Met someone I'd like to introduce you to. She is dead, of course and this makes future conversations difficult. But. She's the first true punker, a founder of the Dada art movement, poet and artist, and performance artist where her stage was everyday life. She died in the 1920s in Paris but was much ado in the American art and writing scene. Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven.

She was something of an annoyance to society, the police, and other artists and poets of the time. A subject of letters and poetry/essays, posthumously by Ezra Pound who should have just stayed his En-tire ass at home on this one, and during her day by dueling women writers in The Little Review. All of this endears her to me.

I felt such a connection with this woman. She certainly could fit in with my collection of past life personaes because we have much in common. I'll let you figure out which commonalities over the course of time.

Here is an essay so you can get the flavor of her. There are also some of her poems. Like this one.

Blast
The Little Review, 7 (September-December 1920)
Take spoon——scalpel——
Scrape brains clear from you——
how it hurts to be void !
blast flew
over twin hillocks
emeroyd.
singeing——seering satanic stink——
flew——blew——
blushroses !
barren grew——
to you——
annoyed
protruding
sharp :
pointed pyramids
silence——drums——
——sphinx——
I smother——
pranked mother——
from stark things ! ! !
stark kings in
rockchamber
mockeye set amber
within mine chest ! ! !
to rest——
no !
ripple——glide——quiver :
Nile
river !
overflow !
hillocks inundated
abated
blush
blushroses !
on twin hillocks
smaragd isle !
awhile——awhile—— !


There is also this story in the New York times about women in the Dada movement. She's a fascinating character and certainly fits the bill for eccentricity. I introduce you her to her life and some of her works so that you can see that unconventionality can be art. And poetry. And writing.