She is my great great great aunt.. wow I can't believe there is a documentary about her.. I have some of her original books

"What a life I had when back I should recall I was seen and heard for a time by all Such a rise somehow disguised what became my greatest fall The love I stole, the love I sought, brought me not the love for self Giving way to spiral and decay til but a shell upon a shelf - the very end of me ... And of you, should you fail to see, should you follow me" - LMC After hearing her sad story here, a long poem just fell out of my head. I shortened it to the above. Not EVM worthy, but still a truth I see.

She wanted no boundaries, no limits, no structure, no rules. Her life played out the way it did as a result.

"If I could have two things in one, the peace of the grave and the light of the sun..."🎉

Ms. Millay was one of the first female poets I discovered as a young student in the 70s. Her words sparked a love of poetry writing in me. Thank you for uploading this documentary of her life.

- Kudos to Ms Lines for wonderful readings! Great work from all! This short poem may encapsulate the quintessential E.St.V.M as well as any… “Witch-Wife” She is neither pink nor pale, And she never will be all mine; She learned her hands in a fairy-tale, And her mouth on a valentine. She has more hair than she needs; In the sun ‘tis a woe to me! And her voice is a string of coloured beads, Or steps leading into the sea. She loves me all that she can, And her ways to my ways resign; But she was not made for any man, And she never will be all mine. - Edna St. Vincent Millay

My mother read her poems to us, alone with others, when I was a child. She wasn’t forgotten

It's weird that she could ever have been forgotten. She's brilliant.

Thank you so much for this remarkable documentary. It was such a pleasure to listen to all the participants. Mrs. Millay was surely a brilliant poetess but little she knew about how to threat people with respect. She had such a distorted sense of entitlement. It was all about her desires and needs. The way she spoke about her servants, the way she used and discarded people for hedonistic purposes... just awful and full of callousness. Some people pass through this world causing so much devastation... Her legacy was of great contribution to Literature. Besides that, she was illiterate in regard to empathy.

I'd never heard of this brilliant woman before this excellent documentary. Thank you.

What a lovely documentary. I was merely looking for a biographical piece to listen to while painting but was entranced. I am, perhaps her newest fan! The actress who read her poems was brilliant with just the right amount of archness to the words. Wonderful. Thank you.

Edna St. Vincent Millay February 22, 1892 - October 19, 1950 I am not resigned to the shutting away of loving hearts in the hard ground. So it is, and so it will be, for so it has been, time out of mind: Into the darkness they go, the wise and the lovely. Crowned With lilies and with laurel they go; but I am not resigned. Lovers and thinkers, into the earth with you. Be one with the dull, the indiscriminate dust. A fragment of what you felt, of what you knew, A formula, a phrase remains,-but the best is lost. The answers quick and keen, the honest look, the laughter, the love,- They are gone. They are gone to feed the roses. Elegant and curled Is the blossom. Fragrant is the blossom. I know. But I do not approve. More precious was the light in your eyes than all the roses in the world. Down, down, down into the darkness of the grave Gently they go, the beautiful, the tender, the kind; Quietly they go, the intelligent, the witty, the brave. I know. But I do not approve. And I am not resigned.

Excellent, very professional documentary about a sad, tragic, significant artist. Thanks for posting.

Her poem 'The Suicide' is just amazing. I performed it in highschool competitively when i was on the forensics team. I always got good feedback.

What I find most remarkable about this video are the sympathetic scholars who provide the commentary and the analysis of Millay's life and work. They are all to be commended. The insights of Nancy Milford and Elizabeth Barnett are both accurate and endearing, and one regrets not having the opportunity to visit with them. As for Millay as a poet, she was facile and technically gifted, but with a very narrow artistic vision. All of her poems are autobiographical examinations, even those that are not love poems. She was extremely self-absorbed and in passionate pursuit of experiences of all kinds, without regard to the consequences, as J.D. McClatchy points out. In this she was not unlike the other writers of her era -- Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Dorothy Parker, Ezra Pound, et al -- who were all equally limited as artists and equally stunted as human beings. Millay was the voice of the feminists of the 1920s, just as Fitzgerald was the voice of the Jazz Age. And when the age passed, their limitations became apparent and their work no longer resonated with an audience that had moved on. All of them enjoyed the celebrity of the moment and outlived the fad. In Millay's case, she seemed incapable of expressing anything but her own feelings. Where are the larger ideas about life? About other people? Her contemporaries were not so limited. "Mending Wall" is not about Frost, "The Wasteland" is not about T.S. Eliot, "You, Andrew Marvel" is not about Archibald MacLeish. Those poems derive from the poet's experience, as they must, but they are about something more than the self. Millay, on the other hand, seems never to have been able to transcend herself, to see the world whole. Her own feelings were her sole theme, and also her weakness as a poet. Today, like Fitzgerald and Hemingway, her celebrity and her persona has become more important than her works.

..."The only people I really hate are servants, they are not really human beings at all.. ....even their sins are not human sins...but the sins of magpies,of monkeys, serpents and pigs"!!!!! Wow what a vicious poem! How cruel and untrue.

I am a very well read 73 Years old man, Raised by Grandmother, who also never spoke of Edna St. Vincent Millay: well she passed away 1950, I was born 1949. She is another Wonderful Woman and I am very happy to learn _ in my Old Age.

Thank you for this wonderful documentary. I too read her biography a few years back and thought what a phenomenal person. Of course, I was sad for the tragedies of her life but I love her poetry to this day. I think her time will come again.

I read a biography on her years ago. And you never hear anything about this most gifted poet, so thank you for this.

I am a teacher of English… never heard of her I am sad to say, at school, Uni or since. I am so glad to have found this; truly remarkable

A fine poet ; A sad ending . I really enjoyed the past hour and a half. This is quite a good documentary about a poet I've never been familiar with, but now I feel as if I had . I'm now, you could say, one of Edna Millay's fans .

I remember taking a poetry class at the art college i was attending. We were told to buy a book "Americas 100 Best Poems " Or "Poets"- i cant remember- this was over 40 years ago . But i DO remember that there were only 2 women poets represented in the entire book. Neither one was Millay. Maybe thats how she came to be forgotten.

Beautiful presentation...humorous, ironic, and serious moments interspersed perfectly. So natural, as she must have been. As a child required to scribble 4th grade poetry, I imitated her because I loved the lilt of her name ....I became a musician, and wrote many songs. The kinship is so close, although I regret that her art form failed to overcome her illness and addictions. Tragic loss.

It seems to me Edna kept a strong loyalty, above all, to her mother and then her sisters.

I graduated from college 22 years and took a lot of poetry classes but I don’t remember her name coming up ever! What a brilliant brilliant writer that should be thought of with the great American poets!!

I'm surprised at her meanness to the servants. Being rude to your servants is just plain dumb. They have so many ways of getting even. Serving spit soup is the least of them. lol She is my favorite poet, however, in spite of that terrible sin.

Beautiful tribute to a very unique woman. So flawed and yet that was an intricate part of her larger than life passion. Thank you for uploading this documentary.

I love her poem about spring - 'Is it enough that yearly down this hill April comes babbling like an idiot and strewing flowers?' Also, Leonard Bernstein puts to music one of her poems in his song-cycle 'Songfest'. (Also Walt Whitman.)

What a fabulous documentary. So moving and informative and brilliantly constructed. I have always loved her work. 'Margin me with scrawlings.' Mmmm. thank you.

Other than knowing she was a poet, I didn’t know anything about her life. This was enlightening to say the least. She certainly was brilliant! Having said that, she was not a kind person. I believe the latter should be sought after so much more than the former.

Her personal life was such an enigma to a mind like mine, so scattered and unsettled, that her poetry has an almost savant explanation. It's really astonishing she survived as long as she did once the addictions got such a powerful hold on her. I'd like to hear a qualified psychologist or psychiatrist offer up some explanation for some of her extreme behavior. Why are so many wildly creative people so plagued by tragedy? Thanks for the great video!

We were homeschoolers and read her poetry. I enjoyed this documentary, thank you.

Her poems remain among my favorites; started in high school in the early 1960's for Speech class. She touches a person's soul....

I love the woman reading her poems. I like listening to hear reading them more than the ones with Edna reading them online.

For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?

This is so sad, I could cry. The historic Chumley's has been done over and is now an expensive boite for hedge fund managers and the like. I remember it back in the 70s/80s when it was still the real thing and you could feel the presence of those past literary greats. It gave a lovely light.

These documentaries are super, so well crafted. i just looked up Nancy Milford, she seems like such a good story teller/ raconteur. She passed away only a few weeks ago, the end of March. RiP Ms. Milford. I shall certainly be reading the biographies you have written.

Witch Wife is my favorite poem of hers. Thanks for the biography!❤️

Let's be frank: Millay was a 'nympho'. 18 different lovers in the space of 1 month is pretty good evidence.

A very well made documentary about about a loathsome human being who wrote brilliant poetry.

What a joy to have seen this. So well done. Lovely readings, and information by all. Ms. Lines was delightful. The poem 'Memory of Cape Cod' by Ms. Millay was selected and read by Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg at Jacqueline Kennedy's funeral on 84th and Park in 1994, NYC. Thank you, for this time well spent!

What a woman! What poetry! I’m so moved by this video.

They say she's forgotten? I wasn't aware. My family adores her. I just assumed her fame was universal.

Even her name is poetic. My mother loved to recite poetry, Robert Service was one of her favorites, as well as Robert Frost.

This film I think was well informed, its share of details not the norm, Millay, more a student of self, still was brilliant, her works, a wealth, the way Ms. Edna wrote from life, must have given some relief from strife, every word a road once traveled, every book, an era unraveled. By Me

Dear Edna taught me since I was 13. I memorized her words and took them to heart.

Oh , the choices we make..... very interesting story.

I honestly don’t understand people’s acceptance to those who treat other humans with disdain! Treating the poor with respect gives honor to our creator!

Such a sad lonely ending to such beautiful brilliance. Thank you for this amazing documentary on such an extraordinary life.

Her life isn’t so different from other writers of her generation like Fitzgerald and Hemingway. The alcoholism, affairs, broken health, addiction, and early death. I was such a fan of hers back in the 60s.

My dear Edna, you will never be forgotten!! Again, I am watching this documentary about Edna. As in my existence, I can understand her complicated life, her passions, her obsessions, and her addictions. I too agree she was possibly was probably a manic depressive. Although, I am not a doctor. A broken flower of unknown dimensions that still shines in hearts that don't judge. A life that is a life that flames with passion, joy, and tragedy. We all suffer do we not? The transformation we may be able to gain if we live long enough. Edna will always be one of America's great poets. Reverence ✨️ ❤️ Thank you for this documentary. .

I grew up in a small town in Montana. In 1963, as a freshman in high school, I competed in forensics in a round of Oral Interpretation of Literature. It was the first time I had ever seen an African-American in person. Her name was Valerie Dickerson and she read Maley's poem "The Murder of Lidice". Valerie went on to become a news reporter on television in San Franciso....and a very notable personality....

They have proven that people with red hair need more medication to have an effect, also with premature babies as well. Maybe that is why she took so many drugs to get the same relief from pain as anyone else would.

Simply captivating. A wonderous individual with a sharp bite and melodic tongue.

Those who judge reveal themselves. I have treasured her work at many points of life and shared her with friends, and later my daughter. I appreciate this story and will add it to other bits of her story.

I never heard a word of her other than her name till this evening, and so happy I have

I read Renascence when I was 14; it was in my Freshman English book. I remember part of it 60 years later.

Grateful for Edna's gift. Unfortunate she was unable to have developed an outstanding character. The condition of the soul is directly related to life satisfaction. Unhappy woman

Awesome documentary! I learned so much! Thank you for the poignant story of this remarkable woman's life!

What a very sad life. I had no idea.

“Time does not bring relief. You all have lied.”

Sad story. Beautiful story telling. She was a terribly great poet although not the most pleasant person. Thank you for this!

Not all great poets are self-indulgent wrecks.

To me this is only sad. Such talent marred by hopeless dissolution and self destruction. What a cautionary tale.

Love the actress who is reading her

Good documentary

The only people she really hates are servants. They aren’t human beings. The other people she didn’t hate but she used Until she had no further use for them. Then they were simply discarded. No wonder she was neurotic, although she was a very good poet.

Great presentation. It's a shame she thought she was better than "servants." She forgot where she came from. Missed humanity. Sad.

This series of documentaries is so well done! Thank you so much!

My favorite has always been Recuerdo. I've loved it since I was 12 or 13. Another great documentary 👍💖

In my late mother’s artifacts my brother and I found handwritten in pencil instructions for our mother such as changing the bed linens etc. This would’ve been sometime in the mid 1940’s before her 1947 marriage to our father.

Thank you for this program.

WOW……….. First, allow me to apologize in advance for my rather lengthy observation. Sadly, I predicted the outcome generally speaking…. even though I only just met this interesting poet by watching this superb documentary! As a writer, composer( predominately jazz) Mixed Media Artist; I think I, and for that matter, most of us are vaguely familiar with the seemingly hardwired paradox of life imitating art; particularly when the line becomes blurred between passion and obsession. Of which, as a creative, I’ve undoubtedly experienced my share of a life replete with its paradoxical quagmires. In due time, the universe reveals to the wise; the utter futility of those; daring enough to mix extraordinary artistic gifts; liberally sprinkled in sensual decadence, and topped with a helping of self entitlement and ruthlessness……. and served up with a side of sheer genius! TALK ABOUT POETIC JUSTICE! ( absolutely no pun intended) Yet………Edna St. Vincent Millay’s work can’t be denied…… and remains relevant. ( I have yet to glean more morsels from her palate) I actually happened upon an interesting side note concerning the name itself of Edna St. Vincent Millay. Since I’m familiar with a wonderful band called: “St. Vincent;” founded by lead singer/ songwriter Annie Clark in 2006 age 40 I thought Anne may have borrowed the catchy name from this fiery feminist/activist of the 20th century? Nope!!…… interestingly, she thought to name the band in honor of ANOTHER famous poet: Dylan Thomas; ( October 1914 to November 1953) Who died suddenly at age 39 at St. Vincent Hospital in New York. Soooo, strange as it may seem, Edna St. Vincent Millay’s mother Cora…. Named her poetic daughter after the hospital Edna’s uncle had received care………… YEP!…. That hospital was none other than the same St.Vincent hospital in New York!! Also a coincidence was the fact that both poets were rising stars around the same time even though there was a 20 year age difference as Edna was older. Perhaps their literary paths crossed even though Edna’s tragic passing was in October 1950…. and Dylan Thomas early death came in November 1953. One final bazaar coincidence. As we know Edna’s addiction to morphine and falling lead to her untimely demise. Strangely enough, Dylan Thomas was ACCIDENTALLY given a series of morphine injections to combat his declining bout of pneumonia; Which hasten his death at 39. ( I’ve not had a chance to explore his work…… but the majority of it was celebrated before his 15th birthday!) His quick marriage to Caitlin McNamara; ( also a writer) was a short lived tumultuous disaster of infidelity that ironically became a book and a play written by his wife after her life long battle with child abuse alcoholism. She requested to be buried next to her husband; Thomas, who had died 39 years earlier………………….She died in 1994. ……… she was 81 years old. Soooo, It’s true……….. writing takes bravery, passion…dedication…… and solitude. While we crave the necessity of this stillness, our carnal sensuality lies dormant…….. in jealous secrecy. So………the question of balance remains……………… LESS WE USE THE SWORD OF CREATIVITY TO SACRIFICE LOVE ON THE ALTER OF DREAMS rain 🕯

Thank you for this well researched insight into yet another no longer with us character of times past. Atmospheric and informative of a different era. Where the result of Wars had such a profound impact on how people lived/loved afterwards. The agonies and sacrifices some experience for the love of another...as with her Husband. She certainly allowed "a lovely light" to rise up from within a place of conflict and shadows.

A wonderful documentary, telling us the story of a fascinating, extraordinary life.

An explanation not an excuse: Could her mistreatment of sevants been a hatred for her past history of poverty? She saw her past in those servants.

Kudos! This was an extremely well done documentary!

My. favorite poet since I was a youngster.

Every single thing about this Millay documentary beautiful and sublime. Thank you for sharing❤

Interesting life story, although I find I do not actually like her too much.

Thank you very much for this.

The actress reading her poetry and writings is excellent!

Thank you for such an amazing documentary of an extraordinary woman, really enjoyed this past hour and a half, and now to exploring poetry I never knew existed.

There's this wrong idea that for an artist to achieve greatness they must be free of bourgeois moral restraint. I believe the opposite is, in fact, true. I think she would have reached greater heights and become utterly fulfilled had she remained faithful to her moral core. Her talent was greater than her character. All her boozing, cheating, betrayal, drug use, hateful behavior, and using people for sex didn't help her writing, it just left a wake of bad feelings and harmed her legacy.

thank you so much for uploading these!

A very sympathetic and comprehensive study. She appears to be the classic narcissist: vain, cruel, transactional and not terribly deep. Her poetry is fun, sometimes trite, often cruel and spoiled. She used people mercilessly and forgot the charm when dealing with servants who she despised. An utter horror! A butterfly made of cold steel decked in velvet. I enjoyed the story but hated the way she treated people, beginning to wish she could only Fall in Love, fall and experience the deep feelings she’d inspired in innocent others. So against my character I was not sad when she finally fell in love - unrequited - which must have been a blow to that massive ego. Her husband might well have been a functioning masochist; how else would he have managed? She benefitted from a 90% under-educated population. Many more women emerged of higher quality once education was available. In a later cohort I suspect she would not have been noticed as a poet.

What a beautiful evocation of Edna Millay’s life and “Savage Beauty!” I fault it only faintly in that it didn’t address the Baudelaire translation project (initially George Dillon’s solo project, but which Vincent had to involve herself in to the point of unbridled domination!). After requisite disclaimers (poetry, not prose, being her forte!), she then goes on to write a most cogent, sympathetic and concise monograph of the great French poet. - I hope this may help: “WHAT SHALL YOU SAY TONIGHT?” What shall you say tonight, poor soul so full of care, What shall you say my heart, heart hitherto so sad, To the most kind, to the most dear, to the most fair, Whose pure serene regard has made you proud and glad? - We shall set all our pride to sing her holy praise! What sweetness to be hers! To live beneath her sight! Half spirit is her flesh, angelic all her ways; Her glance alone invests us in a robe of light! Whether in solitude and deep obscurity, whether by day among the moving crowd it be, Her phantom like torch in air will dance and run; It speaks: “Beauty is mine; Authority is mine; Love only for my sake, the noble and the fine; I am thine Angel, Muse, Madonna, all in one.”

Thank u for this wonderful biography!

Thank you for sharingxxx

Well, I must write a long story here, that includes a poetry course I took in college. I am an unpublished poet, inspired from the age of 7. As an adult, and a young mother, I suddenly decided to take an evening poetry class. I began a lengthy, detailed essay/paper about her, and had a horrible time getting down to the task! I REALLY connected with her, beyond this physical world, as I am also a medium/channel. On the last few days before it was due, I became very ill with severe bronchitis. Slaved, struggled over the typewriter, late at night to get it finished, and truly felt like I was dying!! She came through to me. She truly was with me. I felt like I was meeting a past life version of myself. I started to believe it that night. I finally finished this, 'intense' paper at 4am the following morning, which was, I very suddenly and shockingly noticed, Her Birthday! Yes, I've felt Deeply connected to her. 💓😘🌟

Such an interesting documentary, which I found by chance. Thank you for uploading.

Cruelty seems to satisfy her most ...

This woman has a lot in common with my ex-wife and I’m not talking about her poetry skills

By far, the most beautiful poem I’ve ever read is Edna St Vincent Miley’s “The Ballad of the Harp Weaver”.

Yikes! Aside from her peerless poetic gift: She was a bit like a personification of all the conflicts in that century's first generation. Started off like it was her personal assignment to crash through all 'Victorian era' values. Then the shock & senseless horror of WW I. Then she, like that generation, made it their mission to make up for all the dead, by living multiple lives in a matter of a decade or so (the '20s). Then as they're aging, they realize: Ok, we shook off the old values. We're done with sacrificing our own lives for musty ideals & creeds. We slaked all our thirsts, including carnal ones. But oh $#¡†: now we're aging, and.... what the heck is left to orient our lives to?? We forgot about replacing the old values with new values of our own. What a wild ride; but I would never choose to be part of that lost, shipwrecked generation - least of all E SV M.

I knew nothing about her except reading one poem in high school. Obviously, she did not appeal... SO when this was suggested to me..I wanted to get an easy taste. It is a BEAUTIFUL documentary of a HORRIBLE person....and an ordinary poet.

Well, she may have been a great poet, but sounds like she was a real biotch. No one needs to befriend such a person. Not ever.

I strongly believe she had legitimate chronic pain that she was treating with the morphine and the addiction developed on top of that. People with legitimate pain issues are often able to take more than the average person and stay functional. She also had a history of severe digestive issues which can cause incredibly awful and deep pain. And they often find it difficult to treat the addiction because they NEED the medication to live a normal life. It's like someone with a food addiction- it's tough because you need food to live.

Another well done documentary - from a Write Like fan and subscriber.

I love especially her sonnets. Gorgeous poetry.