Arthur Atkins (Painter-Poet) Liverpool, UK/ San Francisco (2)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

Something different today.

In 2009, I posted a poem about William ‘Arthur’ Atkins, a painter-poet from Liverpool who migrated to California in the late 1890s only to die there while still a young man; his work remains a testament not only to the human spirit but that posthumous consciousness that  - knowingly or unknowingly, ouches us all from generation to generation.

http://rogertab.blogspot.co.uk/2009/06/arthur-atkins-painter-poet-liverpool.html

(If the link does not work, copy and paste into the address field)

I have been fascinated by and interested in Arthur’s story for some years now since being introduced to it by a friend, Steven, who lives in California. Steven has some of Arthur’s paintings (he, too is a talented painter) and other related items. Very knowledgeable about the Atkins family history, he recently sent me these photos and a poem by Arthur that I thought viewers might enjoy. 

It would appear that, according to family lore, Arthur's love was Virginie de Fremery:

Arthur wrote this poem that was published in The Lark, February 1896:

TO VIRGINIA

SPRING and the daffodil again!

            I heard the lark at dawn,

A liquid cadence through the rain

            Across my lawn.

The wet, red roses all around

            Stir in the breeze.

The first white trillium breaks the ground

            Under the canyon trees.

I bring the wild white flower of Spring,

            Above all others thine--

At he whom with the gift I bring,

            Thy Valentine!

[Note:  For the sake of historical accuracy, it should be pointed out that the word ‘canyon’ in the poem is actually spelt ‘canon’ in the original with a tilde over the first ‘n’.]

NB If you  have any information about Arthur, my friend Steven in California has asked me to say that you are very welcome to get in touch. Contact: muzys@aol.com