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D. H. (David Herbert) Lawrence

D. H. Lawrence was the son of a coal miner and a schoolteacher in Nottinghamshire, England. Lawrence struggled throughout his career as a novelist, poet, and critic to balance the example of his impulsive, physical

Coming Awake

by D. H. (David Herbert) Lawrence (1885–1930)

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16

When I woke, the lake-lights were quivering on the wall,

The sunshine swam in a shoal across and across,

And a hairy, big bee hung over the primulas

In the window, his body black fur, and the sound of him cross.

There was something I ought to remember: and yet

I did not remember. Why should I? The running lights

And the airy primulas, oblivious

Of the impending bee—they were fair enough sights.

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Poets Book of Days

September 11

D. H. Lawrence born, 1885

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Poetry Trivia

Question:

Who coined the phrase "Beat Generation", and to what does the word "beat" refer?

Answer

Jack Kerouac is attributed with using the phrase in 1948. The meaning of "beat," which started as "defeated," was expanded by him to refer both to musical rhythms (e.g. on the beat, upbeat) and spiritual matters (i.e. beatific).

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