The Two Women Who Wrote as ‘Michael Field’
Their poems about the experience of beauty help explain the choice to write as one person.
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The poetic genius—tortured, solitary—is a familiar figure. Some of the concept’s staying power comes from simple wonder: The best poetry makes us marvel at the human spirit’s ability to use language in such extraordinary or unusual ways, whether it’s “’twas brillig, and” or “” or “.” We tend to be stunned, transported, floored by creativity when we encounter it—which is why the clichés of AI-generated art and poetry still amuse rather than move us.