New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1873-09-07
The Dearth OF lima 2 inatiye Literature

American literature seems to be asleep.
By literature we do not now mean to i'll
clude scientific works, books Of travel,
Bret Harte's poems. nor Mark Twains bur-
lesuues, but have especial reference to
poetry and the highest class OF fiction Use
tui and amusing works were never as many,
but new works OF imagination are almost
unknown Hawthorne and Poe are dead,
Emerson Is siIents Longfellow has dsapS
peared. Bryant is old. Lowell writes moth
ing and Whittier but little. II the longing
for purely ideal productions depended solely
upon living writers for qualification, our
minds would starve.
Nothing could be more mediocre than is
our magazine literature, especially in all
that pretends to be imaginative. It has
been SO long since have read great poem
IN any of our periodicals. that the appear
ance of one would be startling, and even a
fine poem is as rare as new planet. OF the
discovery OF an asteroid we do indeed hear
occasionally, but OF poem equal in merit
to Bryant '.Thanat0psIs" or June" Long
fellows "Maidenhood" or Skeleton in Ar
NOR "Poe's Raven" or those beautiful
verses entitled 10 One in Heaven" we
never hear. Were a poem even approach
ing any OF these in merit to appear in the
4Hontc Monh'y or SGr;tnei's Maga-ine it
would be received with wonder. Of in-
aginative prose works the same dearth ex-
lists. Such tales as the House OF Usher
Young Goodman Brown or the Artist
OF the Beautiful belong TO the past
When Hawthorne pu5thumous story of
"Septimus Felton, was published il the
atlantic Monthly. recently, it was read with
keen and unusual delight. not merely be-
cause its author was dead, but also because
such work of art had become an absolute
novelty. We were hungry t anything
imaginative and beautiful, and with good
reason, tor our Leading magazines have be-
come so monotonous and barren Uhae it IS
actually and without evaporation often
painful TO read chem. They aim 90 amuse
and Gheye disgust This IS not, Zee it be uns
derstood. because they taii to present exceis
lent eSSayssclever stories. and entertaining
illustrated articies-fOr these are merits
they do possess-but Because theS offer
nothing else. We hold that they should
give more if it be possible, and if that be
impossible. then while we may not blame
their conductors. we must none the less la
ment the degradation of our literature
which the fact implies
Because American poetry mas ceased 60
eXisl-at least in our magazines. which by
their nature and functions should encourage
and reveal ite-we are continually compelled
to accepe as a substitute verso which is
worse than none at ale 1t 10 worse than
prose because it pre9ends to be more than
prose, and yet has no more power to aWakea
the poetic sentiment san has page % q
spelling booko The mag0zAes seem to
have fallen int the hands o,i a great army
of Pigmy poetasters who pipe through
straws and squeak thro.gh pegny trumpetso
who are ike a swaTm o. bees keeping 90
confused hum in whicls the separate voices
are indistlnguishable. It ss continuous
b;saS. buz25 bags0 which beG0nes distressing
FROM 8ts moaotonyo These dwaris of pnno
tryo-tor theP are noe C9lS naturally smabto
bue 8nnatugaloS s5GnSed~-aeBes have al
idea OF The?r @wGo 3a6 seS,s9sa Seal an S,6ea
sha9 SheP Ql0 aoe spoi6 IisSs Jan suage ia
not GajUstl$ Aaesno 5oS Sc is sgBeo We DEFY
ap% 0as srh@ Te8Js ebe Ss8gaziSyes go suco
eessfuit6 de2v 9a5a 2sseS2joiao o,g 1o peogss hy
quotations 9Bs9 @Ja3 ;5 called che popular
poetry asS tie si8- ie even ssorthy Cg shaS noe
yegS complimentary 9ieIsa We eiO noe ask
Sor che citation 0S 2l3nG s9ea2lso we are alo
most Ssilling 90 @l92Jl9H &c che citation OF e9ie
secene aJag8ziae oO@lS Rheb has ?nes5S
s1DagA 80 SVGJSal1&b gSdase8s0y3aes sec q
yoa-o
Becs8se o% ShiS degqa8e8 ssana3ae8 % are
2nagaz;8ss aYSr appear willing 80 accept
anything tina &a5 s1is0 sedntsealce OF rhyme.
q % matteS nos sisaae6c jsa 9auItso. Slagia-
9iasn, therefore, b0p ceased 60 De eve3
noticedo e js e'S eoIIBBo9 5hiS Gne thoughg
sutiiees SoS & aio2sB PoeiBso written 0Y
doean 9,oeSss and SAe g8ost abece Sese5le
blanees Of idea aBd e-s9rese9oa are Regarded
81 . matter 0S 1B.s0. Sins against rhymeo
nea; Ss9 rhvthGo ag&inse metre arc She rule
sad aS9 supposed % be excused by that
eague monstros.ty vince is sailed poetical
license. There Is s~cn thing as poetical
license, but it exists only il relation to that
which is spiritual and ideal-tor almost
any flight can g permitted to the imagi-
nation. But III the mechanical portion OF
poem there can be no license to err, and no
true poet would ask TO be excused for false
rhyme or a hating verse. DR.. r. Shelton
Mackenzie has urged qhis truth, with com
mfndable perseverance,, upon verse writers
who make an ina ginary freedom and
superiority to rules an excuse for their own
lncapacixy or ignorance, but his almost
single remonstrance has had no perceptible
effect Month after month the self-com-
piacent poets intiict their easy verses on
the public, and really believe that the little
censure they receive is inspired By pedantry
or enyyo-P,02f Sheet.