This post, “Fanny, Bee Gees, Keats and a Synchrony of Letters” is written to honor two of my favorite things: The Bee Gees’ song “Fanny (Be Tender with My Love)” and poet John Keats’ love letters to Fanny Brawne. I also share how a letter I wrote to a dear pen pal synced up with one of Keats’ letters to Fanny. At the end of the post, I share a surprise synchronicity.
I write this post in honor of Robin and Maurice Gibb’s birthday on December 22, 2021 on which they would have been 72 years old.
For a long time, I have been wanting to write a post connecting the song “Fanny” with Keats’ love letters. It’s the perfect combination. So to begin, I would like to share a little background about John Keats and his relationship to Fanny Brawne.
About John Keats and Fanny Brawne
Here is a brief summary about John Keats from Wikipedia:
John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet prominent in the second generation of Romantic poets, with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, although his poems had been published for only four years when he died of tuberculosis at the age of 25.[1] They were indifferently received, but his fame grew rapidly after his death.[2] By the end of the century he was placed in the canon of English literature and an inspiration for the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, strongly influencing many writers; the Encyclopædia Britannica called one ode “one of the final masterpieces”.
Jorge Luis Borges named his first encounter with Keats an experience he felt all his life.[3] Keats had a style “heavily loaded with sensualities”, notably in the series of odes. Typical of the Romantics, he underlined extreme emotion with natural imagery. Today his poems and letters remain among the most popular and analysed in English literature. Especially acclaimed are “Ode to a Nightingale”, “Ode on a Grecian Urn”, “Sleep and Poetry” and the sonnet “On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer”. (1)
According to an introduction written by Jane Campion in the book So Bright and Delicate-Love Letters and Poems of John Keats to Fanny Brawne by John Keats (2), Keats and Brawne came to love each other while they were both living at Wentworth Place, Hampstead, London in 1819. It was originally two semi-detached houses. Fanny lived in the house right next to where Keats lived. Therefore, they were very close neighbors that could see each other all of the time.
Initially, Keats was not very attracted to Fanny. But that changed over time. Although he was not considered to be financially sound enough to marry Fanny, Keats still gave her his mother’s garnet ring which she wore indicating an informal engagement.
It was during the summer of 1819 when John Keats went away on a writing retreat to the Isle of Wight that his love letters to Fanny began. They bore witness to the all-consuming love he felt for her at times. Ultimately, their love affair was cut short by Keats’ grave illness with tuberculosis and death at a young age. Thankfully, we have his letters to reflect on and be inspired by.
I’m sure the Bee Gees’ song “Fanny” would have come in handy for John Keats to share with Fanny Brawne if it had been available to him!
A Synchrony of Letters
During this past fall, I had felt the inspiration to write this post, but I was having trouble coming up with an idea of what to say. It had been on my mind in November and I had browsed through the love letters of Keats to Brawne in the book So Bright and Delicate a few weeks earlier, but still nothing came to me.
On November 27th, I spent time writing a letter through email to my pen pal Autumn Imara, who shares a twin soul connection with Jimi Hendrix. It just so happens that November 27th was Jimi’s birthday. We were sharing ideas about the similarities between Native American and African spirituality. Autumn shared an enlightened perspective about Thanksgiving and her Native American ancestors, which you can read about here.
I wrote to Autumn about my perspective on spirituality and I shared my feelings. I quote exactly what I wrote to her below. Both African and Native American spirituality have strong connections with nature:
I resonate with any type of spirituality that loves and honors God’s creation of nature including trees, flowers, plants, rivers, streams, oceans, the wind, sunlight, moonlight and wildlife. It is so rich and life enhancing. Our ancestors had a true connection and deep relationship with these elements which I respect. I love connecting with the rhythms of nature and consider this also a part of my spirituality.
After I wrote Autumn this letter, I felt a strong pull to go back and read Keats’ book So Bright and Delicate. I kept thinking of what I could write for a blog post. I flipped through some pages of the book again. And then I came across an amazing synchronicity in one of Keats’ letters to Fanny that matched what I just wrote to Autumn a couple of hours earlier. This was a letter I did not remember reading and had not marked the page in any way
Here is the quote. The bold is mine for emphasis:
Do you hear the Thrush singing over the field? I think it is a sign of mild weather-so much better for me. Like all Sinners now I am ill I philosophize aye out of my attachment to everything, Trees, flowers, Thrushes, Spring, Summer, Claret, &c. &c. – aye everything but you. (3)
I noticed the matching of “trees, flowers” and how both Keats and I wrote about them first on our list. He mentioned the bird Thrush and I mentioned wildlife. I typed out more aspects of nature which could have been included in his etc. etc.
I felt very moved by how my email letter to Autumn synchronized with John Keats’ letter to Fanny Brawne. I felt so joyful that my guidance to read the book again lead to this meaningful synchronicity. It means even more that it is two letters synchronizing and makes the message more powerful. I think it’s fascinating how energies converge like this. When aspects of my life connect so well with something to do with Robin, like a blog post I’m thinking of writing, I feel a true attunement with his spirit.
When I begin to engage with Robin’s energies in this way, I feel like I enter into a field of magnetism that pulls me right into something that will match with him. I kept feeling guided to read Keats’ book after I wrote to Autumn and now I can see why. The energies were flowing in just the right way.
While I was in the process of doing research for this post on Saturday, December 18, 2021, I received another synchronicity which continued to signify this attunement and alignment.
A Dog Named Fanny
On December 18th, my husband watched the Marvel Comics movie “Black Widow.” I didn’t watch it because I was busy reading about Keats and Fanny.
After a while, I needed a break from reading. So, I sat down close to him to hang out with him. The movie was nearing the end, so I just watched along, kind of detached because I did not know what was going on. 🙂
My husband wanted to watch the end credits of the movie because they show a scene introducing you to another upcoming Marvel movie. Therefore, I continued to sit with him to watch it.
I watched as a woman got out of a truck and then called to her dog. To my great surprise, her dog’s name is Fanny! I looked at my husband and said, “I can’t believe that dog’s name is Fanny.” Here are some screenshots:
I shared with him that I had just been thinking about the Bee Gees’ song “Fanny” and reading Keats’ letters to Fanny Brawne all afternoon. Then, I sit down to hang out with him during the last few minutes of a movie and encounter a dog named Fanny. What are the chances of that? It was an amazing connection with Robin’s spirit and the “Fanny” theme.
The timing was impeccable. It was like it was all meant to go together. I feel so grateful for this.
This is what I mean when I say that when it comes to Robin, the Universe magnetically pulls together events in my life that match and have to do with him in some way. It has been happening for years. It is synchronicity like this that leads me to feel the twin soul and soul family connection with him the strongest.
Robin really loved dogs so it’s nice that the synchronicity showed up as a dog named Fanny! He would like that.
I share this story and others on this website because I know that many people experience similar uplifting synchronicity when it comes to twin soul, soul mate or soul family connections. Sometimes it helps to see that someone else is experiencing the same thing, especially when the person involved is deceased. So, I hope you can find something you can relate to in the stories I write about concerning Robin’s spirit. I find great joy in writing about them.
Thank you very much for reading! I truly appreciate it and hope you enjoyed this. Happy Holidays to you and your family and a very blessed New Year.
Happy Birthday to Robin and Maurice in Spirit. You are remembered, cared for and very loved.
Photo below: Altar table for Robin and Maurice Gibb, December 22, 2021.
References
1. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, John Keats.
2. Keats, John (2009). So Bright and Delicate: Love Letters and Poems of John Keats to Fanny Brawne, London, England: Penguin Book, Ltd., Introduction Pages ix, x and xi.
3. Ibid., Page 38.
Love,
