St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-12-25
REEVE AS A POET.
The Famous North DakOtian
Drops Into Verse.
To the Editor of the Globe.


To the Editor of the Globe.
Buxton, N. D., Dee. eat is not
necessary to say am not poet. A
gentleman to whom [ read this, my first
and only published poetic effort. said
before publication: at will appear as
most painfully true that ysu are not a
poet after getting into cold type where
the world can have full view of you"
He then added: II am critic, and
know what constitutes poetry and who
should attempt to write it. Poets are
born. and not self-manufactured indi-
vidualS who make themselves by grub
bling a single idea out at time by hard
labor. If you had been born or Intended
fol poet it would have cropped out and
been made manifest long before getting
gray-headed.
lit takes a combination of perfect
things to make poetry, and all must
move and exist in harmony together. A
poetical head must rest on poet
ical feet. Whatever merit there
might be claimed for your poet
ical head, is buried thousand
times under your horrible, abominable,
outlandish, deforMed poetical feet. You
have some lines ten, and some only six
feet long. Your poetic feet are not of a
size or length. Rhythm and meter are
as essential and as much part of poetry
as sentiment or expression OF Thought.
Consequently you would appear more
properly in blank verse or plain prose
than attempted poetic verse.
You may not like my plain, honest
statements, but you had better know
the truth now than learn it later at
greater cost" This was plain, hon
est criticism. and the man who made it
has been engaged in writing all his life
and to my positive knowledge Is a
personal friend. if not a poetical adj
mirer of mine. Now, after such plain
and positive advice from a good critic,
why do present the production IN the
verse he condemned?
The public and have never quarreled
yet. although my shortcomings stand
out boldly and as we'll known to myself
as the next one. | have always taken
the public into my confidence whenever
/ have had anything to confide. When
the poetic critic was on top of my head
he was, perhaps, not aware that he was
pounding one who also claims to be
something of critic-not of poetry, but
human affairs in general. There is not
q class in existence so sadly in need of a
critic as the critics themselves.
Critics, as general thing, are class
of intellectual grumblers. They are
better at telling how work ought to be
done than doing it. After food has been
prepared they can find fault with the
kind of dish it is served in, or the style
of the cooks dress. They can call for
choicest meat in painted china. But if
they had to raise the calf to get the
meat. or paint the china, they would
cat cold potatoes in their fingers. What
we common people want is intellectual
hash served in substantial way in a
dish of our own manufacture.
And it doesn't make any difference
whether it is cut in strips six inches
long or rolled up like hose on fire en-
CINE. We want something for nouriSh-
ment and to support life. We want
strong bands of hope to lash us to the
future, We want painting strong
enough to be seen in the dark. We care
not who is the artist, nor what his col0rS
are. As we gaze into an awful chaSm
we wish to feel that the cord by which
we wish to descend is strong; that it
cannot by melted by fire, or cracked by
frost. There are many people to-day,
especially in the DakotaS, who are in
doubt and under clouds as to the future.
II my expressions, whether measured
off in lines of six feet or ten. can add
one ray of strength to a single soul, l
am satisfied. At Christmas time the
Dakotas have as much to hope for as
the balance of the world. 1t is only by
hope, faith and charity that we are able
to live anywhere. Lose these and you
have lost all. North Dakota is yet to
add her full share to the advancement
and progress of the world. We can't
raise wheat in winter. Still, we are
10th to diversity our industries. About
the only thing poor man can go into
without capital is to make poetic and
religious investigation of winter itself.
and its prominent advantages and
teachings. And this. my first effort and
investigation, is dedicated to my brother
farmers and the poor people of North
Dakota for Christmas. 1889: