The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1880-10-21
PICKENs, S. G, THURSDAY OCTOBER 2l 1880
POETICAL CONTRIB LBUTORS.
Some Observations on He,se Vy;t;uo.

Some Observations ora Verse Writing.
Iwant to say q word in friendly counsel
to rccently-fedged contributors to the
press in general.
In the first place, I hazard
the assertion that, in the cases of
nine out of ten "amatcur IF you will
pardon that tcrm-contributors to this
and other journals, almost the first effort
they make is i'll the direction of poetry.
I say "in the direction" because very
few Of the number who make the effort
succeed, or ever will or could succeed
by any concatenation of circumstances.
This mistake of sliding off into poetry
every time you happen to hear IN owl
hoot or q blue-iay squawk is as lamenta-
bic as it is universal. "know how it is
myself" and several efforts of mine are
now in existence, through the agency of
q lenient and long-suffering editor,
which, Notwithstanding the stringency
OF the money market, would give
dollar and half could obliterate, to-
gether with all consequences and re-
membrance of the same. But I can't
80 I'm just that amount in pocket.
1t generally happens in something
this way: The victim of the delusive
fancy, through some unfortunate cir
cumstance, happens to become possessed
OF an idea. Perhaps it produces n strange
sensation, as entirely new and "fresh !"
things are apt to do. He fdgets around
for a while, and finally, in the excite
ment attending the phenomenal occur
renee, finds that he has written a line
of some six or seven words. He looks
at it, and it presently strikes him that
perhaps he can find something that will
rhyme with it. At this point the mis-
chief begins to grow serious. In the in
terest Of much-abused public the en-
blyo rhymster should be Drained on the
spot. Perhaps the first line is some-
thing after this fashion:
The brightlygowing Southern sun was sinking in
| the West.
Now, it's too bad that Old Sol should
have such sinking spells, but he has
had them ever since you and I used to
sink to rest over our mothers knee-and
beneath the shingle-and the chances
are excellent for his continuing to have
them after we are done writing 20.
etry and paying our dog-tax, just
the same as though we had never wor
ried our little brains about him.
But there is that line it is worthless
alone, but there are great possibilities.
de will experiment. he does. He
runs his hands through his hair, and
writes
AS the Kansas squatter Testified while pulling down
| his vest.
BY this time he has become feverish-
and well he may! Who ever heard of a
Kansas squatter saying anything about
the "Southern sun ?" and as for the
vest-he never wears such thing. But
the divine afflatus is on him with both
feet, and so in his torment he concludes
the outrage:
And the vest short, the day, and Southern
! as the sun,
And his sixteen boots blocked up the way-and the
| dreadful deed was done!
The deed was done, but another was
left undone-a homicide, with the posi-
SCISSOR of the unfortunate delusion for
the victim. But am getting savage.
To conclude, when you have an idea,
sleep overit; and when youget up in the
morning, if you still have the same idea,
and possess the inclination and time to
express it, do so-but do it in prose.
Unless you are an experienced hand at
the task you can gain nothing by re-
sort to the muse, and you stand o very
fair chance of losing everything by it,
the idea included. Should you ever de-
sire to serve your country in q reporto-
rial or journalistic capacity on some great
daily you will have to hold your situa-
tion on the merits of your prose produc-
tions; your poetry will in all probability
be assigned to the waste basket. Prose
good prose-is frequently paid for, and
literally, but poetry never-that is,
hardly -!
With the best of intentions. Doc.
An old North Carolina farmer got q
double-barrel shotgun when he heard
IL 4. r. -