Thistledownflight

has 6 versions
Index of texts
X Bibliographic Information

Thistledownflight

by Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven

Original Source

The Baroness' poems and papers are contained in the Archives and Manuscripts Department at the University of Maryland Libraries. Complete papers cover the period from 1917-1933 and consist of manuscripts, drafts, notes, correspondence, drawings and photographs.

Textual transcription and analysis of the seven poems encoded here were undertaken in Fall 2003 by graduate students in William H. Sherman's English 601 class, "Literary Research and Critical Contexts."

Text editing of "Thistledownflight" was performed by Helen Lucille DeVinney.

Witness List

  • Witness a1: Thitledownflight: Version 1 - Most-Finished version
  • Witness a2: Thistledownflight: Version 2 - Typed
  • Witness a3: Thistledownflight: Version 3
  • Witness a4: Thistledownflight: Version 3 - Rewritten Second Half
  • Witness a5: Ghinga: Version 4 - Images Only
  • Witness a6: Ginga: Version 5 - The Early Draft of Thistledownflight

Textual Notes

There are five versions of "Thistledownflight," presented here in the following order: four handwritten versions and one typewritten version (Version 2) by the Baroness (in the order of the "most-finished" version to the earliest draft, as determined by the editor). Since Baroness rewrtoe the sencond half of the version 3 and it to the version 3, the second half version is separately encoded as Witness a4. The version 4 (Witness 5) is available only as the images. Titles of the latest three versions are "Thistledownflight". "Ginga" is used as titles for the earlier two versions. The poem is unpublished.
The following is an excerpt from Helen Lucille DeVinney's transcription rationale:

The handwriting is her typical use of majuscule letters, and the letters themselves are slightly larger than her standard print. It is presented as a visual poem; the Baroness has taken pains to add her own artistic decorations to the paper. Her use of the page is sparse, and the layout of the words themselves is artistic. The placement of the line groupings is irregular, and, in the case of the final word “Thistledownflight,” she arranges the word itself in an artistic way. Interestingly, the poem is unsigned, as are each of the subsequent drafts.

In some cases her handwriting seems to be slightly different in the corrections, but this alone is not enough to determine that the revisions occurred at another time. Her arrangement suggests that the poem was beginning to take shape: certain words or lines are clearly grouped and begin to suggest the arrangement of 2r/2v [Version 2]. She clearly leaves room for possibility....In 4r/4v [Version 4] we see the appearance of the later title "Thistle down flight," which are also the last lines of the poem. This version seems to precede 3r/3v [Version 3]; in 3r/3v we see the adoption of the title "Thistledownflight," as well as the arrangement and corrections of some of her revisions in 4r/4v.


Read Helen Lucille DeVinney's essay "Thistledownflight."
Additions appear in a green, fixed-width font. Deletions appear in a red, fixed-width font with strikethrough.

Electronic Edition Information:

Responsibility Statement:
  • Encoded by Kenichiro Shimada and Helen Lucille DeVinney
Publication Details:
2004

Published by Special Collections, University of Maryland Libraries.

University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742

Researchers can gain access to the Papers of Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven in the Maryland Room, Hornbake Library, University of Maryland Libraries, College Park, MD 20742

"Thistiledownflight" manuscripts located in Series III, Box four, Folder 11; microfiche id numbers 5/920-5/927, 5/969.

Special Collections at the University of Maryland provides more information about the microfilm edition of the papers.

Images and manuscripts drafts of this poem may not be reproduced or downloaded and used on another site without the explicit permission of UMD Archives. They may not be reproduced or downloaded and used on another site without the explicit permission of UMD Archives. Though the intellectual property of Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven is in the public domain, all annotations and editorial commentary are copyrighted.

Encoding Principles

DTD constructed from TEI poetry base with tagsets for linking, figures, analysis, transcr, textcrit.

XWitness
Thistledownflight Thistledownflight Thistle down flight Thistle down flight-Second half of Version 3 n
Note: Baroness rewrote the second half (second column) of Version 3. This part is separately encoded in order to enjoy advantages of the Versioning Machine.
GINGA n
Note: Version4 (Witness5) was not encoded since there are too many revisions (in this version) to apply parallel segmentation.

1
GHINGHA (DJUNA) GINGA
2
I
3
MUSTI TREMBLE
4
DO
5
NOT
6
MAY NOT LAUGH !
7
BORN
8
MOTHER FINE FLOWER
9
FLOWER
10
BY
11
ORCHID SPPECKLED DARK-LIGHT
13
SPECKLED
14
DARK
15
LIGHT
16
DOOMED
17
SHE
18
WEPT AT MORNNIGHT SUMPTUOUSMEAGER
19
AT
20
NIGHT !
21
CURSED CURSING PROPER SNARING SNARE OF AMPLELIFE'S PURSE
22
TAUT
23
SNARE
24
OF
25
DULLARD'S
26
AMPLE
27
PURSE ––
28
AT
29
SPIRITLEDGE
30
BRIGHT
31
BRIGHT YOUTH OF HERS
32
OF TORN     SPIRIT BORN
33
HER'S AT AGE OF AT WSDOM WORN EDGE
34
BRIGHT –– BRIGHT     WORN SOUL FORLORN
35
WORN
36
AT
37
AT WISDOMEDGE WISDOM EDGE
38
TORN !
39
BLIGHT
40
WHY
41
GHINGA GINGA  (DJUNA)
42
WHY THOUGH
43
FROM
44
HER'S HERSS
45
PATH COURSE BED CURVE
46
PATH DIVERGED –– YET FROM HERS AM I URGED FROM HERS
47
AMWHY n
Note: This paragraph was revised several times. As well as the other parts of the Version 3, all rewritten parts here are organized in a way of “a word in a line.” See the image of Version 3 in order to acquire the actual locations and layouts. In the far left of the first column, there is rewritten paragraph “YET IS SHE URGED D IN HEIR TO QUAKE ANEW VAGRANT FORLORAN SPILL” ("FORLORAN" is crossed out). Next this paragraph, there is another revised paragraph “YET WITHIN HEIR SHE QUAKES ANEW”("YET" is crossed out). Left side of the second column, there are another revisions. “YET IS SHE URGED TO," “QUAKE ANEW IN HEIR,” “TOO VGRANT SPILL.”
48
WITHIN I
49
FURGED
50
HEIR HERE  HEIR TO TO WITH
51
SHE
52
SOB'S SOBS QUAKE WEPS QUAKE
53
TO MUST I QUAKE ANEW : !    SOBS FRESH
54
IS FOR IS FOR IN ISHER SPARK WITHINMY HORSE HOUSE YOUNG SHELL
55
VAGRANT HEIR BULB     VAGRANT
56
DOOMED DOOMED
57
VAGRANCY FOR SPILL ! DOOM IS IT  IS ITCURSED TOO?
58
TOODOOMED      LIGHT IS THERE NOISLE HOT BEDSTEAD
59
BLOOD      VAGRANTHEIRESS
60
HAS
61
HASIS      BEACON
62
ISLAND
63
BED BED TO
64
FOR TO BEAR
65
BEAR
66
FOR SPECKELED ORCHIDS GLARE
67
ORCHIDS ORHID'S
68
DARK —
69
LIGHT
70
GLARE      DARK—LIGHT
71
HAS    TO BEAR DARK DARK
72
LIGHT LIGHT
73
TO FLEW
74
BEAR
75
HAS FOUND HAS
76
HAS SITE SITE    FINDS FOUND
77
ON
78
EARTH NOWHERE
79
IS IT NOWHERE ! NxWHERE?RIGHT p
Physical note: There is a gray oval from this line to the bottom of the page. See the image.
ON EARTH ILL WILL n
Note: There are three rewritten attempts about this part. In the space on the left hand side of the column, there is the rewriting, “SUN WILL EARTH BEARS" ("EARTH" and "BEARS" are crossed out). On the righthad side of the column, there are two revising attempts. One is “SH WE IS ARE NIL ILL" ("WE," "ARE," and "NIL" are crossed out). Another is “SUN WILLED ILL MOTHER RIGHT BIRTH" (This part is actually closed out with the zigzag line). See the image.
? ON EARTH

80
SUN MOTHER xxGHT
81
WILL NIL!
82
ILL ! BIRTH RIGHT
83
BUT NIL BIRTH    EARTH x RIGHT
84
BLIGHT BLIGHT
85
THISTLEDOWNFLIGHT !n
Note: The original layout is diagonal (up-down-up); see the image.
!n
Note: The original layout is diagonal; see the image.
THISTLExxWNFLIGHT

86
CHINGHA" FOR "DJUNA" FOR MOTHER ME
87
OUR NAME —
88
GINGA — BROTHER
89
FLAME?
XWitness
Thistledownflight Thistledownflight Thistle down flight Thistle down flight-Second half of Version 3 n
Note: Baroness rewrote the second half (second column) of Version 3. This part is separately encoded in order to enjoy advantages of the Versioning Machine.
GINGA n
Note: Version4 (Witness5) was not encoded since there are too many revisions (in this version) to apply parallel segmentation.

1
GHINGHA (DJUNA) GINGA
2
I
3
MUSTI TREMBLE
4
DO
5
NOT
6
MAY NOT LAUGH !
7
BORN
8
MOTHER FINE FLOWER
9
FLOWER
10
BY
11
ORCHID SPPECKLED DARK-LIGHT
13
SPECKLED
14
DARK
15
LIGHT
16
DOOMED
17
SHE
18
WEPT AT MORNNIGHT SUMPTUOUSMEAGER
19
AT
20
NIGHT !
21
CURSED CURSING PROPER SNARING SNARE OF AMPLELIFE'S PURSE
22
TAUT
23
SNARE
24
OF
25
DULLARD'S
26
AMPLE
27
PURSE ––
28
AT
29
SPIRITLEDGE
30
BRIGHT
31
BRIGHT YOUTH OF HERS
32
OF TORN     SPIRIT BORN
33
HER'S AT AGE OF AT WSDOM WORN EDGE
34
BRIGHT –– BRIGHT     WORN SOUL FORLORN
35
WORN
36
AT
37
AT WISDOMEDGE WISDOM EDGE
38
TORN !
39
BLIGHT
40
WHY
41
GHINGA GINGA  (DJUNA)
42
WHY THOUGH
43
FROM
44
HER'S HERSS
45
PATH COURSE BED CURVE
46
PATH DIVERGED –– YET FROM HERS AM I URGED FROM HERS
47
AMWHY n
Note: This paragraph was revised several times. As well as the other parts of the Version 3, all rewritten parts here are organized in a way of “a word in a line.” See the image of Version 3 in order to acquire the actual locations and layouts. In the far left of the first column, there is rewritten paragraph “YET IS SHE URGED D IN HEIR TO QUAKE ANEW VAGRANT FORLORAN SPILL” ("FORLORAN" is crossed out). Next this paragraph, there is another revised paragraph “YET WITHIN HEIR SHE QUAKES ANEW”("YET" is crossed out). Left side of the second column, there are another revisions. “YET IS SHE URGED TO," “QUAKE ANEW IN HEIR,” “TOO VGRANT SPILL.”
48
WITHIN I
49
FURGED
50
HEIR HERE  HEIR TO TO WITH
51
SHE
52
SOB'S SOBS QUAKE WEPS QUAKE
53
TO MUST I QUAKE ANEW : !    SOBS FRESH
54
IS FOR IS FOR IN ISHER SPARK WITHINMY HORSE HOUSE YOUNG SHELL
55
VAGRANT HEIR BULB     VAGRANT
56
DOOMED DOOMED
57
VAGRANCY FOR SPILL ! DOOM IS IT  IS ITCURSED TOO?
58
TOODOOMED      LIGHT IS THERE NOISLE HOT BEDSTEAD
59
BLOOD      VAGRANTHEIRESS
60
HAS
61
HASIS      BEACON
62
ISLAND
63
BED BED TO
64
FOR TO BEAR
65
BEAR
66
FOR SPECKELED ORCHIDS GLARE
67
ORCHIDS ORHID'S
68
DARK —
69
LIGHT
70
GLARE      DARK—LIGHT
71
HAS    TO BEAR DARK DARK
72
LIGHT LIGHT
73
TO FLEW
74
BEAR
75
HAS FOUND HAS
76
HAS SITE SITE    FINDS FOUND
77
ON
78
EARTH NOWHERE
79
IS IT NOWHERE ! NxWHERE?RIGHT p
Physical note: There is a gray oval from this line to the bottom of the page. See the image.
ON EARTH ILL WILL n
Note: There are three rewritten attempts about this part. In the space on the left hand side of the column, there is the rewriting, “SUN WILL EARTH BEARS" ("EARTH" and "BEARS" are crossed out). On the righthad side of the column, there are two revising attempts. One is “SH WE IS ARE NIL ILL" ("WE," "ARE," and "NIL" are crossed out). Another is “SUN WILLED ILL MOTHER RIGHT BIRTH" (This part is actually closed out with the zigzag line). See the image.
? ON EARTH

80
SUN MOTHER xxGHT
81
WILL NIL!
82
ILL ! BIRTH RIGHT
83
BUT NIL BIRTH    EARTH x RIGHT
84
BLIGHT BLIGHT
85
THISTLEDOWNFLIGHT !n
Note: The original layout is diagonal (up-down-up); see the image.
!n
Note: The original layout is diagonal; see the image.
THISTLExxWNFLIGHT

86
CHINGHA" FOR "DJUNA" FOR MOTHER ME
87
OUR NAME —
88
GINGA — BROTHER
89
FLAME?

Image ViewerX