a strange oriental love tale with dreams and premonitions, ending in mutual worship; it is organised like an opera, alternating story, dialogues and chorus songs. In this book, the 15-year-old author shows her fully adult sophistication, which she had displayed growingly in her previous collections of verses. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
Kate Greenaway – Brother and sister – iamachild.wordpress.com
Minou Drouet se passionnait pour la musique, ses poèmes chantaient en elle. Aussi son premier amour fut Lucette Descaves, son professeur de piano. Mais bientôt elle fit la connaissance d’un garçon de quinze ans, Philippe, amoureux d’elle, qu’elle finit par aimer. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
L’amour réclame l’ivresse. Les nuits rouges se préparent dans les heures vertes, les lèvres des baisers enflammés se sont allumées avec un doux breuvage. Ma lointaine bien-aimée, la magie de la fée verte pourra-t-elle t’amener à moi ? CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
Artist unknown – Hilda Conkling (1920) – from Poems By a Little Girl (via Cadbury Research Library)
As a little girl, Hilda Conkling recited poems to her mother, Grace Hazard Conkling, who wrote them down. She would then, apparently without telling Hilda, publish some of them in journals and periodials, in particular in Poetry: A Magazine of Verse. In the issue of September the 1st, 1919, there is an interesting correspondence about Hilda, then approaching her 9th birthday, her writing and her talent. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…