Oriole Farb Feshbach: H.D.’s Trilogy

“The work for this exhibition is based on H.D.’s (Hilda Doolittle, 1886-1961) epic war Trilogy (1946). Part one of Trilogy is written as H.D. works in a London bomb shelter during the second world war. Her poem is rich in layered imagery of survival as shown in the art and mythology surrounding past wars in Egypt and Greece. The concept of resurrection after destruction of nature and of beliefs are major themes.

Her imagery is layered with concepts of struggle for survival from the chaos of war, but with clear precision there arises form the ruins of a jotting, a butterfly, or a flower.

Begun in a London bomb shelter during the Blitz, Trilogy has 43 poems in each of its three parts. H.D. is in the role of the poet-scribe, with gender fluidity and a layering of ideas, zones, and cultures. She is an enabler by providing inspiration arising from the devastation from art over war.

Exhibited here are some examples for my project of making 43 images for the 43 poems in each part of H.D.’s Trilogy. It follows my making images for two other major war-influenced poems: Asphodel, that Greeny Flower by William Carlos Williams and The Auroras of Autumn by Wallace Stevens. Those projects resulted in book form. H.D. has been overshadowed by these two major poets: she stands as equal. This is my third exhibition at R. Michelson Galleries involving poetry where there is an atmosphere of encouragement for such work. ”

– Oriole Farb Feshbach