“Queer Kinship Among the Stars: H.D., Silvia Dobson, and Astrology” by Victoria Papa in Modernism/modernity Plus

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Victoria Papa’s rich, multimedia exploration of horoscopes, natal charts, and a zodiac wheel is set within the deep and lasting friendship between H.D. and Silvia Dobson. The article enhances our biographical understanding of H.D. while adding to the critical study of H.D. and the occult.

Horoscope drawing by Silvia Dobson, given to H.D., ca. 1935-1936. Source: Silvia Dobson Papers, Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Yale’s Beinecke Library online exhibition, “We Are Everywhere: Lesbians in the Archive” can serve as a gloss on Papa’s article. “Who Was Silvia Dobson” and “A Mirror for a Star” call greater attention to Dobson and her relationship with H.D.

Dobson remained a dedicated supporter of H.D. and of H.D. scholars throughout her life, contributing an astrological chart to the inaugural issue of the H.D. Newsletter in Spring 1987. Like Papa’s article, Cassandra Laity’s commentary on H.D.’s astrological chart and the one created for the H.D. Newsletter highlights the same blending of interpersonal connection with philosophical and spiritual exploration.

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