poetry

30d

Computer’s First Christmas Card: a Poetry/Coding workshop
4 December, Mitchell Library, Glasgow – free

Inspired by Edwin Morgan’s poem ‘The Computer’s First Christmas Card’, attendees at this Poetry/Coding workshop will code a festive poem & leave with a handmade Christmas card! There will also be a chance to see some items from the Edwin Morgan collection.

No experience of coding or creative writing necessary.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/computers-first-christmas-card-a-poetrycoding-workshop-tickets-1969671946815

#Scottish #literature #Glasgow #poetry #coding #writing

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1y

"If the fifteenth century discovered America to the Old World, the nineteenth is discovering woman to herself."
"Woman's Political Future" Speech

American writer Frances Ellen Watkins Harper was born #OTD in 1825.

She was an abolitionist, suffragist, poet, teacher, public speaker, and writer, one of the first African American women to be published in the United States.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Ellen_Watkins_Harper

Books by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/345

#books #literature #poetry

Portrait of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper.

In: Women of distinction : remarkable in works and invincible in character
Year: 1893
https://archive.org/details/womenofdistincti00scru/page/n40/mode/1up?view=theater

Harper is dressed in modest, formal clothing, typical of the period. Her attire reflects her professional status and her role as a speaker and activist. She is shown in a high-necked dress with simple accessories, emphasizing her seriousness and professionalism.

Harper is often portrayed with a straight, upright posture, which adds to her aura of authority and poise.

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30d

The night tinkles like ice in glasses.
Leaves are glued to the pavement with frost.
The brown air fumes at the shop windows,
Tries the doors, and sidles past…

—Norman MacCaig, “November night, Edinburgh”
published in The Poems of Norman MacCaig (Birlinn, 2011)

https://birlinn.co.uk/product/the-poems-of-norman-maccaig/

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #20thcentury #November #winter #Edinburgh #normanmacCaig

Norman MacCaig
November night, Edinburgh

The night tinkles like ice in glasses.
Leaves are glued to the pavement with frost.
The brown air fumes at the shop windows,
Tries the doors, and sidles past.

I gulp down winter raw. The heady
Darkness swirls with tenements.
In a brown fuzz of cottonwool
Lamps fade up crags, die into pits.

Frost in my lungs is harsh as leaves
Scraped up on paths. – I look up, there,
A high roof sails, at the mast-head
Fluttering a grey and ragged star.

The world’s a bear shrugged in his den.
It’s snug and close in the snoring night.
And outside like chrysanthemums
The fog unfolds its bitter scent.

Edited 30d ago

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1y

Italian poet, writer, and philosopher Dante Alighieri died #OTD in 1321.

Dante is known for establishing the use of the vernacular in literature at a time when most poetry was written in Latin, which was accessible only to educated readers. His use of the Florentine dialect for works such as The New Life and Divine Comedy helped establish the modern-day standardized Italian language.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dante_Alighieri

Books by Dante Alighieri at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/507

#books #literature #poetry

Andrea del Castagno, Dante Alighieri, ne Ciclo degli uomini e donne illustri, affresco, tra il 1448 e il 1451, Galleria degli Uffizi, Firenze

The painting of Dante Alighieri by Andrea del Castagno, part of the Ciclo degli uomini e donne illustri (Cycle of Famous Men and Women), is a fresco created between 1448 and 1451. It is housed in the Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence. The portrait honors Dante as one of the most prominent literary figures in Italian history.

In this fresco, Dante is depicted as a tall, solemn figure, wearing a traditional red robe with a matching cap (a zucchetto), which was associated with scholars and intellectuals. The red color symbolizes Dante's prominence and the honor bestowed upon him in Florence's cultural history.

Dante’s face is dignified and contemplative, reflecting his status as a thinker and poet. His face is slightly turned to the side, emphasizing his prominent nose and thoughtful gaze.

He is shown standing in a stately posture, holding a book in his hand, most likely representing The Divine Comedy. The book signifies his contribution to literature and his intellectual achievements.

Botticelli’s "The Map of Hell" is a detailed and dramatic representation of Dante’s Inferno.
The painting is structured around a massive funnel or pit, which spirals downward toward the Earth’s core. These circles narrow as they descend, representing Dante’s journey through Hell, where the severity of sin increases the deeper one goes. Each ring or layer corresponds to a specific category of sin, following the structure Dante outlined in Inferno.
The first circle represents Limbo, where virtuous non-Christians and unbaptized souls reside in a less tormented, shadowy existence.
The second circle shows those punished for lust, buffeted by strong winds.
The third circle depicts gluttons suffering in a filthy, icy slush.
The fourth circle portrays the misers and spendthrifts, forced to push heavy weights against one another.
The fifth circle illustrates the wrathful fighting each other in the River Styx, while the sullen are submerged beneath it.
The sixth circle shows heretics trapped in flaming tombs.
The seventh circle is divided into three sub-circles, where violent sinners are punished, including those who commit violence against others, against themselves, and against God.
The eighth circle depicts the fraudsters suffering in ten ditches, each with a unique punishment based on the type of fraud.
The ninth and final circle is the frozen lake of Cocytus, where traitors are encased in ice, and Lucifer himself resides at the center, holding the ultimate traitors in his jaws.

Illustration for Paradiso (of The Divine Comedy) by Gustave Doré.

The illustration of Paradiso from The Divine Comedy by Gustave Doré is a breathtaking and ethereal portrayal of Dante's ascent into Heaven. Doré’s illustrations for The Divine Comedy, completed in the 19th century, are renowned for their dramatic use of light and shadow, as well as their grand, visionary style. His illustrations for Paradiso stand out for their portrayal of divine beauty, light, and celestial order.

In typical illustrations of Paradiso, Doré masterfully captures the overwhelming presence of divine light. This light, emanating from the center of the illustration, symbolizes the presence of God. The radiance fills the entire composition, with Dante and Beatrice often depicted as tiny figures in comparison to the vast, celestial brightness. The light represents purity and divine truth, essential themes of Dante's journey through Heaven.

Surrounding the light, Doré often illustrates ranks of angels or blessed souls arranged in celestial circles or spheres. These figures are frequently portrayed in intricate, flowing robes, with wings outstretched, creating a sense of motion and harmony. The angelic beings are shown in concentric circles, as Dante describes in Paradiso, reinforcing the structured, ordered nature of Heaven according to medieval cosmology.

The illustration of Purgatorio, Canto XXX, 60-146 by William Blake, titled Beatrice Addressing Dante, is a vivid and emotional representation of the moment when Beatrice confronts Dante in the Earthly Paradise near the summit of Mount Purgatory. In this scene from Dante’s Purgatorio, Beatrice appears in a triumphal chariot, symbolizing divine grace, to address Dante for the first time, offering him spiritual guidance and chastising him for straying from the path of righteousness.

At the center of the composition is Beatrice, standing in her chariot. She is depicted as a radiant and almost otherworldly figure, with an aura of divine authority. Blake often emphasizes Beatrice’s spiritual purity by portraying her with soft, flowing robes and a serene expression, which contrasts with the darker tones of the surrounding environment. Her posture is commanding but graceful, reflecting her role as a guide and embodiment of divine love.

Below or to the side of Beatrice, Dante is shown kneeling or standing in awe, gazing upward toward Beatrice with a look of intense emotion. His posture and expression reflect a mixture of reverence, penitence, and shock.

The chariot in which Beatrice stands is a key symbol in this illustration, representing divine authority and grace.

Blake’s illustration blends heavenly and earthly elements, reflecting the liminal space of the Earthly Paradise.

Edited 1y ago

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1y

*//

我給你的愛以數量取勝
寫一百封情書
郵費又上漲了呢
我很著急
一筐筐蘋果正在運送而來的路上
到你手上就熟透了吧
或許我還是應該
採摘青澀的那些
不成熟的愛數以萬計

不成熟的愛數以萬計
但我相信
再青澀的都會在你手中漸漸成熟
我的耐心要比路程更長
比宇宙終始更長
當他們把咖啡果實叫做咖啡櫻桃
驚愕之餘，也感到釋懷
請把我也種在山林裡
我會和陽光，和成熟消耗的時間和解

⋯⋯
love letter

#诗 #poem #poetry #2gpoetband

(no description)

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1y

English poet, playwright, critic, Nobel Prize laureate T. S. Eliot was born #OTD in 1888.

Eliot first attracted widespread attention for his poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" from 1914 to 1915, which, at the time of its publication, was considered outlandish. It was followed by The Waste Land, "The Hollow Men", "Ash Wednesday", and Four Quartets. He was awarded the 1948 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Books by T. S. Eliot at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/599

#books #literature #poetry

T. S. Eliot, photographed one Sunday afternoon in 1923 by Lady Ottoline Morrell.

Eliot is captured with a contemplative, somewhat somber expression. His face appears serious and introspective, a mood reflective of his complex, often dark literary themes.

Eliot is dressed formally in a suit, typical of the style of an educated, professional man of the 1920s.

The photograph is relatively straightforward, with Eliot seated in a relaxed but poised manner. The simplicity of the composition focuses attention on Eliot’s face and presence, allowing his personality to take center stage. Lady Morrell's photographic style often emphasized the character of her subjects, and this portrait reflects that approach.

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1y

British artist, writer, poet, playwright, novelist, painter, designer of lamps, and bohemian Mina Loy died #OTD in 1966.

Loy's poetry is known for its non-traditional structure, free verse, and exploration of the female experience, such as Lunar Baedecker (1923). In 1914, while living in an expatriate community in Florence, Italy, Loy wrote her Feminist Manifesto. Loy was also a visual artist, working in painting, sculpture, and design.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mina_Loy#

#books #literature #poetry

Photograph of Mina Loy

Anonymous - Becoming Modern: The Life of Mina Loy (Introduction), carolynburke.com

Loy is typically depicted with a thoughtful, almost enigmatic expression, emphasizing her intellectual and artistic depth. Her gaze often appears direct and intense, conveying her confidence and unconventional spirit.

Loy’s attire tends to reflect her modernist aesthetics—simple yet avant-garde, blending elegance with a rejection of traditional norms.

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1y

*//
《伞的坟墓》

风穴，是城市受到的诅咒
是伞的坟墓，晴天雨天
连同它庇护下的一株野草
也被连根拔起，翻腾
我们卷进夏季的尾声

2024 年 8 月 25 日
#诗 #poem #poetry #2gpoetband

(no description)

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9d

How Robert Frost summoned a classic from life’s timeless moments

Perhaps the most famous work by the US poet Robert Frost, ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’ (1923) exemplifies his style with its vivid scenery and accessibility.

https://aeon.co/videos/how-robert-frost-summoned-a-classic-from-lifes-timeless-moments?utm_source=Aeon+Newsletter&utm_campaign=a5fbf00b6b-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2025_12_08&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-4ef8a26106-72664972

Frost at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/1091

#books #literature #poetry

Robert Frost, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing forward.

From the Library of Congress collection, the image captures the young Frost during the period when he wrote some of his most celebrated poems.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stopping_by_Woods_on_a_Snowy_Evening#/media/File:Robert_Frost,_1910s.jpg

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28d

Skint, baw ragged, poackets ful eh ma
fingers, cannae afford tae burn toast an
it’s November. Christmas is close…

—William Letford, “This is it”
Published in DIRT (Carcanet, 2016)

https://www.carcanet.co.uk/9781784102005/dirt/

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #November

This Is It
by William Letford

Skint, baw ragged, poackets ful eh ma
fingers, cannae afford tae burn toast an
it’s November. Christmas is close. Av been
away bit noo am back an ivery coarner
is a different colour cause am hame an
memories ur painted wae mischief. Am
outside Gregs eatin a macaroni pie an a
busker picks up eez guitar an plugs in eez
amplifier. The sound fae the strings is
like frost. Eez young an the dreams thit
wur boarn in eez bedroom wake me up.
Am watchin people passin an they know
thit eez good bit they don’t want tae look.
They turn thur heeds an tilt thur ears
an jog on. If a hud a spare pound
a wid throw it bit a don’t so a jist listen.
I’d like tae tell um thit this is it, this is
where the hammer hits the stane an sparks
ur made, standin oan a corner in yur hame
toon, an audience eh one radge eatin a
macaroni pie, bit singin, wee man, yur singin.

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25d

I would like to tell her not to wear such flimsy shoes,
that rubble contains the whole spectrum of knowable
and unknowable dangers…

—Marjorie Lotfi, “Picture of Girl and Small Boy (Burij, Gaza, 2014)”
published in THE WRONG PERSON TO ASK (Bloodaxe Books, 2023)

https://www.un.org/en/observances/international-day-of-solidarity-with-the-palestinian-people

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #Gaza #Palestine #PalestineSolidarity

Picture of Girl and Small Boy (Burij, Gaza, 2014)
Marjorie Lotfi

I would like to tell her not to wear such flimsy shoes,
that rubble contains the whole spectrum of knowable
and unknowable dangers: sheets of metal ripped
to knife edge, live wires, bloated arms reaching

for light. Her hair, scraped back into a ponytail,
is open to sky; remnants of buildings filter down
one concrete chunk at a time, and the midday bells
of rockets ring out above her. She carries a boy

on her still narrow hips, his legs entwined around
her yellow dungarees. Like a rodeo rider, his left arm
grips her shoulder to steady himself, or her,
while his torso reels back and away; his body

is asking to slow down, to turn back. Instead,
her eyes comb the ground for a next step, fingers
of her free hand curled into a claw, as if
to frighten off what she somehow sees ahead.

A Palestinian girl carries a child across rubble from a building that police said was destroyed by an Israeli air strike, in the Burij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, August 1, 2014. REUTERS/Finbarr O'Reilly. Marjorie Lotfi's poem describes the picture in detail:

Picture of Girl and Small Boy (Burij, Gaza, 2014)
Marjorie Lotfi

I would like to tell her not to wear such flimsy shoes,
that rubble contains the whole spectrum of knowable
and unknowable dangers: sheets of metal ripped
to knife edge, live wires, bloated arms reaching

for light. Her hair, scraped back into a ponytail,
is open to sky; remnants of buildings filter down
one concrete chunk at a time, and the midday bells
of rockets ring out above her. She carries a boy

on her still narrow hips, his legs entwined around
her yellow dungarees. Like a rodeo rider, his left arm
grips her shoulder to steady himself, or her,
while his torso reels back and away; his body

is asking to slow down, to turn back. Instead,
her eyes comb the ground for a next step, fingers
of her free hand curled into a claw, as if
to frighten off what she somehow sees ahead.

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13d

“No Extra Words“ – The Scottish Poet Norman MacCaig (1910–1996)
16 Dec, free online

Anette Degott looks at the life & work of Norman MacCaig
via Scotland HUB at Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz

@litstudies

https://www.scotland.uni-mainz.de/reading-scotland/

#Scottish #literature #poetry #20thcentury #NormanMacCaig

Reading Scotland with Anette Degott

“No Extra Words“ – The Scottish Poet Norman MacCaig (1910–1996)

Tuesday, 16th December 2025
6.00–7.30 pm (German time) on MS Teams

www.scotland.uni-mainz.de

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26d

Mirror, mirror on the wall
show me in succession all
my faces, that I may view
and choose which I would like as true…

—“Through the Looking Glass”, by Veronica Forrest-Thomson (1947–1975) – born #OTD, 28 Nov

published in COLLECTED POEMS (Shearsman Books, 2008)

1/3

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/143680/through-the-looking-glass

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #20thcentury #WomenWriters #postmodern

Through the Looking Glass
by Veronica Forrest-Thomson

Mirror, mirror on the wall
show me in succession all
my faces, that I may view
and choose which I would like as true.

Teach me skill to disguise
what’s not pleasing to the eyes,
with faith, that life obeys the rules,
in man or God or football pools.

Always keep me well content
to decorate attitude and event
so that somehow behind the scene
I may believe my actions mean;

that one can exercise control
in playing out a chosen role;
rub clouded glass and then,
at will, write self on it again.

But if, in some unlucky glance,
I should glimpse naked circumstance
in all its nowhere-going-to,
may you crack before I do.

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9d

jollymerry
hollyberry
jollyberry
merryholly
happyjolly
jollyjelly
jellybelly
bellymerry
hollyheppy
jollyMolly
marryJerry
merryHarry
hoppyBarry
heppyJarry
bobbyheppy
berryjorry…

—Edwin Morgan, “The Computer’s First Christmas Card”
first published in THE SECOND LIFE (Edinburgh University Press, 1968)

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #concretepoetry #20thcentury #EdwinMorgan #Christmas #ChristmasCard #computer

(written in bright green text, in a monospaced font on a black background, to emulate an old CRT computer monitor)

The Computer's First Christmas Card
by Edwin Morgan

jollymerry
hollyberry
jollyberry
merryholly
happyjolly
jollyjelly
jellybelly
bellymerry
hollyheppy
jollyMolly
marryJerry
merryHarry
hoppyBarry
heppyJarry
bobbyheppy
berryjorry
jorryjolly
moppyjelly
Mollymerry
Jerryjolly
bellyboppy
jorryhoppy
hollymoppy
Barrymerry
Jarryhappy
happyboppy
boppyjolly
jollymerry
merrymerry
merrymerry
merryChris
ammerryasa
Chrismerry
asMERRYCHR
YSANTHEMUM

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26d

Oot behind a lorry,
Peyin nae heed,
Ablow a doubledecker,
A poor wean deid…

—James Copeland (1918–2002), “Black Friday”

Actor & writer James Gordon Copeland’s much anthologised poem “Black Friday” packs tragedy, compassion, & a sense of close community into nine short verses

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #20thcentury #Glasgow #Scots #Scotslanguage

Black Friday
James Copeland

Oot behind a lorry,
Peyin nae heed,
Ablow a doubledecker,
A poor wean deid.

Perra worn sannies,
Wee durrty knees,
Heh, erra polis,
Stand back please!

Lookit the conductriss.
Face as white as chalk,
Heh, see the driver but
Cannae even talk.

Anyone a witness?
Na, we niver saw.
Glad ah’m no the polis
Goin tae tell its maw.

Weemen windae-hingin
Herts in their mooth,
It’s no oor close, Lizzie
Oh Gawdstrewth!

Screams on the landin,
Twa closes doon,
It’s no wee Hughie!
Poor Nellie Broon.

Phone up the shipyard.
Oh, what a shame!
Yes, we'll inform him,
Please repeat the name.

See Big Hughie,
Jokin wi the squad,
Better knock off, Heug,
Oh dear God.

Whit – no his laddie?
Aw, bloody hell!
D’ye see Hughie’s face but,
He’s just a boy himsel.

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26d

“From Scotland to the World”: The Poetry of Hope Mirrlees, Helen Adam, Muriel Spark, & Veronica Forrest-Thomson
—Dorothy McMillan, HUMANITIES 8/4, 2019

Dorothy McMillan discusses four 20th-century women writers “poised… between Scotland and Modernism”

@litstudies

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/8/4/184

#Scottish #literature #poetry #20thcentury #womenwriters #modernism

Abstract

The four poets that provide the material for this chapter did not know each other and they probably did not know each other’s work. However, they had important formative experiences in common: They were all educated in Scotland and they all left Scotland after that early education. Yet, they all retained special, although different, ties to that country, to its history, and its writing. They were all “modern” in their poetry, sometimes bizarrely so: Of each of them it could be said, “There was no one like her.” This strangeness they also share, as they share a willingness, even desire, to shock, a muddling of contemporary and archaic, of real and legendary. Veronica Forrest-Thomson’s “Hold on to your seat-belt Persephone” is an indicative phrase. I aim to show that these serially inimitable modern writers have complicated and intertwined Scottish and international connections.

Keywords: Scotland; ballads; kaleidoscope; Charles Bernstein; Edwin Morgan

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27d

Hoy Sound Unscrolled
a poetry reading with Heather H. Yeung
9 Dec, Stromness, ticketed

On the 9th anniversary of the creation of her 9-metre-long scroll-poem KENNINGS, Orkney poet Heather Yeung (楊希蒂) launches the book version of her poem/artefact

https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/stromness/stromness-kirk-church-of-scotland/hoy-sound-unscrolled-a-poetry-reading-with-heather-h-yeung/2025-12-09/19:30/t-zozgorv

#Scottish #literature #poetry #Orkney

A piece of paper stained a deep blue, with a more concentrated colour forming waves at the bottom above the paper's white edge. The words

HOY SOUND UNSCROLLED

are printed in white across the top, and spill over the edges of the image. The author's name,

HEATHER H. YEUNG

is printed in white across the bottom.

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27d

So on the bus through late November running
by yellow lights tormented, darkness falling,
the two girls sang for miles and miles together…

—Iain Crichton Smith, “Two Girls Singing”
Published in DEER ON THE HIGH HILLS, ed. by John Greening (Carcanet, 2021)

https://www.carcanet.co.uk/9781800170940/deer-on-the-high-hills/

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #20thcentury #November

Two Girls Singing
by Iain Crichton Smith

It neither was the words nor yet the tune.
Any tune would have done and any words.
Any listener or no listener at all.

As nightingales in rocks or a child crooning
in its own world of strange awakening
or larks for no reason but themselves.

So on the bus through late November running
by yellow lights tormented, darkness falling,
the two girls sang for miles and miles together

and it wasn’t the words or tune. It was the singing.
It was the human sweetness in that yellow,
the unpredicted voices of our kind.

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25d

We ache our
Lives away
While
These mortal
Atoms wait
Patiently
To bloom
Again
In flames.

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24d

The Little White Rose
(To John Gawsworth)

The rose of all the world is not for me.
I want for my part
Only the little white rose of Scotland
That smells sharp and sweet—and breaks the heart.

—Hugh MacDiarmid, “The Little White Rose”

A poem for St Andrew’s Day 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46800/the-little-white-rose

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #20thcentury #Scotland #HughMacDiarmid #StAndrewsDay

A small spray of white Scottish roses, some open, some just beginning to bud. Prickly stems bearing neat, fern-like, dark green foliage carry cupped, single, creamy-white flowers with pale yellow centres.

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1y

"He's not quite blue yet, but that will come, you shall see!"

#OTD in 1908.

Maurice Maeterlinck's L'Oiseau bleu is premièred, at Konstantin Stanislavsky's Moscow Art Theatre.

The French composer Albert Wolff wrote an opera (first performed at the New York Metropolitan Opera in 1919) based on Maeterlinck's original play, and Maeterlinck's inamorata Georgette Leblanc produced a novelization.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blue_Bird_(play)

The Blue Bird at PG:
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/8606

#books #literature #poetry

Alisa Coonen (Mytyl; left) & Sofya Khalyutina (Tyltyl; right) in The Blue Bird of Moscow Art Theatre (1908).

Karl Fischer (Фишер, Карл Андреевич) - http://www.gazeta.lv/story/11970.html

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24d

100 years on, T.S. Eliot’s The Hollow Men is a poem for our populist moment

His 1925 poem "The Hollow Men," published 100 years ago, bridges the nihilism of "The Waste Land" (1922) and his spiritual rebirth, reflecting his evolving faith journey.

by Luke Johnson

https://theconversation.com/100-years-on-t-s-eliots-the-hollow-men-is-a-poem-for-our-populist-moment-269487

Eliot at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/599

#books #literature #poetry

T.S. Eliot with his sister and his cousin

by Lady Ottoline Morrell
vintage snapshot print, 1934

The photograph is a vintage black-and-white snapshot from 1934, taken outdoors in what appears to be a garden or courtyard with tall brick buildings in the background. Three people sit at a table set for tea.

On the left, Eliot in a suit sits facing the camera, hands resting on the table. In the center, Eliot's cousin wearing a dark coat and hat sits slightly turned to the side, holding a cane. On the right, Eliot's sister in a patterned dress looks downward, her expression quiet and reserved.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._S._Eliot#/media/File:Thomas_Stearns_Eliot_by_Lady_Ottoline_Morrell_(1934).jpg

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22d

“Helen Adam marched through her life to the beat of her own drum”
—Kristin Prevallet

Helen Adam (1909–1993) – fey child prodigy (published by Faber & Faber at 14) & daughter of the manse; bardic matriarch of the San Francisco Beats; Worm Queen – was born #OTD, 2 Dec.

A 🎂🧵

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https://caesuramag.org/posts/kristin-prevallet-poems-by-helen-adam

#Scottish #literature #20thcentury #womenwriters #gothic #supernatural #ballads #SanFrancisco #BeatPoets #poetry

Edited 22d ago

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1y

#OTD in 1869.

Model, poet and artist Elizabeth Siddal (d. 1862) is exhumed at Highgate Cemetery in London in order to recover the manuscript of Dante Gabriel Rossetti's Poems buried with her.

Rossetti then published the contents in Poems (1870). These became part of Rossetti's sonnet sequence entitled The House of Life.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Siddal#After_Siddal's_death

The House of Life at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3692

#books #literature #poetry

Dante Gabriel Rossetti Portrait of Elizabeth Siddal 1854

Dante Gabriel Rossetti - Marsh, Jan (1996). The Pre-Raphaelites: Their Lives in Letters and Diaries. London: Collins & Brown

In the portrait, Siddal is shown with her characteristic long, flowing red hair, which became a hallmark of Rossetti's paintings. Her features are soft but marked by a melancholy or introspective expression, reflecting the delicate and enigmatic quality she embodied in much of Rossetti’s work. The artist’s use of line and color accentuates her pale complexion and ethereal beauty, while her elongated neck and serene posture give her an almost otherworldly grace.

Rossetti’s portrayal of Siddal in this piece emphasizes her as an idealized figure of beauty and fragility, embodying the Pre-Raphaelite ideal of the "tragic muse." Siddal was often depicted by Rossetti in this way, reflecting both her personal struggles with illness and her symbolic role in his artistic vision.

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23d

When the day-birds have settled
in their creaking trees,
the doors of the forest open
for the flitting
drift of deer
among the bright croziers
of new ferns
and the legible stars…

—Robin Robertson, “What the Horses See at Night”
published in SAILING THE FOREST: Selected Poems (Picador, 2014)

https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/robin-robertson/sailing-the-forest/9781447231554

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #naturewriting #naturepoetry

What the Horses See at Night
by Robin Robertson

When the day-birds have settled
in their creaking trees,
the doors of the forest open
for the flitting
drift of deer
among the bright croziers
of new ferns
and the legible stars;
foxes stream from the earth;
a tawny owl
frisks the long meadow.
In a slink of river-light,
the mink’s face
is already slippery with yolk,
and the bay’s
tiny islands are drops
of solder
under a drogue moon.
The sea’s a heavy sleeper,
dreaming in and out with a catch
in each breath, and is not disturbed

by that plowt – the first
in a play of herring, a shoal
silvering open
the sheeted black skin of the sea.
Through the starting rain, the moon
skirrs across the sky dragging
torn shreds of cloud behind.
The fox’s call is red
and ribboned
in the snow’s white shadow.
The horses watch the sea climb
and climb and walk
towards them on the hill,
hear the vole
crying under the alder,
our children
breathing slowly in their beds.

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