The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-03-12
Appearance of a New Poet and a
New Novelist.
THE LITERARY OUTLOOK
AUTHORS AND PUBLISHERS Ex-
PFRIENCE CHEERFUL TIMES.
w. C. Brownen and His Criticism
Social Evening at the Pen and
Brush-Mr. Howells In the Hon
ors of His Youth-Joseph Conrad's
Sea Plans.
Special Correspondence,

New York, March S.-Mr w. C.
Brownells' fine appreciation of Thack-
cray, in recent number of Scribner' s
Magazine, renews the expressions of re-
greet, common after any appearance of
his, that he is heard from so rarely. He
has an unfailing command of distinc-
ton; whatever he writes is worth at
tending to; but his abstemiousness is
almost puritalical. suppose it is not
wholly a matter of choice with him.
He has the usual human desire, for
himself and family, of keeping soul
and body conjoined, and that desire
perfectly just as it may be-is hardly
to be accomplished in this country, at
the present time, by means simply of
high criticism. In his earlier years Mr..
Brownell had recourse to journalism;
but now, for a good long time, he has
depended on his position as chief reader
and literary adviser for the Scribner
publishing house This position was
once held by Mr.. e. L. Burlingame, and
Mr.. Brownell entered it when Scribner's
Magazine was started and Mr.. Burlin-
game became its editor. With q full
hard days work to be done every day
in considering the manuscripts of other
people, a man has but small strength
or spirit left for the consideration of
his own, and l have no doubt that Mr.
Brownells finding it SO is the primary
reason for his writing so little. More
over, it is clear that, although he has
served his term on a daily newspaper,
he is not a man who can be content to
"scrape" things together; the only sat
isfactory way with him is to have a
subject quietly grow. 1t is probably
because his criticisms usually come in
this sure, natural way that they are so
mature and penetrating, all that can
be said on the subject has had time to
occur to the mind and get full consid
cred. A year or two ago he published
in Scribner's Magazine remarkably
subtle and sympathetic story of New
port. The fineness of the study was due
in no small measure to the fact that
he himself was born and reared there.
He is a man of middle age (47 or 4S),
rather quiet and reserved. but with a
gift of keen and humorous speech and
good scholar in several tongues, with
a special fondness for the French, as
his best known work, Trench Traits"
would lead one to infer.
There is soon to be published a vol
ume of poems by Martha Gilbert Dick
inson. 1t will be her first book. but her
name is already fairly well known to
readers of the magazines, and it is as
ISOLATED with work of the highest quail
ity. Miss Dickinson lives in the same
town and in much the same avoidance
of publicity as did her aunt, Emily
Dickinson, who wrote some of the most
notable poems Of her time with scarcely
anybody knowing it until after her
death, when the fact was discovered,
and the poems were published. The
town is Amherst, Mass, where Miss
Dicl6inson's family have been import
ant people for several generations,
having been prominently identified with
Amherst college from its foundation.
While she does not hide her poems
away from possible readers, IS her
yet in writing them she seems to have
she did so hide them. They are clearly
the expression of ideas and emotions
that press for utterance. and this is the
secret of the fine quality that always
appears in them. AS they appeared in
the small corner of a newspaper or
magazine they began to attract the no
tice of those who have fine eyes for
such things, and the author has already
received cordial testimonials from the
highest judges. Her book will include
a. number of poems that have appeared
in the Atlantic, the Century. Scribner's
and Harpers. but it will also contain
many that have never been published |
Like that of her aunt, Miss Dickinsons
poetry is all of serious and almost |
solemn character, but there is strain |
of hopefulness and inspiration in it |
that is not so obvious in the aunt's |
writings.