Gertrude Stein came up with the expression:The Lost Generation, after she encountered a young car attendant who failed to impress her with his mechanic skills. The garage owner confided that young men were easy to train, compared with those in their mid-twenties to thirties who had served in WWI. He called them the lost generation – une génération perdue. Ernest Hemingway popularized the term in his novel “The Sun Also Rises” and gives credit to Gertrude Stein. It came to refer to a cohort that came of age during WWI and included distinguished artists such as Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Steinbeck, T.S. Eliot, John Dos Passos, Waldo Pierce, Isadora Duncan, Alan Seeger, Erich Maria Remarque and Ford Madox Ford.
Born in 1873, Ford Madox Ford was a prominent English novelist and editor. At the start of WWI, he worked with the British War Propaganda Bureau, writing two propaganda books. On July 30, 1915, at the age of 41, he joined the Welch Regiment and was sent to France. This decision marked the end of his cooperation with the British propaganda machine and changed the direction of his literary endeavours.
As I look forward to a new year, I am inspired by Ford Madox Ford. When confronted with the reality of conflict, he chose a different path – the truth. May we remember his courage as we move forward…
In Tenebris
Ford Madox Ford
All within is warm,
Here without it’s very cold,
Now the year is grown so old
And the dead leaves swarm.
In your heart is light,
Here without it’s very dark,
When shall I hear the lark?
When see aright?
Oh, for a moment’s space!
Draw the clinging curtains wide
Whilst I wait and yearn outside
Let the light fall on my face.
On The Road Book Club 
I do not know them and I read with much pleasure ! Thank you for inspiration ! 🙂
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My pleasure!!! We are learning from each other!
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I love it in French, “une génération perdue”; it sounds so much more substantial and definitive, I think! GS was brilliant in so many ways. Thank you for sharing FMF. I’ll put him on my list. I hope 2013 is wonderful for you, my friend!
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My 2013 looks a lot more wonderful since I know that I have a traveling partner!! We are going to have an amazing year…
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Fascinating post. Happy New Year Rebecca!
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Thank you so much! As I wrote it, I recall watching “Midnight in Paris.” I loved that movie – just for the music alone.
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It’s no surprise to me that you are getting us off to a thoughtful start this new year – thank you for such a wonderful place from which to set out.
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And now we are off on our journey…I am delighted that we are on the same road. Your music inspires me to dance…
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Ah yes, dancing – so important not to take ourselves too seriously! 🙂
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I once took a tap dancing class!!! Did I mention “once!”
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That sounds like the beginning of a hilarious tale….
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It was…almost as good as my belly dancing episode…
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:))))))
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What an impressive list of names. It would be good in 2013 to learn more about them. I confess I do not know them well. Not good.
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Can you imagine what it would be like to see them all together!!! I have a couple of books that I am considering for my 2013 reading list. I am leaning towards “The Greater Journey – Americans in Paris” by David McCullough, which is placed in this time period.
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Good suggestion, I am convinced anything written by David McCullough will be good to read.
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I know that you are enjoying his biography of John Adams!!!
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beautiful aria
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Thank you so much for stopping by and for your comments, Arjun!! You always give a lift to my day….
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Clanmother!
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🙂
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🙂
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