Purgatory Lilt/ Statements by Circumstan...

Critical Introduction

The tension between freedom of expression and censorship, between play and structure pervades her work. In particular, it is reflected in the Baroness’s commentary on Germany (which she equated with stultifying restriction) and America (which she associated with dynamic freedom). In 1923, after Little Review stopped publishing her work, the Baroness concluded that she was not appreciated in New York. She wrote to Barnes, “I have not become ‘known enough’ and so I am forgotten,” because “I had fame that kept me admired, jeered at, feared, and poor” (“Selections” 25, 26). As a result— with a loan from William Carlos Williams—Freytag-Loringhoven returned to Germany only to discover that her father had disinherited her. Until 1926, she was despondent, selling newspapers on the street in Berlin until Barnes and others raised enough money to send her to Paris where she subsequently died.

In post-war Berlin, the Baroness often reflected on what she looked back on as happier times in the states. Written during this period, the first lines of “Statements/Purgatory Lilt” reflect her opinion of Germany: "GERMANY’S REMAIN IS PERMEATED BY DECAY REEK THROUGHOUT. / EFFECT OF BRAINSTORMING BACKSLIDE—" while the poem concludes with her more hopeful perspective on America, which she has left behind forever. The concluding lines discuss the stifling air (“wheeze I”) the Baroness perceives in the atmosphere of post-war Germany. Germany’s architecture and its “ghosts” or culture is decaying, while in the “sweet soil” of America, she might take root and conceivably flourish. In an undated letter to Djuna Barnes from Germany she writes of her love for America:

IT IS ‘LIFE’ THERE—DOING—EVEN IF IN DEFIANCE OF MENTAL POVERTY BENEATH MASK OF GENIUS—FOR THE SAKE OF “MAKING A LIVING.” IT IS PLUCK! IT IS LIFE! THE GERMAN IS NOT EVEN CAPABLE OF IT! HE IS IN TRADITION ROTTEN SCHRUNKEN DIGNITY A DAPPER GRAVE—EXHAUSTED FOOL—WHO DIES OF “CONVICTION” WITHOUT TO KNOW WHAT ABOUT—HE HAS BECOME TOO COMFORTABLY DULL—HAS FORGOTTEN TO MOVE—FIGHT—EXCEPT IN THAT MECHANICAL WAR FASHION WITH WEAPONS (UMD).

Reflecting a Dadaist sensibility, the Baroness loves America because she perceives it is a culture not so mired in “dull,” no longer meaningful, traditions like those represented in many “old-world” religions. She perceives that it is a culture of action, a trait she admires.

In an another undated letter to Djuna Barnes, the Baroness writes, "COULD YOU NOT BRING THAT -- WHAT I TITLED "HELL'S WISDOM"? IT IS VERY PERSONALY

--AND AGAIN -- NOT - AT - ALL. -- JUST PRECISELY PRINTING OUT WHERE I STAND IN UNIVERSE -- AND WHY -- SO PRECARIOUSLY! DJUNA. BESIDES --IT IS CRISTALL IN STILE

Alternate spelling: STYLE

CONCISENESS - INFORMATION ! FOR WEEKS I WORKED ON NOTHING BUT THE STYLE OF THE THING. AND I LOVE THE ARITHMETIC IN IT! TOGETHER WITH YOUR PREFACE -- TRYING TO ARROUSE INTERREST

Alternate spelling: INTEREST

FOR ME -- HELP -- SYMPATHY (AND I NEED IT! HEAVEN HELP -- HOW I DO -- IN ORDER TO BE SAVED TO DO MY ART --FOR I CANNOT BE SAVED OTHERWISE OTHERWISE IS BLANKNESS --THAT MEANS NECESSARY DEATH! WITH YOUR GENEROUS PREFACE -- MY OWN DJUNA -- WOULD IT NOT BE WONDERFULL

Alternate spelling: WONDERFUL

TOGETHER? i WONDER -- YOU DID NOT THINK OF IT. THATN THERE IS THAT: "PURGATORY LILT." PROVING MY DEVOTION TO AMERICA -- AND THE ROTTING -- YOU SEE -- I AM DERANGED -- DJUNA -- TEMPORARELY

Alternate spelling: TEMPORARILY

BECAUSE I _KNOW IT_ - AS MY MOTHER DID - WHEN SHE WAS - SHE KNEW SHE WAS NOT CRAZY - _BUT SHE_s ALSO KNEW - SHE WAS ASTRAY - UNCOLLECTED IN MIND. I CANNOT CONCENTRATE TO CREATE --MY MISERY INTRUDES UNSHAPED -- AS BEFORE --PAIN BECAME EXALTED SHAPE! I HAVE START OF MENTAL CANCER -- MUST GO MAD ON BARREN ROCK OF GERMANY GROS AGE STUPIDITY [. . .] (UMD 2.262-263)