A London Plane-Tree and Other Verse (1889) is a poetry collection by
Amy Levy. Published in the year of her death at the age of 27, A London
Plane-Tree and Other Verse is the work of a pioneering writer and
feminist whose poetry and prose explores the concept of the New Woman
while illuminating the realities of Jewish life in nineteenth century
London. "Green is the plane-tree in the square, / The other trees are
brown; / They droop and pine for country air; / The plane-tree loves the
town." In these lyric poems exploring the sights and sounds of Victorian
London, Amy Levy identifies herself with a modern, urban setting,
refusing to rely on tradition in poetry or in life: "Others the country
take for choice, / And hold the town in scorn; / But she has listened to
the voice / On city breezes borne." Attuned to the urban bustle of work
and play, Levy presages the malaise and discontent more often associated
with Modernist writers of the early twentieth century: "Dead-tired, dog
tired, as the vivid day / Fails and slackens and fades away.-- / The sky
that was so blue before / With sudden clouds is shrouded o'er." Having
struggled with depression her whole life, Levy was keenly aware of
poetry's ability to capture the depths of human emotion. "To Vernon
Lee," addressed to her lover, herself a famous writer, Levy provides a
self-portrait in the throes of heartache, recalling with sorrow a love
consigned to the past: "A snowy blackthorn flowered beyond my reach; /
You broke a branch and gave it to me there; / [...] / And of the gifts
the gods had given to each-- / Hope unto you, and unto me Despair." With
a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this
edition Amy Levy's A London Plane-Tree and Other Verse is a classic
work of British literature reimagined for modern readers.
