Obsolete Spells: Poems & Prose from Victor Neuburg & the Vine Press

by Justin Hopper (editor)

A collection of rare pagan poetry and purple prose from the heart of the 1920s counterculture.Victor Neuburg is most famous for two discovering Dylan Thomas, and being the man that Aleister Crowley once turned into a camel. Obsolete Spells offers another side of Neuburg, through his own poems and the strange books of Vine Press, the hand-operated imprint he ran from his West Sussex cottage between 1920 and 1930. Neuburg's youth involved terrifying-yet-farcical years as Crowley's lover, victim, and magickal sidekick. His later period, as editor of the influential "Poet's Corner" column for the Sunday Referee, found him a key figure in London's literary scene. But in between, Neuburg acted as a conduit for bohemian writers, arts luminaries, and the sexually Peter Warlock set his words to music, singer Marian Anderson lived in his spare room, and he was a fixture at utopian community, the Sanctuary. Through it all, he turned the handle on the Vine books of nature writing and anonymous song; poems and artwork worthy of The Wicker Man, side-by-side with a book on cricket. Obsolete Spells offers a selection of Neuburg's work and others from Vine Press books--over-the-top hymns to the Old Gods, tales from a utopian landscape, and more, most of which has been out of print for a century.

Genres: Poetry

304 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 7, 2021

Reviews

[Side Real Press · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first became aware of Victor Neuburg when reading John Symond's life of Aliester Crowley ‘The Great Beast’. Later I read Jean Overton Fuller’s biography of him and obtained a few of his books published by his Vine Press coming to the overall conclusion that whilst he was a very interesting person I was not overly moved by his poetry.

Reading this book has caused me to re-evaluate him as both person and poet, both upwards. Hopper writes an extremely interesting introduction to Neuburg which attempts to remove him from the shadow of Crowley who looms so large in Fuller’s biography. In his ‘new incarnation’ Neuburg comes over as a generally happier person and Hopper integrates him, via both the poets he published on Vine Press and his association with the utopian group ‘The Sanctuary’, more fully into the counter-cultural aspects of the period. There is a substantial and I think (but poetry is not really my ‘thing’) a very informed choice from his various books so, as an introduction to his work, this book is an excellent place to start.

But the book is not entirely Neuburg and also includes selections (some substantial) from other Vine Press authors (it was not all poetry) who range from Ethel Archer to Gabriele D’Annunzio. Hopper writes short informative introductions/biographies to each author revealing that Ethel Archer was one of the few who remained friends with both Crowley and Neuburg and that Neuburg and Rold White might have met via their mutual membership of The Order of Woodcraft Chivalry, a rival of the Kibbo Kift (see my other reviews),

Although I cannot say I will dipping into very much for the poetry (which ranges from the sublime to satirical doggerel) this volume fills a valuable gap in my knowledge of the period and there are a number of ‘jumping off points’ which makes it an interesting read whatever one may think of the poetry itself. For what it is worth, Neuburg and Archer the ‘big hitters’ for me. The book is a neat p/b in a pleasing square-ish format but there is also ltd ed h/b with ‘extras’ not directly related to the Vine Press should one wish.

As many of the Vine Press are elusive/expensive, this would seem like a fairly essential purchase.

[EIJANDOLUM]

A farce. Not for me.