Mina Loy - Stories and Essays of Mina Loy

PAGE 36

“Suddenly, I found myself ‘nowhere.’ ‘Fool,’ I anxiously” was “Find- ing myself suddenly ‘nowhere,’ ‘Fool,’ I anxiously”

In longer script, about two thirds of the page are empty after “ ‘no- where’ ”

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“conveyance” was “conveyance or communion”

“bluish base” was “dark bluish base”

“fascinated me” was “pleased me”

“conveyed to one” was “conveyed to me”

“a shaft” was “a cylindrical shaft”

Above “cylindrical” Loy writes “or funnel shaped spiralling,” and, on the alternate typescript: “like a tornado or funnel [like] shaped”— ed.

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Above “just as I could hear ” reads “ see as cylindrical”—“cylindrical” is crossed out— ed.

“tornado-like thunderous onrush” was “thunderous onrush”

“at once ceasing to be cognisable by me” is bracketed by hand in alternate typescript

“At the same time, the click becoming” was “The click becoming”

“leg, lifted” was “leg lifted”

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“public square!” was “public square.” (correction made to both typescripts)

LADY ASTERISK

(6:163)

“Lady Asterisk.” is written on the verso sides of an illustrated volume of Italian religious art and artefacts dating from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries. Across the bottom of one fresco Loy has written: “Bits for incident in Book”. The slender narrative frame involves a dinner party of the elite, and encompasses scraps of conversation (and possibly streams of consciousness) in which the narrative tone dominates. The structural disjointedness of the work is compounded by the fact that the same volume includes notes for “The Apology of Genius,” a poem Loy first published in The Dial in 1922 ( Lost LB 77).

The story makes passing reference to Maurice Dekobra (1885–1973), the French writer widely viewed as a subversive who was well known in the inter-war period. The Irish writers George Moore (1852–1933) and George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) are also mentioned.

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“mistress at the prime minister’s” was “mistress looked over”

“Mrs. Birthright” reads “Mrs Birthright” in all instances— ed .

“prefer to remain” was “prefer to stay in London the”

“Pure” was “So perfectly pure”

After “this table—” was “Ah dear lady I prefer to remain where I am— I never want to”

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“had caused” was “She had caused”

“apostles of England” was “apostles of the”

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“enforcing chastity” was “enforcing morality”

“They have solved the sex question” was “There is no more sex question” and reads “solved sex”; this phrase could also be “They have no solvent sex question” —ed.

“all you have to do is to keep” was “if only you keep”

Before “And cocktails” was “And when you have taken a cock-tail or two—”

“but they take all the kick out of love philtres” was “but you can- not taste the love philtres”

“a coal forest” was “the coal forest”

“without an effort!” is a later addition

After “Everything’s changed—” was “I would”

“slant on political” was “slant on ideals of political”

After “stable—” reads “X” —ed.

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“Dekobra bagged his Bolshevist” was “Maurice Dekobro got [ un- clear word ] Bolshevist”

“Dekobra” reads “Dekobro” —ed.

“thank you!” was “thank you?”

“up and stamped”—“stamped” is unclear —ed.

“all this humbug”—“humbug” is unclear —ed.

“knew how to write” was “knows how to write”

“generations of women” was “generations when women”

“And now he himself” was “Anyhow George Moore”

Beneath “last Bustle—” was “McDamage”—the final third of this page is left blank —ed.

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“of the upper classes is the study of the lower classes through art.” was “of the wealthy is the appreciation of the lowest classes through art—”

“a grimace” was “the grimace”

“A critic who” was “A philosopher who”

“they are in” was “they have in”

After “But tradition—” was “No one w”

“If the” was “The”

IN MAINE: GREEN’S COLONY

(6:161)

This handwritten script begins with a title page reading “In Maine: Green’s Colony”. While the page numbering is irregular, the chronology of the story can be deciphered via Loy’s regular word counts. These calculations indicate that the beginning and end of “In Maine” are missing; the extant text begins on a notebook page numbered four, and concludes with two suggestive fragments. Loy’s drawings and designs are scattered throughout, as are excerpts from another text that suggest that “In Maine” may have been composed in the late twenties or early thirties.

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Above the “4” in the upper right corner of the first page of text, Loy writes “perhaps” —ed.

“eye of your own” was “eye of his opposite”

“There they are” was “Maine”

“they are always shaking” was “when they are always”

“to behold itself. . its consciousness” is a later addition

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“neighbour’s grass plot” was “neighbour’s back path”

“lodger’s room” was “guest’s room”

“atmosphere than the rest” reads “atmosphere. it the rest” —ed.

“dangerous — to incur the enmity” was “dangerous — to make enmity”

“but John” reads “bit John” —ed.

After “clean American” was “that in France, is known as the Satyr — through a very different process, is known as the vieux marcheur ”—the last four words are not crossed out —ed.

“who fumbles” was “that paw”

“desperation of dissolution” was “desperation of adolescen”

“to such a word” was “to the word”

“my impression” was “but my impression”

“down the other” was “out of the other”

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“confidant” reads both “conversant” and “confidant” —ed.

“passion for Lucy” was “passion for Mary”

After “for Lucy” was “Lucy was all that Maine stood for”

“typified. She” reads “typified she” —ed.

“Although” was “But”

“within and not without” reads “within a not without” —ed.

“at a little sweeping, a little shaking out” was “at sweeping, shak- ing out”

“I do like Lucy” was “I do like Mary” in the first instance

“fleeing beauty” may have been “flying beauty” —ed.

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“A short conversation” was “It w”

“ ‘her’ warm young life” was “ ‘her’ vitality”

“idiotically delightful” was “really idiotically delightful”

“achieved his” was “achieved a further”

“Yes! More,”—“More,” is unclear —ed.

“I do” was “Lu”

“If she were sick I would nurse her” was “If she were sick I would take her straight up to my house— Mind you that’s a clean thing to do.”

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“—could have done” was “—that”

“damage. As things were” reads “damage, as things were” and was “as it was” —ed.

“at once” was “soon”

“many couplings” was “most couples”

“Mr. and Mrs. Granger” reads “Mr and Mrs Granger” —ed.