Lynne Tillman Looks Inside the Diary of American Poet Charles Henri Ford
Charles Henri Ford, born in 1908 in Mississippi, was a poet, editor, and central figure in 20th-century avant-garde art and literature, known for his relationships with Djuna Barnes and artist Pavel Tchelitchew. He founded the magazine Blues in 1929, launching the careers of writers like Paul Bowles, and later edited View, a major platform for surrealist and modernist artists during World War II. His life and work, documented in his diary, reflect a commitment to artistic freedom, queer identity, and the intersections of poetry, art, and personal pleasure.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Dear Poet Charles Henri Ford Did the lake overturn when Narcissus fell in became opaque a mad lake— Oh poet dear please make it clear and let it recover the reflected image of that foolish lover— Amazedly Florine Stettheimer Charles Henri (né Henry) Ford made his entrance on February 10, 1908, in Hazlehurst, Mississippi, to Gertrude Cato and Charles Lloyd Ford. It was his idea to change the spelling of Henry to Henri. “I was tired of being asked if I was related to Henry Ford,” he says, “and a young girl wrote me on lavender paper in red ink and made a mistake that I liked so I kept it.” Ford’s parents, and his father’s brothers, owned hotels in various small cities in Mississippi and Texas—Ford was born in a hotel that burned down soon after—and his early life was peripatetic.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Literary Hub.
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