Mina Loy - Stories and Essays of Mina Loy

“antique forms, and together” was “antique forms: and to- gether”

“Piero twisted” was “And Piero twisted”

“love in the mist” reads “love i’the mist” —ed .

After “tapestry,” a handwritten page shows a variety of notes for the upcoming clause beginning “while a bachelor” including: “Sometimes a bachelor would steal upon the insinuate hush with an anecdote—”; the same page also contains notes read- ing: “The young attachées she had invited to dinner—” and “were [said D] gathered round a shaft— etc.—”

PAGE 101

“like soft cats” was “like a soft cat”

“For their eyes” was “Their eyes”

“while a bachelor. . an anecdote” is a later addition

“mask; while a bachelor” was “mask. Sometimes a bachelor”—in the left margin was, heavily crossed out, “heard”

“The bachelor wafted” was “Dorsay wafted”

“anomaly” was “paradox”

“than hers” was “than to the anecdote” and also “than to the ladies’ ”

“spiritual obligations,” was “spiritual obligation”

“Eliza’s imagining” was “her imagining”

“comradely” was “pally”

“bachelors impressed” was “bachelors seemed”

“sweet and secret” was “sweets and secret”

“bachelors’ significance” reads “bachelor’s significance” —ed .

PAGE 102

“Eliza had” was “Eliza and”

“séances was” was “séances is”

“like orgasms” was “those unachieved orgasms”

“parching” was “urging” and “urging on”

Typescript ends with “stillness of the night”

Above “one such battle” reads “Morrison”—this word appears at the top of the page and may be a heading, marginalia, or an adjective describing the battle in question —ed .

PAGE 103

“The Immaculate Vermin Of The Sugar Dove” was “The immacu- late vermin of the sugar dove”

On the back of the last sheet, Loy writes, “progressive— / intro- duction / of further relationships—”

THE STOMACH

(6:178)

“The Stomach” is a six-page typescript. “Florence” is pencilled next to the title, and “July 1921” is typed at the end. On the title page for “Piero and Eliza.” (another story that focuses on artistry and, ultimately, the abdomen), Loy writes: “The Stomach— Sargents portrait of — —”. Beneath this incomplete statement, a lighter and possibly different hand reads: “Isabella Stuart Gardner?” Isabella Stewart Gardner was an American art collector and philanthropist; John Singer Sargent painted her portrait in 1888.

Originally, the mother figure of “The Stomach” was a father; in her handwritten edits to the typescript, Loy changes the parental gender in each instance. Along with all of the pronouns, these changes include “aged gentleman” to “aged gentlewoman”; “paternal presence” to “maternal presence,” and “protected paternity” to “protracted maternity”.

For a discussion of “The Stomach” in relation to modernist mythologies of sexual conquest and the body, see Tim Armstrong, Modernism, Technology, and the Body: A Cultural Study (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1998, p. 117).

PAGE 104

“there was shawl” was “there was knitted wool—” and also “knitting”

“Delicate and decent” was “How delicate, how decent”

PAGE 105

“chosen Virginia” was “used Virginia”

“Cosway as model for” was “Cosway for”

“ La Tarantella ” reads “ ‘La Tarantella’ ” in all instances —ed .

“elevation of the statue” was “great height of the figure”

“inspired by the Master” was “inspired by the master”

“ danza Español ” reads “ ‘danza espanola’ ” —ed .

“they abode” was “they preferred to abide”

PAGE 106

“issued by the Master” was “issued by the master”

“ grand monde ” reads “grand monde” —ed .

Beside “ monde ” in the left margin, in faint type, reads “each” —ed .

“ les vernissages ” reads “ ‘les vernissages’ ” —ed .

“Hôtel Drouot” reads “Hotel Druot” —ed .

“talk with Virginia Cosway” was “talk with Virginia the”

“undulation of the hip” was likely “undulation of the hips”

“forefinger, the” reads “forefinger; the” and was “forefinger the” —ed .

PAGE 107

“age and hereditary” reads “age hereditary”—an “and” is written in the left margin —ed .

“herself—” was “herself”

“eye on the stomach” was “eye on the obtrusive stomach”

“only one of all the visitors” was “only one of the visitors” and was corrected by Loy to read “alone of all the visitors” —ed .

PAGE 108

“prowled beyond” was “prowled around”

“together with her eye” was “together with her blind eye”

“ outre-tombe ” reads “ ‘outre tombe’ ”

After “eye” is written, by hand and crossed out, “through”

THE THREE WISHES

(6:179)

“The Three Wishes” is a complete, handwritten manuscript of fifty-one pages; aside from some minor edits, the text is very clean. The original title, heavily crossed out, appears to have been “Three of Them.”; alongside it reads “By Mina Loy. ” The pages are numbered throughout. Pages 48 and 49 are missing from the file in Loy’s papers labelled “The Three Wishes,” but exist, intact, in another folder entitled “Unidentified Fragments” (6:183). As in “Hush Money” (c. 1917–22) and “In Maine: Green’s Colony,” Loy here regularly uses the mark “+” to denote breaks in narrative flow.

Eugene Debs (1855–1926) receives brief mention in this story; a founder of the International Workers of the World, Debs remains one of the most famous socialists in American history. Debs ran for presidency of the USA five times; on the last occasion, he conducted his campaign from prison, where he was serving a sentence for speaking out against American involvement in World War I.

PAGE 109

“back streets—” reads “back streets—.” —ed .

“white frills” was “white borders”

“turned it, and patting” was “turned it round again”

“clenched to it” was “clenched to his ribs”

PAGE 110

“bulgy” was “bulging”

“battered kitchen utensils” was “battered utensils”

“would always spit” was “would spit”

PAGE 111

“worn like a Pierrot’s frill by” was “worn by”

“teat, provided” was “teat, like provided”

“falling asleep, hypnotised” reads “falling asleep; hypnotised” —ed .

PAGE 112

“knee, pale” reads “knee; pale” —ed .

“unconvincing silk” was “unsatisfying silk”

“the placid social relation” was “the social relation”

PAGE 113

“Of good form—” reads “Of good form, — ” —ed .

“irreproachable minority—” reads “irreproachable minority: — ”— ed .

“there was something clownlike” reads “there was + something clownlike” —ed .

PAGE 114

“kinds of information” was “kinds of aid”

PAGE 115

“ ‘it hath pleased’ ” was “ ‘it has pleased’ ”

“Mr. and Mrs.” reads “Mr and Mrs” in all instances —ed .

“limn souls that were” reads “limn souls " that were” —ed .

“suggested itself”—“itself” is either crossed out or underlined —ed .