Biographical Materials
According to Karl Beckson,
John Barlas was born in in Burma and educated at New College, Oxford. A teacher and ardent socialist, he was a demonstrator in Trafalgar Square on "Bloody Sunday" (November, 1886), when, as he wrote, he had "the pleasure of being batoned and floored." In the early Nineties, he was arrested — and bailed out by Wilde — for shooting at the House of Commons, an apparent gesture of contempt for parliamentary procedure. Shortly after, Barlas became briefly associated with the Rhymers' Club. Most of his later years were spent in a mental institution in Scotland. . . . From 1884-1893, Barlas published eight volumes of verse under the name "Evelyn Douglas," combining his interest in socialism and Swinburnean Decadence. [319]
Works
- "The Dancing Girl" [text]
- "Beauty's Anadems" [text]
- "The Memphian Temple" [text]
- "Terrible Love" [text]
- "My Lady's Bath" [text]
- "Oblivion" [text]
References
Aesthetes and Decadents of the 1890s: An Anthology of British Poetry and Prose. Ed. Karl Beckson. Chicago: Academy, 1981.
Looker, Samuel J. "A Neglected Poet: John Barlas." Socialist Review. 19 (January 1922), 28-34; (Februiary 1922): 78-82. [Unseen: cited by Beckson]
Lowe, David. John Barlas: Sweet Singer and Socialist. Cupar-Fyfe, Scotland, 1915. [Unseen: cited by Beckson]
Poetry of the Nineties. Ed. R. K. R. Thornton. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1970.
Last modified 1 November 2006