Elizabeth Smart
Born to an upper-crust Canadian family in 1913, the poet Elizabeth Smart wrote one of the more fallen from grace memoirs with By Grand Central Station I Sat Down And Wept, first published in 1945 in only 2000 copies, and maybe most of those were banned in Canada through the influence of her mother — not at all happy about the book — and what wasn't banned, mommie dearest bought up and burned.
Smart was a long time lover with poet George Barker, a married man. Passion holds no bounds, together they had four children that Smart raised herself while working as an advertising copy writer.
It's been said Lucian Freud went to paint her portrait and only got down as far as her eyebrows.
Her poems must be read, and her volumes of journals. There is something special about an independent soul up against the odds. This one was stopped in London in 1986 by a heart attack. In the meantime, her books have a life of their own.
Smart was a long time lover with poet George Barker, a married man. Passion holds no bounds, together they had four children that Smart raised herself while working as an advertising copy writer.
It's been said Lucian Freud went to paint her portrait and only got down as far as her eyebrows.
Her poems must be read, and her volumes of journals. There is something special about an independent soul up against the odds. This one was stopped in London in 1986 by a heart attack. In the meantime, her books have a life of their own.
