May Probyn

Juliana Mary Louisa Probyn(12 Apr 1856 - 29 Mar 1909) who wrote as May Probyn, was an English poet.

Life
Probyn was born in France to Mary Christiana (Spicer) and John Webb Probyn, the eldest of four children. She was educated in Brussels Little else is known of her: Reviewing her 1881 Poems, the Westminster Review commented: "Who May Probyn may be we known not."

She is known to have been a friend of W.B. Yeats. She died in 1909 and is buried in the Roman Catholic cemetery at Mortlake, London.

Writing
The Dictionary of Literary Biography says of her: "Probyn was one of a group of little-known 19th-century women poets in whose work there has begun to be a revival of interest. Critics are now recognizing that the witty social criticism that was a major theme for these poets is important to understanding the period. Probyn as an individual has so far received little critical attention, but her humor and satire, which break the sentimental stereotype of Victorian women's poetry, and her astute commentary on the position of women deserve to be rediscovered."

Recognition
Her poem "Is it Nothing to You?" was included in the 1939 Oxford Book of English Verse. May Probyn, ''Oxford Book of English Verse (Oxford: Clarendon, 1939), Digital Poets Society, Web, June 16, 2012.</ref.