Overview

First published in 1919, Moods is Mercedes de Acosta's first of three books of poetry that appeared in quick succession in the early 1920s. Consciously written as prose vignettes, Moods confounded its publisher and compositor, as well as critics, who were utterly unfamiliar with unlineated poetry. As an adolescent, Mercedes's sister Rita took her to Paris where she received an informal cultural education from French artists, and undoubtedly gained exposure to French writers as well and their proclivity to petits poèmes en prose. An early precursor stateside was Stuart Merrill's volume of translations of French prose poems, Pastels in Prose, which was published in 1890. Moods was definitely an oddity in its time, but its structure and language were solidly traditional as opposed to the contemporaneous Kora in Hell: Improvisations by William Carlos Williams. While Acosta's significance mainly lies in LGBTQ+ history, this slim volume marks a waysign in the development of the American prose poem, creating more open considerations of the history of the genre and poetry itself. This edition of Moods contains a short introduction by Charles Hanson Towne and a critical afterword by Kathryn Good-Schiff.

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9781935835387

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Mercedes de Acosta (1892-1968) was a poet, playwright, novelist and memoirist. She was born in New York City to parents whose families came from Spain. She is best known for her memoir, Here Lies the Heart, which touches upon her many affairs with celebrated entertainment personalities including Alla Nazimova, Isadora Duncan, Eva Le Gallienne, Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich. Acosta she did not conceal her sexuality, which was uncommon in her generation. She was linked with the The Sewing Circle, an informal network of lesbian and bisexual female writers and actresses, who were acquainted socially and provided mutual support. Here Lies the Heart is considered to be a consequential part of LGBTQ+ history. Kathryn Good-Schiff was raised by a feminist Episcopal priest and a conscientious objector nurse anesthetist. A finalist for the Robin Becker Chapbook Prize, she has work in various online and print journals, and taught writing workshops at the Massachusetts Poetry Festival and the Hitchcock Center for the Environment. She holds degrees from Hampshire College, Goddard College, and Simmons University. A resident of the Connecticut River Valley since 2001, she lives in Easthampton, MA with her wife and their animals. When she's not reading, writing, or earning a living as an academic librarian, she's usually out in the garden or on a trail somewhere.

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