Poetry
Stephen wrote poetry all his life, mostly for himself and friends, scribbling out poems in his florid handwriting in colourful ink on Wilsford Manor notepaper. It wasn't until 1961 that his poems became public when he published 'My Brother Aquarius'. Containing 52 poems, the verse looks back in time to past travels, lost romance and pastoral idylls, and has a strong autobiographical element. Tennant sent the book to friends and fellow writers, including W. H. Auden and Edmund Blunden. The title is derived from a line by Keats - "Crystalline brother of the belt of Heaven: Aquarius!" (Endymion). The book is dedicated to Barbara Hutton and the preface is written directly to Princess Bibesco.” My Brother Aquarius is available to read on Lilium’s Compendium.
Two years later in 1963 Stephen privately published 'Some Poems for the Friends of Stephen Tennant. “Dedicated to Rachel and David Cecil, these fifteen poems combine nature imagery, mysticism and an undertow of introspective melancholy: 'Perfection is the Parcel you left to the last, - And then forgot to open! Never claimed; never rejected - The little queer parcel nobody wants.'"