Biographical Materials
John Barlas was born in in Burma and educated at New College, Oxford. A teacher and ardent socialist, 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. — Karl Beckson, 319
Works
- "The Dancing Girl" [text]
- "Beauty's Anadems" [text]
- "The Memphian Temple" [text]
- "Terrible Love" [text]
- "My Lady's Bath" [text]
- "Oblivion" [text]
- "This Haschish dream, this cup-rose heavy-leaning" [text]
- "A Child's Death" [text]
- "A Golden Study"
Literary relations and other contextual material
- John Barlas and Oscar Wilde
- Anarchism and anarchists in in Late-Victorian Britain
- "How easy was false imprisonment in a Victorian or Edwardian mental hospital?
Related Material
- Glasgow Royal Asylum, Gartnavel
- The East House Dining Room and Concert/Recreation Hall
- West House Ward and Two Nurses, Glasgow Royal Asylum, Gartnavel
- Title-page, Yew-leaf and Lotus-Petal
References
Aesthetes and Decadents of the 1890s: An Anthology of British Poetry and Prose. Ed. Karl Beckson. Chicago: Academy, 1981.
Cohen, Philip. John Evelyn Barlas, A Critical Biography: Poetry, Anarchism, and Mental Illness in Late-Victorian Britain. Rivendale Press, 2012. [review]
Looker, Samuel J. "A Neglected Poet: John Barlas." Socialist Review. 19 (January 1922), 28-34; (February 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 3 January 2013