I found a delightful book of verse in a quite indirect way. A 13 years old poetess who celebrated the 7th birthday of a little girl led, through an artist who photographed and painted girls aged between 8 and 12, to a poet who loved girls aged 16. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
Tag: love
À Mlle Renée Zilcken, par Paul Verlaine
Philippe Zilcken (1857–1930), peintre et graveur néerlandais, était un ami de Paul Verlaine, dont il fit un portrait. En novembre 1892, Verlaine se rendit à La Haye pour rendre visite à Zilcken et son ami le peintre Jan Toorop. Ce voyage fut relaté dans son texte Quinze jours en Hollande, publié en 1893. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
Curious Child, by Prince
Prince Rogers Nelson (b. June 7, 1958; d. April 21, 2016), known as Prince, was an American artist with multiple talents: singer, songwriter, guitar virtuoso, record producer, dancer, actor, and filmmaker. In some way he represented a dark counterpart of Michael Jackson, and indeed these two contemporary musicians were often rivals.
His 14th studio album (released on October 13, 1992) was titled by a personal “Love Symbol,” and it became his identity, he used it as stage name from June 7, 1993 to May 13, 2000. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
Petite fille, petit amour, petite enfant, par Georges Chelon
Georges Chelon est un auteur, compositeur et chanteur français, né à Marseille le 4 janvier 1943. Sa chanson “Petite fille, petit amour, petite enfant” parut en septembre 1973 sur un simple 45 tours avec “Les grands ensembles” en face B (Disques Meys 10055 ou 128.21, voir ici la pochette). Elle figure également en position 5 de la face B de son LP 33 tours Ouvrez les portes de la vie, également paru en septembre 1973 (Disques Meys 30014 puis 528.202 en 1975, Disques Meys Barclay 45001 au Canada, voir ici la pochette). CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
Toute grâce et toutes nuances, par Paul Verlaine
En 1869, Paul Verlaine rencontre Mathilde Mauté, alors âgée de 16 ans, dont il tombe amoureux. Elle lui inspire les 21 poèmes de sa collection La Bonne Chanson, dont la composition s’échelonne de l’hiver 1869 au printemps 1870, et publiée en 1870 à compte d’auteur chez Alphonse Lemerre. Ils se marient le 11 août 1870. Leur mariage se délitera rapidement, surtout après la liaison de Verlaine avec Arthur Rimbaud. Le couple se sépare en 1874, et Mathilde divorce en 1885, suite à la promulgation d’une loi le permettant. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
Robert Louis Stevenson’s poetic rendition of Martial’s epigrams on Erotion
In a previous post, I presented the three epigrams by the Latin poet Martial (Marcus Valerius Martialis) devoted to Erotion, a little slave girl who died six days before her sixth birthday, and whom he loved tenderly.
The Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) is famous for his novels, such as Treasure Island and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, but also for his travel books. He wrote some poetry, part of which was published posthumously. In particular, he adapted the three epigrams by Martial into poems, of which he kept the manuscripts; they were published more than twenty years after his death. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
So Young, by The Rolling Stones
On June 9, 1978, the Rolling Stones released the album Some Girls, which reached number 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart. The band recorded the album songs, and many more, at EMI’s Pathé Marconi Studios in Paris. Some of these other songs were released later. Among them, the song “So Young” appeared in 1994 as the B-side of a Dutch single. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
Don’t Stand So Close To Me, by The Police
Romances between teachers and their adolescent pupils must be frequent, and indeed they are the topic of many popular songs.
The British rock band The Police released in September 1980 the song “Don’t Stand So Close To Me,” written by their lead singer Sting, as the lead single from their third album Zenyatta Mondatta. It won the 1982 Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. It is about the temptation of a love affair between a schoolgirl and her teacher, “This girl is half his age” and the song alludes to “That book by Nabakov” (I keep the bad spelling). Before joining The Police, Sting had previously worked as an English teacher, and he had noticed 15-year-old girls fancying him. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
L’Heure des enfants, par Jean Aicard
“L’Heure des enfants” est une adaptation française par Jean Aicard du poème “The Children’s Hour” de Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Il fait partie du recueil La Chanson de l’Enfant. Trois petites filles assaillent leur père, lui grimpent dessus pour le couvrir de baisers et de caresses. Il ne peut que capituler sans conditions. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
Young Girl, by Gary Puckett & The Union Gap
Love of men for young girls remains so universal that it finds its way in popular music, despite the immense stigma attached to it by current morality. In the freer atmosphere of the 1960’s, it could be more easily expressed, as in the song “Younger Girl” by John Sebastian. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…