Michael Matthew Kaylor

'Sometimes you did see me' : Forrest Reid's Demophon

Introduction

'sometimes you did see me' : forrest reid's demophon. Explore Forrest Reid's Demophon, a novel echoing Greek culture and his own childhood experiences. Discover its biographical ties to Apostate and the protagonist's quest for Hermes.

Abstract

The writings of the Ulster novelist Forrest Reid hark back to his childhood as well as to that of humanity — the Greco-Roman period. As one critic would relate, "[Reid] sought, in Belfast, to live in accordance with the spirit of Greek Mediterranean culture." Reid's Demophon: A Traveller's Tale (1927) shares bountiful biographical resonances with his first autobiography, Apostate, published only a year before. In Apostate, Reid writes: "[In childhood] my deities were the Arcadian gods, the lesser gods, Pan and Hermes," and especially "Hermes was a kind of divine playmate." Similarly, for adult Forrest Reid his protagonist Demophon (as well as Tom, the young protagonist of his magnum opus The Tom Barber Trilogy) "grew to be extraordinarily real," which, in the case of Demophon, was intensified after the British printmaker Stephen Gooden expressed an interest in providing engravings for Reid's chronicle of this Greek boy's search for his beloved Hermes.

Review

This article, "'Sometimes you did see me' : Forrest Reid's Demophon," promises a focused and insightful examination of a key work by the Ulster novelist. The abstract clearly outlines a study that will explore the profound biographical and thematic connections between Reid's personal life, particularly his childhood and his first autobiography *Apostate* (1926), and the creation of his novel *Demophon: A Traveller's Tale* (1927). The central argument appears to be that Reid's literary output was deeply informed by a personal mythology rooted in Greek Mediterranean culture, where ancient deities like Pan and Hermes served as guiding figures and even "divine playmates." A significant strength highlighted by the abstract is the exploration of how Reid's characters, specifically Demophon and Tom Barber, transcended fictional constructs to become "extraordinarily real" for their creator. This psychological dimension of authorship is particularly compelling, offering a unique window into Reid's creative process and his deep personal investment in his protagonists. The inclusion of the British printmaker Stephen Gooden's interest in providing engravings for *Demophon* adds a fascinating external element to this internal reality, suggesting that the artistic collaboration further solidified or intensified Demophon's presence in Reid's mind. The explicit connection between Demophon's quest for his "beloved Hermes" and Reid's own childhood identification with the deity forms a cohesive and intriguing narrative thread for the paper. Overall, this article appears poised to make a valuable contribution to Forrest Reid scholarship, shedding light on a less-discussed work through the illuminating lens of biographical criticism and classical reception studies. It will be particularly interesting to see how the author develops the psychological aspects of character creation and the precise ways in which the "spirit of Greek Mediterranean culture" permeated Reid's life and fiction. The study promises to deepen our understanding not only of *Demophon* but also of Reid's broader literary project and his singular blend of autobiography, classical myth, and imaginative narrative.

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