Mata Hari's Lost Words - Softcover

Oughton, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0997502150 ISBN 13: 9780997502152

Publisher: Neopoiesis Press, LLC, 2017

Synopsis

A century ago, a French Military court sentenced Mata Hari to death and locked up her trial records and memoirs until 2017. This long out-of-print classic of poetic autobiography crosses time and gender lines to reanimate the spirit of one of history's most notorious women, answering the question "Who really was she"?

About this title

About the Author

John Oughton was born in Guelph, Ontario, a block away from the home of John McCrae (author of "In Flanders Fields"). When his father was seconded to the World Health Organization, John spent two years living in Egypt and Iraq. He completed a BA and MA in English at York University, where he studied with Irving Layton, Eli Mandel, Miriam Waddington and Frank Davey. After a half-year stay in Kyoto, Japan, he worked at Coach House Press and as a journalist and corporate communicator. He attended the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University, and was a research assistant to Allen Ginsberg and Anne Waldman. John taught English, led faculty development, and recently retired as Professor of Learning and Teaching, at Centennial College, Ontario. He now free-lances as an editor, including of poetry manuscripts, and writer. In 2015, he published an acclaimed, offbeat mystery novel about the Kennedy assassination, Death by Triangulation (NeoPoiesis Press). Oughton has also penned five books of poetry, most recently Time Slip (Guernica Editions), and over 400 articles, interviews, reviews and blogs. John is a long-time member of the Long Dash writing workshop. He is an accomplished photographer with three solo shows and several book and magazine covers to his credit. For fun, he plays guitar and drums. He rides an old Yamaha motorcycle.

Review

"John Oughton metamorphoses into the voice of consummate seductress Mata Hari, delving underneath her femme fatale archetype to reveal the woman's fascinating life, elevating her mythic stature and simultaneously humanizing her with sublime affection and voluptuous poetic language. From an angry ex-wife who resolves to "crush all beneath my feet, / crush and re-create myself" to a dancing Salome who proclaims, "I have remade sex holy," Oughton's gift is in presenting a beautifully expressive interpretation of Mata Hari's rush of thoughts and ideas until her last fatal moments in "Ghost," a haunting end to a riveting collection." -- Myna Wallin, author of Confessions of a Reluctant Cougar, and A Thousand Profane Pieces "Mata Hari's Lost Words is a dark seductive dance through the shadows of the Belle Epoque. Each moment, a word, each poem, a revelation of fact and fiction. Oughton takes us on Mata Hari's journey towards self-discovery and shares just enough of her story to titillate us. Under his careful craftsmanship she becomes fl esh, every gorgeous curve of her -- not only on the page, but deep within our imagination. This collection is a must read." -- Kath MacLean, author of For a Cappucino on Bloor and Kat Among the Tigers"

About this edition

• Publisher: Neopoiesis Press, LLC
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0997502150
• ISBN 13: 9780997502152
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 76