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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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