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Inspiration for the Spirit

A lovely place to wander for poetry and inspiration to soothe the soul

Edna St. Vincent Millay

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Edna St. Vincent MillayEdna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950) was an American poet and playwright. Saucy, independent, and openly bisexual, Millay was known for her unconventional Bohemian lifestyle, feminist activism, and many love affairs. Her poetry collection, A Few Figs from Thistles (1920), drew controversy for its novel exploration of female sexuality and feminism. In 1923, her fourth volume of poems, The Ballad of the Harp-Weaver, won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Poet Richard Wilbur said Millay "wrote some of the best sonnets of the century," and English author Thomas Hardy said that America had two great attractions: The skyscraper and the poetry of Edna St. Vincent Millay. On her death, The New York Times described Millay as "an idol of the younger generation during the glorious early days of Greenwich Village . . . One of the greatest American poets of her time."
 

"My candle burns at both ends / it will not last the night
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends / it gives a lovely light!"
—Edna St. Vincent Millay, "First Fig" from A Few Figs from Thistles, 1920

16 poems

Afternoon on a Hill

"Flaming June" by Sir Frederic Leighton, 1895

Ashes of Life

frog

Assault

child

Childhood is the Kingdom Where Nobody Dies

sad woman

Here is a wound that never will heal, I know

I know I am but summer to your heart

If I should learn, in some quite casual way

columns

Justice Denied in Massachusetts

Love is not all: it is not meat nor drink

Oh, oh, you will be sorry for that word!

Portrait by a Neighbor

Say what you will, and scratch my heart to find

"She Sleeps" by Stephanie Law, watercolor, 2015

The Penitent

"Golden Tears" by Anne Marie Zylberman

Time does not bring relief; you all have lied

sad tree

What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why

floral illustration

When you, that at this moment are to me

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Classic Poets

  • Edna St. Vincent Millay
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Random Poems

wintere window
clock tower
elderly man
"Flaming June" by Sir Frederic Leighton, 1895
frog
girl
holding hands

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