Alice Meynell 1847-1922
Alice Meynell was born in Barnes of wealthy parents and was educated privately by her father. She spent much of her early life in Italy and converted to Catholicism on reaching her majority.
She married Wilfrid Meynell in 1877, working with him on his periodical, Merry England, and assisting him with the rescue of Francis Thompson from poverty and opium addiction.
In addition to writing numerous poems and critical essays, Alice Meynell was one of the leading literary figures of her era, editing anthologies and opening her home for literary gatherings. She was twice nominated as Poet Laureate. Her poems, most of which are fairly short, display a purity and sensitivity reflecting her strong religious beliefs.
Works include
Sonnet—My heart shall be thy garden
Sonnet—Thoughts in Separation
To a Poet
Song of the Spring to the Summer
To the Beloved
Meditation
To the Beloved Dead—A Lament
Sonnet
In Autumn
A Letter from a Girl to her Own Old Age
Song
Builders of Ruins
Sonnet
Song of the Day to the Night
'Soeur Monique'
In Early Spring
Parted
Regrets
Song
Sonnet—In February
San Lorenzo Giustiniani's Mother
Sonnet—The Love of Narcissus
To a Lost Melody
Sonnet—The Poet to Nature
The Poet to His Childhood
Sonnet
An Unmarked Festival
Sonnet—The Neophyte
Sonnet—Spring on the Alban Hills
Song of the Night at Daybreak
Sonnet—To a Daisy
Sonnet—To One Poem in a Silent Time
Future Poetry
The Poet Sings to her Poet
A Poet's Sonnet
The Modern Poet
After a Parting
RenouncementVeni Creator
Books you might enjoy
The Slender Tree - a Life of Alice Meynell
June Badeni