Review: Enough Horizon: The Life And Work Of Blanche Baughan
Reviewed by: Jessie Neilson
Author:
Carol Markwell
Publisher:
The Cuba Press
ISBN:
9781988595399
Date Published:
12 July 2021
Pages:
324
Format:
Paperback
RRP:
$40.00
Biographer Carol Markwell describes the "psychic gossamer" and "glimpses of afterglow, retinal ghosts," quoting writer Robert MacFarlane, when on the trail of a historic figure. In this "tracking" of her subject, Markwell claims never quite to be able to catch up; the subject remains elusive and incomplete, with much of her personal self lost to history. When primary sources and other pathways to information are so incomplete, the subject can become even more intriguing. It also allows the collator of this information the opportunity to present the content on their own terms.
Markwell came across poet Blanche Baughan (1870-1958) by chance, when she was researching Alice May Parkinson, a woman imprisoned in New Zealand for the killing of her fiancé. Markwell discovers in Baughan not only a poet but a social reform advocate, who visited and corresponded with Parkinson and other prisoners, and displayed much-needed compassion. Thus, Markwell's Enough Horizon shows a multifaceted British-born New Zealander, a woman of certain financial means and education, who used her privilege to better the social environment around her. This project reaches far beyond the story of a poet, with poetry and other writing only one facet of Baughan's spiritual philosophy and accomplishments.
In the preface, Markwell mentions her quandary about how to refer to her subject. Settling on "Blanche," this naming sets up a closeness and empathy of the biographer towards her subject. It also contrasts with Baughan's own use of her name in the formal, public sphere, where she used “B. E. Baughan” and was assumed to be a man and so would be taken more seriously.
Enough Horizon is a thoughtful and empathetic work where the biographer steps up for her subject who was unwilling to trumpet her own achievements.
In comparison, Markwell keeps "Blanche" close to her, weaving together the archival with the speculative. These qualities are in line with women's writing, leaning towards the intimate and confessional, and links up with the confiding style of Baughan's own creative and personal writing.
Markwell has searched archives and records for all traces of Baughan, her family and her output. She has had to accept the gaps especially regarding Baughan's erased memories about shameful family history. She could not, for example, find any surviving correspondence between Baughan and her siblings in any New Zealand collections. Her subject was a private person so Markwell has had to balance a respect for Baughan's privacy while also honouring her legacy. This she has done well; Markwell accepts Baughan's reticence at showcasing herself, as well as understanding her wrestling with the mental illness and aberrant behaviour in her family. She has considered Baughan's emotionally laden thoughts about her parents' demises and balanced this with a more objective and historically removed standpoint.
Enough Horizon is a thoughtful and empathetic work where the biographer steps up for her subject who was unwilling to trumpet her own achievements. We see a considered woman, the weight of whose family history affected the choices she made. This life was both focused within, centring around her Vedanta spiritual beliefs, and then radiating out, into community action.
Quiet subjects like these are all too often lost to history. They are however often those most deserving of recognition, making improvements in the lives of those around them. As a young society, New Zealand was a good place on which to make a mark and Baughan did this in creative and socio-cultural spheres. Her work alongside others in prison reform is forward-thinking and altruistic. Markwell places her subject in a well-detailed, fledging New Zealand, filling out the story with her friendships and pathways with others. As the title implies, the future is full of opportunities, and it seems Baughan did just that through her most divergent endeavours.
Reviewed by Jessie Neilson
