Elinor Wylie, if she is known at all these days, is perhaps given more attention for her colorful personal life than she is given for her literary accomplishments. Born Elinor Morton Hoyt on September 7, 1885, in Sommerville, New Jersey, she came from a prominent Philadelphia family that boasted a number of dignitaries in its family tree. Though not a prolific novelist, she did turn out four novels that are worth reading--and remembering. Among these is The Venetian-Glass Nephew, a highly fanciful tale set in 1782 about Cardinal Peter Innocent Bon, who is so ardent in his pursuit of a nephew, that he approaches a glassblower and conjurer to "create" one for him. This book, which is my favorite of all Wylie's novels, is written with much brilliance and a creativity that I find to be matchless. Her other novels include Mr. Hodge and Mr. Hazard, The Orphan Angel, and Jennifer Lorn: A Sedate Extravaganza.
Of course, aside from her controversial life, it is for her poetry that Elinor Wylie has received the most acclaim. Several collections are quite noteworthy, especially Angels and Earthly Creatures, which is generally considered to be the best of her oeuvre of poetry. It has been said that her poem, "Velvet Shoes," suggests the "white silence" of snow more exquisitely than any poem ever written. Let us take a look at this poem and decide for ourselves:
"Let us walk in the white snow
In a soundless space;
With footsteps quiet and slow
At a tranquil pace,
Under veils of white lace
I shall go shod in silk,
And you in wool,
White as white cow's milk,
More beautiful
Than the breast of a gull.
We shall walk through the town
In a windless peace;
We shall step upon white down,
Upon silver fleece,
Upon softer than these.
We shall walk in velvet shoes
Wherever we go
Silence will fall like dews
On white silence below
We shall walk in the snow.
If Elinor beguiles the reader with her poetry, the details of her personal life remind one of a play script or a film screenplay. She was beautiful yet cold, with looks that resembled those of the classic 1920s film star, Louise Brooks. She left her first husband, Philip Hichborn, along with her only child, in 1910. The man she left her family for was none other than Horace Wylie, a married attorney with four children who was nearly twenty years older than herself. The scandal created by this set of circumstances left both Horace and Elinor in a state of social disgrace. They lived in England until World War I, and it was during this time that Elinor begin finding her voice as a poet and novelist. By the time the couple returned to America, Elinor already had her eye on William Rose Benet, brother of Stephen Benet, who was an admirer of Elinor, her poems, and Elinor's younger brother, Henry. Elinor divorced Horace Wylie and married William Rose
Benet--or Bill, as he was called among his friends--in 1923. Bill is credited with helping Elinor finally achieve success and notoriety as a fixture of the literary scene. Her first book of poetry, Nets to Catch the Wind, was published in 1923, as was her first novel,
Jennifer Lorn.
Women were very wary of letting their husbands get anywhere near Elinor. She tended to bring about destruction wherever she went (like Lord Byron, she was thought of as "mad, bad, and dangerous"). Her first husband, Phil Hichborn, committed suicide, and, before her death, she was in the midst of leaving Bill Benet for yet another married man. She has often been portrayed as a fatal influence on the lives of those who knew her. Her sister, Nancy Hoyt, wrote a biography of Elinor, entitled Elinor Wylie: The Portrait of an Unknown Lady.
Although Elinor's work is regarded of less consequence than the poetry of such luminaries as T.S. Eliot, Marianne Moore, and W.S. Auden, she has nonetheless had a considerable
influence on other poets, among them Elizabeth Bishop, Theodore Roethke, and Louise Bogan. Much of Elinor's poetry has been spoken of deprecatingly, as being "romantic," "sentimental," and "unoriginal." However, I suspect that those who judge her poems objectively will perceive that she had a unique voice, and a bright, vivacious brilliance that is all her own. Many of the passages in her poems are like sparkling jewels--clear, dazzling, and infinitely luminescent. To this date, she is probably my favorite poet, and certainly one of the most imaginative novelists I have ever read.
For a bit more information on her, check out these links:
ELINOR WYLIE
http://www.magiclink.com/web/lostheroines/webdoc4.html
Elinor Wylie - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Elinor, who never enjoyed good health and often spoke of
herself as having "the blood pressure of a parrot," died of a
stroke in New York on December 16, 1928. She was 43.
You can read some of Elinor's poetry here:
Poet: Elinor Morton Wylie - All poems of Elinor Morton Wylie
Another site:
Poets' Corner - Elinor Wylie - Nets to Catch the Wind
~Titania
"I am better able to imagine hell than heaven;
it is my inheritance, I suppose."
~Elinor Wylie
Of course, aside from her controversial life, it is for her poetry that Elinor Wylie has received the most acclaim. Several collections are quite noteworthy, especially Angels and Earthly Creatures, which is generally considered to be the best of her oeuvre of poetry. It has been said that her poem, "Velvet Shoes," suggests the "white silence" of snow more exquisitely than any poem ever written. Let us take a look at this poem and decide for ourselves:
"Let us walk in the white snow
In a soundless space;
With footsteps quiet and slow
At a tranquil pace,
Under veils of white lace
I shall go shod in silk,
And you in wool,
White as white cow's milk,
More beautiful
Than the breast of a gull.
We shall walk through the town
In a windless peace;
We shall step upon white down,
Upon silver fleece,
Upon softer than these.
We shall walk in velvet shoes
Wherever we go
Silence will fall like dews
On white silence below
We shall walk in the snow.
If Elinor beguiles the reader with her poetry, the details of her personal life remind one of a play script or a film screenplay. She was beautiful yet cold, with looks that resembled those of the classic 1920s film star, Louise Brooks. She left her first husband, Philip Hichborn, along with her only child, in 1910. The man she left her family for was none other than Horace Wylie, a married attorney with four children who was nearly twenty years older than herself. The scandal created by this set of circumstances left both Horace and Elinor in a state of social disgrace. They lived in England until World War I, and it was during this time that Elinor begin finding her voice as a poet and novelist. By the time the couple returned to America, Elinor already had her eye on William Rose Benet, brother of Stephen Benet, who was an admirer of Elinor, her poems, and Elinor's younger brother, Henry. Elinor divorced Horace Wylie and married William Rose
Benet--or Bill, as he was called among his friends--in 1923. Bill is credited with helping Elinor finally achieve success and notoriety as a fixture of the literary scene. Her first book of poetry, Nets to Catch the Wind, was published in 1923, as was her first novel,
Jennifer Lorn.
Women were very wary of letting their husbands get anywhere near Elinor. She tended to bring about destruction wherever she went (like Lord Byron, she was thought of as "mad, bad, and dangerous"). Her first husband, Phil Hichborn, committed suicide, and, before her death, she was in the midst of leaving Bill Benet for yet another married man. She has often been portrayed as a fatal influence on the lives of those who knew her. Her sister, Nancy Hoyt, wrote a biography of Elinor, entitled Elinor Wylie: The Portrait of an Unknown Lady.
Although Elinor's work is regarded of less consequence than the poetry of such luminaries as T.S. Eliot, Marianne Moore, and W.S. Auden, she has nonetheless had a considerable
influence on other poets, among them Elizabeth Bishop, Theodore Roethke, and Louise Bogan. Much of Elinor's poetry has been spoken of deprecatingly, as being "romantic," "sentimental," and "unoriginal." However, I suspect that those who judge her poems objectively will perceive that she had a unique voice, and a bright, vivacious brilliance that is all her own. Many of the passages in her poems are like sparkling jewels--clear, dazzling, and infinitely luminescent. To this date, she is probably my favorite poet, and certainly one of the most imaginative novelists I have ever read.
For a bit more information on her, check out these links:
ELINOR WYLIE
http://www.magiclink.com/web/lostheroines/webdoc4.html
Elinor Wylie - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Elinor, who never enjoyed good health and often spoke of
herself as having "the blood pressure of a parrot," died of a
stroke in New York on December 16, 1928. She was 43.
You can read some of Elinor's poetry here:
Poet: Elinor Morton Wylie - All poems of Elinor Morton Wylie
Another site:
Poets' Corner - Elinor Wylie - Nets to Catch the Wind
~Titania
"I am better able to imagine hell than heaven;
it is my inheritance, I suppose."
~Elinor Wylie
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