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The First Line...
by Suzanne Buchert
I am
waylaid by Beauty. Who will walk Edna St. Vincent Millay
Savage Beauty, The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay, by Nancy Milford is the long awaited book by Milford, the author of Zelda. I read Zelda when it first came out, approximately 30 years ago. I remember having thoroughly enjoyed Zelda and even though I knew little about Millay, other than that she was a famous poet, I was sure I would enjoy Milford’s exploration of the life of this once prominent woman. Milford is a first rate biographer, carefully researching her subject, using primary sources, interviewing people who actually knew her subject or letters to and from the subject as sources. Milford had extensive interviews with Millay’s sister, Norma Millay Ellis, who died in 1986, so you can see that this has been a long term project. After amassing her information she put it into a thoroughly readable narrative, a book which makes the subject come alive to the reader. There are some striking similarities between Zelda, the wife of writer F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Edna St. Vincent Millay. They were not only contemporaries, most famous in the early years of the twentieth century, and writers, but both were women for whom convention was not to constrain their actions. Zelda, a famous southern beauty, married Fitzgerald and lived in the shadow of his fame through out her life with him. Both she and Fitzgerald struggled with alcoholism and Zelda finally descended into madness from which she never recovered. Edna was unconventional, immensely talented, and lived her life as “the candle burning at both ends” she described in one of her most well known poems. Edna St. Vincent Millay was named after the hospital where she was born, by her grateful mother who believed she and her baby would have died had it not been for the care they received there. Millay was the first of three daughters born to Cora Millay, an exceptional, strong woman who influenced Millay’s interest in literature by reading and reciting poetry and other great literature to her daughters almost from the cradle. Henry Millay, Edna’s father, was a ne’r-do-well, unable to hold a job, providing little for his family. Finally, Cora sent her husband away in 1900, when Edna was eight years old. After his departure, Cora supported her family as best she could by working as a home nurse, often away from her children for weeks at a time. Edna, as the eldest, was charged with caring for herself and her sisters, Norma and Kathleen. Edna, just a child herself at that time, had to shoulder the burden of housekeeper and parent at around the age of ten. Edna, alternately known as Vincent, shouldered her burden as well as possible. To relieve her cares, she began writing; stories, plays and poems. She submitted her writing to a popular children’s magazine and won every award they gave until she exceeded the age limit set by the magazine. She then turned her attention to adult publication and her first large scale success was “Renascence” a poem which won her a cash award and publication. More importantly, this poem brought her to the attention of publishers and of a woman who became her first “angel”, a woman who assisted Vincent financially and personally. It was largely due to her, Caroline B. Dow, that Vincent was able to attend Vassar. Vincent, child of a non-traditional home, “mother” to her sisters at an extremely young age, was ready when she entered college, to take charge of her life and to live it on her own terms. She did just that through out her life, scandalizing and outraging while entrancing and attracting those who knew her and those who did not. After falling in and out of love with a number of men and women who crossed her path, she married Eugen Boissevain, a Dutch businessman, who made his life’s work the care of Vincent. A few months ago, I reviewed the book Seabiscuit, the story of a horse that captured the attention of the entire nation. Edna also captured the attention of the country. She was a woman who mesmerized, who moved people to an emotion akin to love, even those who only heard her voice, reading her poems on the radio. Physically, she was tiny, fragile looking, with curly red hair and freckles. She was not usually described as beautiful, however, she was irresistible. While reading this book, I came under her spell, wanting to know more about her, wanting to read her poetry, hear a recording of her voice, wishing there were films of her that I could watch. Nancy Milford has written a definitive biography of a unique woman. Get your hands on a copy of Savage Beauty, and discover Edna St. Vincent Millay.
Suzanne Buchert and her husband, Keith, own several restaurants.
sbuchert@hotmail.com
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