“Outside / But inside”: Eliza Keary, Little Seal-Skin, and the negotiation of space

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article explores Eliza Keary's poetry in her 1874 collection, Little Seal-Skin in the context of the often unfavourable reviews of the poems, and thinks about why these poems were unpopular with reviewers. It uses the idea of space – of being inside or outside – as a way of understanding where Keary chose to publish and what the particular difficulties and concerns were that faced her as a writer. The article sets the collection in the context of Keary's less well-known writing, particularly her editorship of the Girls’ Friendly Society journal, Friendly Leaves, and recognises that the desire to build networks of communication marks out both her editorial practice and her poetry. Little Seal-Skin is dedicated ‘To my sisters’, and I offer readings of Keary's poems that act as interpretations and critiques of poems by Rossetti and Brontë, as well as suggesting the importance of connection