Book People Archive

Second April

I've added Edna St. Vincent Millay's book of poetry, Second April, to the
Celebration of Women Writers this morning.  I've linked it in to the local
listing but probably won't have time to update the main page until the weekend.

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs.cmu.edu/user/mmbt/www/women/millay/second-april
.html

Millay (1892-1950) published Second April in 1921; it is public domain in
the USA
but not yet in Canada or England.  I think it's a particularly apt work to
go on-line,
in that one of Millay's poems, "The Poet and His Book" , talks about how she
will never really die until her book has ceased to be read.  She says, in part:

When shall I be dead?
  When my flesh is withered,
And above my head
  Yellow pollen gathered
All the empty afternoon?
  When sweet lovers pause and wonder
  Who am I that lie thereunder,
Hidden from the moon?
...

Me, by no means dead
  In that hour, but surely
When this book, unread,
  Rots to earth obscurely,
And no more to any breast,
  Close against the clamorous swelling
  Of the thing there is no telling,
Are these pages pressed!
...

The complete poem is on-line at

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs.cmu.edu/user/mmbt/www/women/millay/sa-poet.html

Enjoy!

-- Mary



--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mary Mark (aka Mary Mark Ockerbloom)  work phone: (412) 268-3409
Computer Science Department                  work fax:   (412) 268-1266
Carnegie Mellon University         "JOY (le`): [Chinese Character]
Pittsburgh,PA 15213                  Also means music.  The ancient symbol
email: mmbt+@[redacted]           pictured drums and a bell on a stand."
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs.cmu.edu/user/mmbt/www/MaryHome.html