Katherine Fowler Phillips (1631–1664), also known as "The Matchless Orinda," was a writer popular in the 1650’s and 60’s within her circle of friendship that celebrated poetry. She was best known for her poetry on female friendship but wrote about her unhappy marriage and often philosophical texts revolving around the dichotomy of individual desire and environmental authority.

Anne Owen and Mary Aubrey were her two closest friends, their aliases Lucasia and Rosania, while she herself was Orinda. She was best known for her poetry on female friendship but wrote about her unhappy marriage and often philosophical texts revolving around the dichotomy of individual desire and environmental authority.

Protofeminism/Women evading cultural norms and Platonic Soul Bonding/Romantic Friendships

Friendship’s Mystery, To my Dearest Lucasia by… | Poetry Foundation

Beginning and ending with death, Phillips likens her solitary misery to a fateful occurrence, as if they were meant to part. Having read the bible at only four years old, Phillips intertwins religion with her words, specifically mentioning the expulsion of Adam from her garden She is most fearful at losing their friendship, and in the first stanza she believes there will be no reconciliation. Her love for Mary Aubrey transcends her marriage, imprisoned by her feelings. Despite the hurt happening to her heart, the last stanza recognizes what she has become without the love of her friend and wishes for her friend to seek refuge in the fact that she is no longer the same woman.

Katherine Philips Poems > My poetic side

Katherine Philips - Wikipedia

Was Katherine Philips a lesbian love poet? | The Spectator

The Matchless Orinda — Early English Poet & Playwright Katherine Philips (literaryladiesguide.com)

Katherine Philips: Proto-Lesbians or Just Good Friends? | Alpennia

"Making a Good Impression: Early Texts of Poems and Letters by Katherine Philips, the 'Matchless Orinda'"

"Attitudes towards Homosexuality in the Seventeenth-Century New England Colonies"