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Divining the Witch of York: Propaganda and Prophecy

- October 24, 2018 in apocalypse, Culture & History, English Civil War, Featured Articles, henry viii, mother shipton, occult, poetry, predictions of the end of the world, propaganda, prophecies, prophecy, Religion, Myth & Legend, witch of york, witches

Said to be spawn of the devil himself and possessed with great powers of prophetic insight, Mother Shipton was Yorkshire's answer to Nostradamus. Ed Simon looks into how, regardless of whether this prophetess witch actually existed or not, the legend of Mother Shipton has wielded great power for centuries — from the turmoil of Tudor courts, through the frictions of civil war, to the spectre of Victorian apocalypse.

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Eric, Count Stenbock: A Catch Of A Ghost

- September 12, 2018 in Books, count stenbock, decadence, decadent movement, eric stenbock, estonia, estonian writers, Featured Articles, gay writers, Literature, occult, occultism, oscar wilde, poetry, w. b. yeats

With his extravagant dress, entourage of exotic pets, and morbid fascinations, Count Stenbock is considered one of the greatest exemplars of the Decadent movement. David Tibet on the enigmatic writer’s short and curious life.

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The Poetry of Victorian Science

- July 26, 2018 in poetry, robert hunt, Science & Medicine, the poetry of science, victorian, victorian england, victorian science

In 1848, the mineralogist, pioneer of photography, and questionable poet Robert Hunt published The Poetry of Science, a hugely ambitious work that aimed to offer a survey of scientific knowledge while also communicating the metaphysical, moral, and aesthetic aspects of science to the general reader. Gregory Tate explores what the book can teach us about Victorian desires to reconcile the languages of poetry and science.

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Lofty Only in Sound: Crossed Wires and Community in 19th-Century Dreams

- April 5, 2017 in civil war, Culture & History, dream, dreams, Featured Articles, paranormal, poetry, psychology, Science & Medicine, telepathy, us civil war

Alicia Puglionesi on a curious case of supposed dream telepathy at the end of the US Civil War, and the important role dreams played in how a traumatised nation responded to the conflict.

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The Friendship Book of Anne Wagner (1795-1834)

- February 3, 2016 in friendship, friendship book, poetry, shelley

Pages from a friendship book of Anne Wagner, aunt to the poet Felicia Dorothea Browne, who herself has a number of entries in the album, including wonderful mixed-media collages.

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The Friendship Book of Anne Wagner (1795-1834)

- February 3, 2016 in friendship, friendship book, poetry, shelley

Pages from a friendship book of Anne Wagner, aunt to the poet Felicia Dorothea Browne, who herself has a number of entries in the album, including wonderful mixed-media collages.

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On Oscar Wilde and Plagiarism

- January 13, 2016 in aesthetics, Art & Illustrations, Books, decadence, James McNeill Whistler, oscar wilde, plagiarism, poetry

Celebrated for his innovative wit, Oscar Wilde and the notion of originality are common bedfellows. The pairing, however, is not without its complications. Joseph Bristow and Rebecca N. Mitchell explore the claims of plagiarism that dogged Wilde's career, particularly as regards his relationship with that other great figure of late-19th-century Decadence, the American painter James McNeill Whistler.

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Apollinaire’s Calligrammes (1918)

- October 27, 2015 in Apollinaire, caligram, concrete poetry, first world war, poetry, surrealism, visual poetry, war poets, world war one, ww1

A book of poetry by French writer Guillaume Apollinaire, noted for its use of "caligrams" in which typeface and arrangement of words on the page add to the meaning of the compositions.

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Apollinaire’s Calligrammes (1918)

- October 27, 2015 in Apollinaire, caligram, concrete poetry, first world war, poetry, surrealism, visual poetry, war poets, world war one, ww1

A book of poetry by French writer Guillaume Apollinaire, noted for its use of "caligrams" in which typeface and arrangement of words on the page add to the meaning of the compositions.

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Sex and Science in Robert Thornton’s Temple of Flora

- March 11, 2015 in Art & Illustrations, Books, botanical illustrations, botany, Carl Linnaeus, Erasmus Darwin, Featured Articles, flora, flowers, Painting, poetry, robert thornton, Science & Medicine, sex, temple of flora

Bridal beds, blushing captives, and swollen trunks - Carl Linnaeus' taxonomy of plants heralded a whole new era in 18th-century Europe of plants being spoken of in sexualised terms. Martin Kemp explores how this association between the floral and erotic reached its visual zenith in Robert Thornton's exquisitely illustrated Temple of Flora.

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