John Evelyn Barlas (13 July 1860 – 15 August 1914), pseudonym Evelyn Douglas, was a Scottish poet and political activist of the late nineteenth century. He was a member of the decadent movement in literature, as well as a revolutionary socialist in politics. Eight books of his

Swinburne Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He wrote several novels and collections of poetry such as ''Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the famous Eleventh Edition ...

-influenced verse were published between 1884 and 1893, including 1885's ''the Bloody Heart'', 1887's ''Phantasmagoria: Dream-Fugues'' and 1889's ''Love Sonnets''. Born in Burma, he was educated at Merchant Taylors' School and studied at

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

, where he befriended

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

, who became an intimate companion.Gutala Krishnamurti, 'Barlas, John Evelyn (1860–1914)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 7 Feb 2011
Having served as an organizer for the

Social Democratic Federation The Social Democratic Federation (SDF) was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on 7 June 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury, James Con ...

and as a contributor to William Morris' socialist journal ''Commonweal'', he demonstrated in Trafalgar Square on Bloody Sunday. He was allegedly "batoned and floored" there, after which it is said he fell, bloodied, at the feet of Eleanor Marx. Barlas was briefly associated with the

Rhymers' Club The Rhymers' Club was a group of London-based male poets, founded in 1890 by W. B. Yeats and Ernest Rhys. Originally not much more than a dining club, it produced anthologies of poetry in 1892 and 1894.''The Oxford Companion to English Literature' ...

, having been sponsored by

Ernest Dowson Ernest Christopher Dowson (2 August 186723 February 1900) was an English poet, novelist, and short-story writer who is often associated with the Decadent movement. Biography Ernest Dowson was born in Lee, then in Kent, in 1867. His great-uncle ...

. His work, which was mostly devoid of socialist themes, was much admired by contemporary authors such as John Davidson and

Henry Stephens Salt Henry Shakespear Stephens Salt (; 20 September 1851 – 19 April 1939) was an English writer and campaigner for social reform in the fields of prisons, schools, economic institutions, and the treatment of animals. He was a noted ethical vegeta ...

. He was also known by his friends as a brilliant conversationalist and a man of compelling personality and good looks. Possessing both fragile mental health and intense emotions, Barlas was arrested on the morning of New Year's Eve, 1891 after walking to Westminster Bridge and firing a revolver three times at the House of Commons, apparently to show his contempt for Parliament. Although he was bailed out by Wilde, Barlas was eventually admitted to Gartnavel Asylum, Glasgow, where he spent much of his later life in severe mental illness. He died in 1914, aged 54, while still living in Gartnavel.

References

Bibliography

*Cohen, Philip. ''John Evelyn Barlas, A Critical Biography: Poetry, Anarchism, and Mental Illness in Late-Victorian Britain''
Rivendale Press
2012. *Beckson, Karl. (ed.) ''Aesthetes and Decadents of the 1890s''. Academy Chicago Publishers, 1981. *Lowe, David. ''John Barlas: Sweet Singer and Socialist''. Cupar, Fife, 1915. *Salt, Henry (ed.) ''Selections from the Poems of John E. Barlas''. Elkin Mathews, 1925. *Sloan, John (ed.) ''John Davidson: First of the Moderns''. Oxford University Press, 1995.

External links

*

* ttp://www.sonnets.org/barlas.htm Four other Barlas Sonnets at Sonnet Central {{DEFAULTSORT:Barlas, John 1860 births 1914 deaths People educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood Social Democratic Federation members Alumni of New College, Oxford English male poets Anarcho-communists People from British Burma