The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-01-04
THE NEW POETRY.
True Life Is Composed of
Eighteen Parts.
The Poet Never Suffers-To Be Great
He Must Be Difficult and Hard
to Understand.

"a poet is horn, not made" is an old
saying. David Lesser LeZnsky was not
born a poet, nor will he ever etherealize
even into the ghost of one. Yesterday
afternoon he read his poem of True Life"
to an audience that started with the num-
Der of ten, increased to torty-ive and again
diminished to eight at the finish. The
majority we're women and girls, there were
five or six men. who. by their heads, were
old and bald enough to have had more
wisdom than to spend two hours and
hall listening to WOuIG-De poets recital
OF reputed verse.
One looked in vain for Ambrose Beirce
his absence surely was an oversight, the
pupil needed the repressive influence of
MS master.
Said Poet Lezinsky: "In life things are
lnterrelated." Had | not turned that
corner L should not have seen YOU is
often said. Events are so related in life.
My poem is entitled True Life and con-
siSts of eigE teea various poems; the inter-
re alton between them ali | will explain
on thursday night. Walt Whitman, who
was the greatest poet that ever wrote,
taking into consideration that Christ was
the greatest poet that never wrote, main
tains that the greatest poetry remains yet
TO be written
There is more true poetry in the world
D =
there was only God. Now there are GOO
and man. Man is not infinite and man is
not finite. Man can know God and man
can not know God. To write poetry to-
day we do not 20 to Homer, nor Dante
nor the beautiful verdure-c clad Italy and
the LuceTDe lakes. 1t Is good TO know
Shakespeare. 1t is better TO know your
tellow-man. Shakespeare was because he
ala not read Shakespeare 10 write poetry I;
he read his feIlOw-men.
The problems, one tor each of the
eighteen poems of which true life consists,
are Cleaned from my fellOw-men. The
poet has but one method. He must expe-
Tlence everything He does not suffer.
lie who suffers cannot be a poet He
writes to save you experience, not labor
GU have TO labor 10 try 10 understand
the poet No poetry is good that does not
demand work to understand"
An entirely original set of ideas about
poets and poetry that will unfortunately
pass away when Poet Lezinsky "shuffies
OH this mortal cOiI' were then ventilated.
In them he has had no predecessor. He
cannot have successor.
IL was somewhat difficult to follow he
poem. owing to the poets comments
which poured deeper darkness on what
was already tenebrOus enough. After he
I had told the audience, ~ viii sing of the
true life as eternal quivering, yet eternal
rest, all connection was lost until the first
poem began, "Oh, David, Dante, Washing
ton, Christ, Judah, Moses, Emerson" and
here. too, the nearer became lost in the
profundlty of the thought, just barely
gTasping that an invocation and a prayer
succeeded these. One phrase, however,
'Sufferlng's geological hand" did not es-
cape Afterward followed Courage.
Hope, Jehovah against Baal, Prone
theus Unbound, Sympathy, Unto Caesar
and Unto God, Heavenly and Earthly Night,
| What is Poetry, Freedom, Seed Time and
Harvest, Iris in four parts, Thou Art, /
Am, Judgment and Fulfllment the Song
| OF the ChTysanthemum. and Amen in three
parts, Night. Dawn and Day.
Columns would be required TO do Justice
TO the poems Dresentation-the lugubri-
GUS lntOnatiOD; the waving of the long
arms, which would have been anything
| but delight 10 DeSarte or his pupils; all
tended TO depress the spirit and soul to
the level Of the poetry. Many strange
things were said in the course Of the read
ing. For instance, the poet said he once
asked whether the word "chrysanthe-
mum" meant the song Of Christ He was
good enough to say, however, that after
! research had taught him that il meant
! golden flower" But I'D his poem he
| brought out the idea that it should be
called "Christanthem, the song of Christ"
slngularly beautiful and musical COM
/ pound word.
| This slight notice of the great work
! could hardly better be finished than by
| the poem, "Resurgam," which will serve
| as specimen of the poets skill and his
marvellous use OF metapbOrical language
Ye days OF A pril came so sweet
seem to hear the flowers feet
| Come running upward meath the sod,
1earning to lift their heads 10 cod