The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-04-30
ms TWILIGHT OF POETRY.
:, n UOWELLS ON THE PRESENT
rrNDENCIES IN LyTERATURE.


,.,.tory, and Speaks of the POetical
cote ms CIosed-The New Litera-
finances for New Writers.
v,..cuSses ZOIa-Pny for Literary
x,-orI.--Infuence of Magazines.
,,os+ significant of Recent Books.
,xiu1ing-AbOut HOwelIs Himself.
1 n-.a, york. April 2S.-William Dean How
~. - a man of genial presence, of sim
sobits and address, whose democracy
r tent pace with his culture, and whose
4 -,.r,nafbies are as broad and indulgent as
Ne standards Of life are earnest and high
man who has strong convictions and
n Who is not afraid to speak them.
4 found him in the quiet study of his
Nov, York home, a beautiful apartment
] overlooking Central park. He sa. In
his comfortable chair, surrounded by
nc hooks and papers, and talked with
me IN subjects of which he is better quail
;AAd to speak, perhaps, than any other liv-
,,g American. The conversation ran
,igbtlv from subject 20 subject, as a con-
,ersation will, and 1 have put it down
off hand as II came 10 me.
When we touched on poetry, Mr.. How
b sus said: IF / were asked what seemed
10 be the most significant tendency in lit
4 erature. I should say that il was the grad
nal decline of interest in poetry. have
spoken Of it as the twilight of poetry.
81 When began to write, young people read
BYRON Byron was, indeed, a craze. A
81 rftla later every one read Emerson, Haw-
tborne. Tennyson and Whittier. People
of literary taste were really fond of poe
trv. They committed it to memory; they
talked about it, But now all that seems
10 be changed. Browning apparently
closed the poetical cycle. This evanes-
cence of poetry seems to me to be the
most marked change in imaginative liter
ature.'
HOweIIs on KiplinG.
just here I suggested Mr.. Kipling, 1.-THE
. Recessionai" and THE White Mans Bur
den" Mr.. Howells expressed the deepest
admiration for Kiphng's work, but in
A speaking Of The White Mans Burden"
he said:
1T is very fine and notable; 1t is poetry
4 with an object and 1t is, perhaps, the most
significant recent utterance of a literary
man I think however, that it has been
taken rather differently from what it was
intended. To me 1t seems a note of warn
ing. The idea that 1t Is our destiny to as
sumo this tremendous responsibility of
governing several million savages, many
thousand miles away is not at all clear
And since We have approached this sub
iect am glad to be able to express my
self on the war and it's probable effects
on our literature. The opinion seems to
be pretty generally held that it will tend
TO bring about revival of romanticism.
On the contrary, 1 believe its influence to
be already past. 1 even doubt If it has
eXerted any real influence. No good can
come from war. II can inspire nothing
that is worthy in art or letters. What
H DID our great civil war do for literature?
i Literature may be said to have produced
h It, but it left no literature. The revolu-
4 ton was also barren of inspiration No
L book poem, or painting of any value
Il came out of it. War is a Madness blind
Il rage; it brushes and destroys the beauti-
full"
Mr.. Howells spoke of these subjects
with the greatest earnestness and vehem-
ence II was but step from the discus
sion OF war and its influences to a con-
sldeTation of history.
The Decline of History.
History" he said, "is written in a diff
leieht way from what it was forty years
ago and people do not read the historical
WORKS which they once did. l can re-
member when everyone had been through
WIN Moteys Rise of the Dutch Repub-
~ ana books of that sort, but that has
d! passed. Now history has become more
C.llcal; critical inquiry has taken the
4 pace OF the old methods of representa-
uou' indeed there Is a general converg-
t toward criticism to be noted in all
1aHenes or literature. Naturalism-
"n'en is only better name for realism
ISM" '--'''i io'iiS''i 'ie-
10 asked him what he thought of the real
-e sloFy-the story based on some actual
NpN'ence OF the writer in special bust
80 OF profession, thinking of the work
y, MT Iamblen, Mr.. Whitmarsh Mr..
stories. '''9 'NS
+. All OF this may have it's place." said
4 a. Io"ells, I'm art, things can not be
ga out natural some Frenchman says.
~. s transcript of life can not be real,
o1s y may be life-like. 1t would, / inn
rs"e' be difficult for me to be entirely
AURA writing a story OF the kind you
mention. I should count it safer to set
~ ~ Ianky TO create, without any pledges
mat particular kind Of literalness."
a, rs there the same chance Of winning
Isune5ion now that there was formerly"
ureat Chances for New Writers.
yes said Mr. Howels, young au-
receive recognition quite as promptly
H. wren entered the field-more prompt
maeed. for there IS an enllvened curl
- on tae part of the public: a greater
.ela Tor new writers. and IL is easier
v'. lslen tho public. The rapidly with
3d. kipIng, Mr. Crane and others
80 e,'inlshed themselves would show
tls 10 De- true.
Ae older writer's do not perhaps, hold
b.. Own quite 80 well; the eagerness
i., men Ia authorship letrscts
wv from the value OF the cider meE,
work has lost iis novelty
1." chances % winning distinction
r 'N ile whole increased since q time
n. '3p remember the methods are
IN I'Aned ana improved what would
r ''' been thought q rare facility b.
r common, both "a verse ana
r story in the Atlantic, or Har-
r mag Tory years ago Would have
i., impression, a. nos accompanied
pr thirty ~ almost equal merit
UN fHraa faIa ssH.naH.HIU. -