Astral H.D., The: Occult and Religious Sources and Contexts for H.D.’s Poetry and Prose

Modernist poet H.D. had many visionary and paranormal experiences throughout her life. Although Sigmund Freud worried that they might be ‘symptoms,’ she rebelled, educating herself in the alternative world of the occult and spiritualism in order to transform the raw material into a mythical autobiography woven throughout her poetry, prose, and life-writing. The Astral H.D. narrates the fascinating story of how she used the occult to transform herself, and provides surprising revelations about her friendships and conflicts with famous figures—such as Sigmund Freud and the Battle of Britain War Hero Hugh Dowding—along the way.

Matte Robinson is Assistant Professor of English at St. Thomas University, Fredericton, Canada.