Pool Group

The Pool Group were a trio of interwar period artists, filmmakers and poets consisting of Hilda Doolittle, Kenneth Macpherson and Bryher (Annie Winifred Ellerman). Their work has been studied by poetry and film historians as well as by scholars of mysticism, feminism, psychoanalysis and LGBT history. They are perhaps best known for creating what is their only surviving film, the silent avant garde classic from 1930, Borderline featuring the African American activist and entertainer Paul Robeson in the lead role. They also published a progressive and opinionated film journal called, Close Up. The Pool Group were virtually forgotten for more than half a century after they broke up in the mid-1930s until the early 1980s when they were rediscovered by historians of 20th century arts and cinema

Members and formation

The Pool Group was launched in 1927, from Riant Chateau, Territet, Switzerland and consisted of Bryher, Kenneth Macpherson and Hilda Doolittle (better known by her initials, H.D.). Macpherson designed the Pool Group’s logo, which served as the cover of its catalog, showing concentric ripples in water.