A new anthology of boylove poetry was released in the spring of 2023 called, "My Love Is Like All Lovely Things". It is a collection of the works of the British poet and clergyman Edwin Emmanuel Bradford. Bradford is classified as being one of the Uranian poets, a small and clandestine group of male poets who published works predominantly on boylove between 1858 and 1930.
This new anthology compiled by the author C. Caunter shines a new light on Bradford's poetry and includes an exhaustive analysis of his life and work and addresses such questions as, "how his boylove poetry could have been received so favorably in early-20th-century Britain."
Through his words, Bradford demonstrates the enduring joy of the love between boys and men and advocates its legitimacy in a time still partially in the grips of Victorianism. He shows a remarkable ability to balance his spiritual calling and his earthly desires, which brings to his work both beauty and inspiration.
Included also in this new paperback are wonderful illustrations that help bring the reader into the contextual framework of that era.
Enter the world of Boylove in the early 20th century through the testament of Bradford's love for boys and their ephemeral beauty, transported in time by the images his words evoke. His poems are still as relevant and inspiring today as they were 100 years ago, showing that the love of boys prevails throughout the ages.
As a Uranian poet, Bradford brought a mixture of both classical and contemporary elements into his work, as well as a certain playfulness, which can be seen in the following example:
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Paddy Maloy
by E.E. Bradford
O Paddy Maloy is a broth of a boy,
As pretty as pretty can be;
He tosses his curls in disdain at the girls,
For not one is so pretty as he.
Though he's seven years old, he's a bachelor bold,
As for marrying, simply he won't;
His papa's in despair, for you see he's the heir,
And the line will run out if he don't.
If a lady but touch him, his anger is such
That he flushes as red as a rose;
But if he is kissed, in a moment his fist
Goes simply straight bang at her nose!
What to do with a boy like young Paddy Maloy
Is a problem to puzzle a sage;
I'm thinking, ochone! we must leave him alone,
For it's too late to change at his age.
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