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Hi, Ixion!
35d: Thete=poor freemaqn in ancient Athens;hete (obsolete)=command (all in Ch.)
2d: Pauline =of apostle Paul;"open country" I must think over a bit longer!
Can you help with 5a & 45a? I have BLO?B & ERE? -- something wrong?
Also still trying to catch up with the sw.po. theme: any tips?
Actually glad to have got anywhere with this one!

Thanks GK...thete not a "one look" option surprisingly,

5A ends in "m"
45A TRE?

5ac BLOOM
45ac TREE

I can't decide on the first letter of 36d. It seems to be a choice between P or D but I can't see the wordplay. It's the last blank square and I am really happy - I thought that this puzzle was impossible.
Any thoughts?

The essayist is Steele "painted lady"

Yes, just got thyere myself, but still can't see the connection between all 12 (if mine are right) despite googling:several might belong together in a (romantic?) poem--- is the whole thing a quotation I just can't find, or do half the words go with sw. & the other half with po.???!!!

GK, you need a small word - what 7D[up] is called in Southern US, reversed it prefixes the themed ones.

Good Lord, it was so simple! Thank you for allowing me to go to bed now exhausted but with some hope of sleeping (after series of visitors here).Reminds me of my clue for "make up" last week! I wish you all a very good night! gk

Just got back in, and have made sense of it and now have all the letters. It has been a long haul!
However, can someone please explain 14a: Item (as once) for nothing.

I took it as...

Defn - item(archaic likewise)=too

to=for plus nothing "o"

Finally parsed 2D

a post(after) le, ie lea