Crawford avalanche., 1888-03-15
NUMBER Al.



inent "Tom Hoods" in America, says
Homer was the great poet Of his day,
because he wrote of matters that were
interesting to his contemporaries. He
described the single combats of war
riors; he enlarged on the exciting de-
tails of chariot races; his poetry is full
of minute descriptions OF armor, cloth
ing, weapons, and all the warlike trap
pings of his time. He wrote of things
that people were interested in. His
song was as full of current interest as
the current newspapers of to-day. The
same can be said of David, the great
poet of the Hebrew race. He wrote
of focks and shepherds; OF green pas
lures and still waters; he embodied in
his song the popular conception of the
theology OF his time, and appealed di-
rectly to the sentiments of the people
of his generation. All great poets
have done the same-Dante and
Shakespeare and Chaucsr. Those
poets have been honored most by pos
terity who have been most in sympathy
with their contemporaries.
But though Homer was q great poet
in his day is no reason he should be
copied and initiated indefinitely. But
this is just what our poets are doing
to-day. They are far better Greeks
than Yankees. Fauns and driads,
sylphs and naiads, mermaids and
Olympian gods and goddesses are their
political stock in trade. This outworn
Greek mythology, despite its great
original beauty, in the hands OF so
many long generations of poets is
growing tritie tiresome. We long for
New York, Denver, San Francisco
bard, and are yawning drearily over
such dead monotony Of Athenian po-
cts. Who can doubt that there are just
as true poetical souls living in Boston
or Omaha, or in our American farm
houses, or on our cattle ranches, as
ever lived in Attica or Asia Minor. The
world is not vitality interested to- day in
hamadryads and wood-nymphs; but it
is pretty thorougly absorbed in rail.
roads and ocean steamers, in electric
lights and telegraphs. II the war-horse
was theme full of wonder and poetry
for Job and Homer, why should not
the locomotive, striding like an angry
demon, breathing smoke and fire
across the continent, be a worthy
theme for the Jobs and Homers
of to-day. The old bards sang
of Mercury, the messenger of the
gods. The people were interested in
Mercury in those times; he was topic
of current gossip, SO to speak. But
there is no excitement in regard to
Mercury at the present day. But we
have a swifter message-bearer of the
gods than he in the telegraph. Why
should not, then, the bards of the
modern idea sing the telegraph and let
Mercury die? Why should poets waste
their gifts in dilating on the old out
worn heather mythologies when the
great topic of evolution, the mightiest
theme of modern thought, is waiting
to be embodied POLITICALLY. There are
unwritten epics in that subject. There
are themes infinitely more poetical in
this age of steam and lightning than
in Homer's age of horses.
That poets of the modern are appre-
ciated is evidenced by the popularity of
such writer's as Will Carleton and
Bret Harte. "Oh," the shocked critic
exclaims, "but Will Carleton and Bret
Harte are not great poets." But Sc
riously, scandalized critic, is not the
great poet always the one who speaks
the word the people wait to hear +?
These men write of modern themes on
subjects dear to the modern heart.
They dwell among their own contem-
poraries and treat their readers as
neighbors.
Uhok x1Aak xxyhA Nf
themes is appreciated is attested, too,
by the royal reception given the other
day to James Whitcomb Riley at the
authors reading in New York. This
Hoosier poet takes very little interest
in how Virgil or Milton wrote, and has
never in his life attempted to initiate
Keats or Tennyson. He simply tells
the plain people of to-day inst what
they are thinking about. He is content
with being the voice of his dumb con-
temporary fellow-citizens, and of in
terpreting the homespun thoughts of
his neighbors, who are not lowered,
like himself, with the gift of tongues.
Such men as these are an indication
that there is at last distinctive Ameri-
can literature growing up-a literature
that will not bow to the domination of
Greek ideas or Greek standards of
beauty. When American poets are
simply content with being American
poets, and not also Hebrew poets,
Greek poets, or Latin poets, then we
shall build up an American literature
commensurate with our material ad-
vancement, and with our industrial
greatness.