The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1865-01-27
IVnttss for the St. Paul Ronssr.l
AN HOUR WITH THE POETS
OF MINNESOTA.
BY GORDON RIvIERR.

THE POETS AND POETRY Of MINNIE
sofa. Edited by Mrs w. ]. AxsoLD.,
Chicago: 8. P. RouNDs, Book and Job
I Printer, 4s State street, 1884.
The above is the title Of q neatly print
ed little volume of three hundred and
thirty-six pages, lately issued from the
press. Minnesota will soon become IS
famous for her authors as for her fertile
lands, numerous lakes and healthy climate.
No less than four or fve* of her SONS and
daughters have essayed the honors of au-
thorship within the last year, to
say nothing of the numerous ANA
teur writer's among u.s. who CON-
tribute an occasional poem or article
to the pages of the Eastern press. In
this respect, our youthful State indicates
her worthiness of her intellectual mother
of the Eastern and Middle States. This
spirit is an honorable and praiseworthy
one, and should be fostered and encour-
aged. This cannot be done by an indis-
criminate praise of everything published,
and blind endorsement Of errors and
shortcomings; but is best accomplished
by modest recognition of true merit, and
lenient criticisms designed to stimulate the
hasty, imperfect and careless writer to en-
ulate a better style. With this view, !
propose spending an hour with the .Poets
of Minnesota" as grouped in Mrs. Ar
NoLD's book; and if some of my criticisms
may seem to the authors unnecessarily So
we're, have only to plead in extenuation
that they are all strangers to me, and l
am therefore guided by no partial friend
ship or malicious envy, but governed
wholly by the merits of their pro-
auctions as measured by my standard,
which standard, I may add, is the best
ancient and modern poets, including
HOMER, VRe1I, AnToN, DANTE, PoPR,
CAMpBEII, BYRON, LoNaFEILow, DC. /
do not, of course, expect the "Poets of
Minnesota" to equal these immoral bards
in their use of the Language of the
gods, "as poetry may be justly considered
at the same time I would intimate those
found tagging too far behind should be
kindly advised to let go the tail of their
poor Pegasus. ...G
By reference to the work we find that
the "Poets of Minnesota are composed
of Col. J. 81. BAKER, Miss LAURA E. BACON,
Miss EMILY 81. BUeBEB, OHAs. 8. BRYANT,
W. A. CRdYFUr, Hon. 81. l. GORDON, Hon.
IaNAr1us DoNNR1LY, Miss ELEANOR DON
HMLY, Miss JANE GAY FULLER, Mrs. EN-.
HARRIs, Hon. 81. W. HoLLEY, Miss Nm.
ETA MAINE, Hon. STEPHEN MILLER, Mrs.
J. r. MoMAsrERs, Mrs. d. E. B. McCoN-
KEY, MARY R. LYON, IRENE GALLOWAY,
Capt. THOMAS NJ NEwsoN, Miss n. E.
PMRsoN, Mrs. HELEN N. PENDRRaAsT,
JOHN @. A. WooD, JULIA A. A. WooD,
SAMUEL WHr11Na, and THOMAS YARDLRY,
taking them as alphabetically indexed. In
the brief review Of each which l propose,
I win take them as they come in the book.
This list does not, as we are told in the
preface, include the entire poetical corps
Of Minnesota. The authoress admits that
important omissions may have been made,
and this possibility many will be ready to
admit. There are those, whom l could
name, much more worthy of place in the
work than some it contains, while it crowns
IS "poet some who have hardly been
suspected of being such by their most init
mate friends. This is an error, however,
incident to first edition, and therefore |
very pardonable, which the fair authorizes |
to amend in future editions, which |
we sincerely hope she will have the plea
sure of doing. And in adding new MEM
bers to the circle, we hope that, on con-
sideration, she will have the goodness of
heart to remove some of her " would-be |
poets from their present perilous position,
where Apollo threatens their humiliation
by hurting them from the mount whose
soil is sacred only to those favored of the
immortal nine.
HON. STEPHEN MILLER.
The Hon. STEPHEN MILLER, designated
as the "CHAyCER of Minnesota poets
heads the list, and faces the entire work in |
q most excellent steel engraving, done by |
BUrTRR from photograph by WHITNEY.
We have heard it said that our worthy ex-
ecutive is egotistical, and this may be
one of his weak points. But it strikes us
that it must have required even more of
this weakness than we are willing to at
tribute to the Governor, to have induced
him to allow himself placed in a position
at once 80 false and SO ridiculous, in the
realm of poetry,-a realm dear and sacred
to some of the sweetest and hottest names
on the record of fame. Stern justice r.
cognizes only merit Wealth, position,
nor power can secure admittance to that
charmed world where of the poet It's said
" Borne up on fancy's airy wing he fiie
And skins along the star empenneled skies;
Above the realm of earthly strife and wrong,
Lives In the beauteous world Of dream and
song,
Where shadows striding mid the heavenly
CLEANS,
And visionary myths of midnight dreams
Assume the forms of life and weave spell
Of mystic brightness in the musics swell"
Therefore, any attempt to foist an indi-