E is for Elinor Wylie:
(1885–1928)
Poet & Mother.
I became intrigued with Elinor Wylie for two reasons: I was drawn in by the portrait I found (and am using in my E is for Elinor art) and the reality that she became shunned by others due to her consistent seeking after romance, even when it wasn’t always the wisest choice. She was so atypical of the time, I wanted to know more.
She was from a prominent but psychologically unstable family. This quote of hers says more about what she received from her lineage: "I am better able to imagine hell than heaven; it is my inheritance, I suppose."
I am naturally attracted to those who are pushed out of any circle of friends or associates. Perhaps it is because I perpetually think I am the verge of being shoved from my nest-of-loved-ones or maybe it just sends a bell ringing in my intellectual curiosity. “Find out more!” my spirit urges. In this case, I am so thankful I did!
She was a popular poet of her day, known for her beauty as much as her work. She was generous and passionate and wrote novels as well as poetry.
She was also a mother: when her eldest son was three, she left him in the care of his father, her first husband Philip Hichborn. She tried later to have more children. She lost one child who lived for six days due to prematurity and another to stillbirth. There were miscarriages. In 1916, after these losses, she began her life in literary circles in New York.
She was a friend and contemporary of Edna St. Vincent Millay, who won an award but refused to accept it because Elinor was not allowed to be in the group due to her personal affairs. I am not saying personal affairs are good here, it is reality of a double standard that survives even now.
One of my happiest moments of research came when I randomly ordered a copy of her 1928 collection Trivial Breath. The scent of her time met my face in a moment of pure joy. Ah, yes. Elinor Wylie: like her “I love bright words, words up and singing early.”
She died, beloved. She turned to dust and became abhorred and judged. My prayer is she rises again in her words and our hearts.
Julie Jordan Scott has been a Life & Creativity Coach, Writer, Facilitator and Teleclass Leader since 1999. She is also an award winning Actor, Director, Artist and Mother Extraordinaire. She was twice the StoryTelling Slam champion in Bakersfield. She teaches a teleclass/ecourse "Discover the Power of Writing & Telling Engaging, Enlightening Stories" which begins again April 19, 2012. Find details by clicking this link.
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