The Proposals, by Nathalia Crane

Ruth Jonas - "The Proposals"
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…

Nathalia Crane, aged twelve, makes fun of religion

Flor Garduño – Comunión
Flor Garduño – Comunión, Mexico (2000)

In a previous post, I presented “The First Reformer,” the first poem in Saints and Reformers, the fourth part of Lava Lane, and Other Poems, her second volume published in 1925. Then I mentioned three others that explicitly mock religion: “Sunday Morning,” “The Making of a Saint” and “The Edict.” I reproduce them here. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

Jealousy, by Nathalia Crane

Keystone/Getty Images - Chinese schoolchildren
Keystone/Getty Images – Chinese schoolchildren give a demonstration of their military skills in Hanking, where lessons include pre-military exercises using wooden weapons (April 1, 1974)

In this humorous little piece, Nathalia imagines organising a brigade of little girls in charge of watching their fathers and preventing their seduction by beautiful young women. Here Flatbush is a neighbourhood of Brooklyn in New York City. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…