Poetry, RattleBag and Rhubarb

Roy Campbell: Who does not love the spring deserves no lovers

I take my title from the South African poet Roy Campbell (1901-1957), who knew a thing or two about lovers and haters. It’s from Georgian Spring, in which Campbell lampooned his fellow poets for their cosy triteness: New quarterlies relume their yellow covers, Anthologies on every bookshelf sing. The publishers put on their best apparel To sell the public everything…

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Books, RattleBag and Rhubarb, WW2

Secret Agent, Mother, Saboteur, Bomb-maker, Spy Chief, Novelist, Housewife

As of last week, the only thing I knew about Agnes Smedley was that The Feminist Press had reissued her most famous book and that the poet Robert Lowell had objected that she – a known communist sympathizer – was allowed to stay at Yaddo – the artists’ colony in Saratoga Springs. Getting to know her a little better has…

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