Talk:John Barlas

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I was interested to read the entry on John Barlas (1860-1914) on whom I'm writing a critical reassessment. The Bloody Heart is mentioned as his publication in 1885. I have not heard of this: should it be Queen of the Hid Isle?

||||Simon Berry

Hello there, I composed this article. Barlas' volume The Bloody Heart is mentioned in Joseph Bristow's the Fin-de-Siècle Poem: English Literary Culture and the 1890s on page xxv. It was from 1885, and published under Evelyn Douglas. I am not familiar with Queen of the Hid Isle. Also see [1]. Algabal 03:42, 1 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Dominic, This is very interesting to me. I have taken the list of his publications from a monograph self-published by David.F.Lowe called John Barlas: Sweet Singer & Socialist(1915). I am still trying to obtain photocopies of all Barlas' published poetry. It's possible that Queen of the Hid isle & The Bloody Heart refer to the same book (I prefer your version of the title: I'll clearly have to find out asap. Have you read any of Barlas' work? I'd be interested on any views you have. I'm based in Cyprus where I teach English. Regards Simon

Simon, the full title of Queen of the Hid Isle is The Queen of the Hid Isle: An Allegory of Life and Art. I suspect this is not the same as the Bloody Heart. Unfortunately, I have never seen proof of the existence of the Bloody Heart, just the references to it I noted above.

And yes, I have read Barlas, and think he is very underrated. His deeply emotional Love Sonnets and Poems, Lyrical and Dramatic are superb (both available online, too). Love Sonnets in particular is one of the finest sonnet sequences of the period. I first discovered Barlas through Karl Beckson's anthology of 1890s Decadents. Algabal 13:52, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Dominic, Thanks for your latest. I have checked the British Library online catalogue and there is no mention of The Bloody Heart amongst his publiocations. I am awaiting a photocopy from Essex Records Office of an article that appears to relate to his self-publication whilst he was living at Chelmsford where most of his books were published throug local printers.If it throws any light on this I'll let you know. I must get hold of Karl Beckson's book (or consult it online if that's possible). Delighted to hear your estimate of Love Sonnets. For something rather different you should try Phantasmagoria which exploits semi-conscious states of mind rather as De Quincey's Dream Fugues.

Syphilis?[edit]

Do we have a source claiming Barlas had syphilis? The only decent source I've been able to find, this review of a biography, makes only a passing reference to the idea, and only in order to contradict it. Referencing Cohen on this would require purchasing and reading his Barlas biography; unfortunately, this is not for me, but a more dedicated Barlas scholar than I may want to go through with it. Otherwise, I think it would probably be more productive to strike the syphilis reference from our article entirely. This was often a circumstantial diagnosis, and remains a stigmatized one. If we don't have any sources, it may be better to leave it undiscussed. Pertinaxed (talk) 06:03, 19 July 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I am removing the syphilis reference... if someone can please find an attributable source discussing the possibility of this diagnosis, we should reinsert it, but until then, I don't think it should be in the article. Pertinaxed (talk) 00:02, 25 July 2013 (UTC)[reply]