Lionel Pigot Johnson (15 March 1867 – 4 October 1902) was an English poet, essayist, and critic (although he claimed Irish descent and wrote on Celtic themes).
Lionel Johnson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 15 March 1867 |
| Died | 4 October 1902 (aged 35) |
| Nationality | English |
| Occupations |
|
Life
editJohnson was born in Broadstairs, Kent, England in 1867 and educated at Winchester College. While at Winchester, Johnson became friends with Frank Russell, 2nd Earl Russell. The two started a lengthy religious discussion that Russell later published as Some Winchester Letters of Lionel Johnson (1919).
Johnson graduated from New College, Oxford, in 1890 and converted to Catholicism in June 1891.[1] At that time, Johnson introduced Lord Alfred Douglas to his friend Oscar Wilde. Johnson later denounced Wilde in "The Destroyer of a Soul" (1892) and deeply regretted that he had unwittingly initiated the secret homosexual relationship that had devolved into a public scandal.[2]
In 1893, Johnson published what some consider his greatest work, "Dark Angel". During his lifetime, he published: The Art of Thomas Hardy (1894), Poems (1895), and Ireland and Other Poems (1897). Johnson was a member of the Rhymers' Club, and cousin to Olivia Shakespear (who dedicated her novel The False Laurel to him).
Johnson died of a "cerebral haemorrhage", per an inquest on 8 October 1902,[3] after collapsing in The Green Dragon on Fleet Street in London.[4] The story of Johnson's being struck and killed by a hansom cab is a myth.[5]
Legacy
edit- In October 2018, Strange Attractor Press published Incurable: The Haunted Writings of Lionel Johnson, the Decadent Era's Dark Angel, edited by Nina Antonia.[6]
- Duncan Fallowell included Incurable in his list of books for the books of the year section (2018) in The Spectator.[7]
- Michael Dirda, in his 5 December 2018 book review for the Washington Post, entitled "The '90s are having a literary moment. That is, the 1890s... " recommended Incurable as a must read.[8]
- Eric Hoffman reviewed Incurable in the Fortean Times on 25 February 2019, saying, "This handsome volume from the excellent Strange Attractor Press includes a lengthy, authoritative introduction by Antonia, which provides biographical and critical contexts...Incurable is an accessible introduction to the work of this minor, yet distinctive, poet."[9]
- On 1 May 2019 Alan Contreras reviewed Incurable in the Gay and Lesbian Review, saying Johnson's: "writing conjured worlds of the imagination" and called Nina Antonia's illustrated biography "masterful, gorgeously written and packed with carefully researched gossip."[10]
- Robert Asch, ed. Lionel Johnson: Poetry and Prose. Saint Austin Press, 2021. ISBN 978-1919673004.
References
edit- ^ Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ^ Fisher, Trevor (2002). Oscar and Bosie. Sutton Publishing. pp. 42–3. ISBN 0-7509-2459-4.
- ^ Asch, Robert (2021). Lionel Johnson: Poetry and Prose. Kington: Saint Austin Press. p. 488. ISBN 978-1919673004.
- ^ Sweet, Matthew (2001). Inventing the Victorians. London: Faber and Faber. p. 205. ISBN 978-0-571-20663-6.
- ^ Asch, Robert (2021). Lionel Johnson: Poetry and Prose. Kington: Saint Austin Press. pp. 61–64, 488–496. ISBN 978-1919673004.
- ^ Johnson, Lionel P. (12 September 2018). Incurable: The Haunted Writings of Lionel Johnson, the Decadent Era's Dark Angel. MIT Press. ISBN 9781907222627.
- ^ "Books of the year – part one | the Spectator".
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ Eric Hoffman for Fortean Times, 25 February 2019
- ^ "Short Reviews". 29 April 2019.
Bibliography
edit- Twenty one poems written by Lionel Johnson, selected by William Butler Yeats (Dun Emer Press, 1904) online text
- Some Winchester Letters of Lionel Johnson, (George Allen & Unwin, London, 1919.)
- The collected poems of Lionel Johnson (1953) edited by Ian Fletcher, Unicorn Press, London (reprinted 1982).
- Post Liminium. Essays and Critical Papers (1911) edited by Thomas Whittemore, Elkin Mathews, London (reprinted 1968).
- Lionel Johnson: Victorian Dark Angel by Richard Whittington-Egan, Cappella Archive (2012).
- At the Heart of the 1890s: Essays on Lionel Johnson Gary Paterson, AMS Press (2008)
- Incurable: The Haunted Writings of Lionel Johnson, the Decadent Era’s Dark Angel edited by Nina Antonia, Strange Attractor Press (2018)
- Lionel Johnson: Poetry and Prose edited by Robert Asch, Saint Austin Press (2021)
External links
edit- Works by or about Lionel Johnson at the Internet Archive
- Works by Lionel Johnson at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
- Works by Lionel Johnson at Open Library
