The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-11-15
THE POETIC LITERATURE
OF THE OLD NORTH STATE.
An Address Delivered Before the State Historical
Association by Reverend Hight {.
Moore.

every purchaser and to destroy it. DR..
Thomas Wilson of New Bern wrote a
volume in early life but later being more
skilled with pills than with poems ne
threw a friends copy of his poems into
the fire with words of depreciation. SO
great a man as DR.. Deems became was
| guilty of writing small volume of poems
| before he was twenty. The magazine IN
which he expected a most appreclative
notice Is reported to have contained tue
| brief and scathing comment: The
young writer is advised to take to the
measles or whooping cough, but do not
take to writing verse
THE LINES IN THE WAY.
SO in any adequate review of the
| poetic literature of the State we must
reckon with a great deal OF matter
binary and sub-ordinary. But the fact
| is that our poets have had to encounter
many lines in the way. For one thing,
they have had to struggle for living
and have had little time for counting the
muse. AS a result, the divine afflatus has
| escaped through their pores rather than
| their pens. And as to remuneration, who
over heard Of a publisher buying a manu-
script volume of poems by q North Caro-
| linian? Probably not one was ever under
taken independently by a publisher. It
is easy to believe that some Of our best
authors have published their verses at
actual financial loss; others have barely
come out even; none have made money.
While some of our later bards have been
paid handsomely for fugitive pieces, yet
| the rule is that in dollars and cents
North Carolina poetry doesn't pay.
! Again j. must be confessed that our
best singers have been received with
scant popular appreciation; seldom an ey-
preston of encouragement and never an
encore. One could hardly say that
even the literary public in the State is
| inclined to native verse and of course
| the masses are quite unaware OF its ex-
| tent and value. The peoples Judgment
and patronage of home verse has not
| been such as to stimulate it's produc-
ton. To only a limited extent has Mrs.
Clarke's hope been realized that the best
of native verse will be dear to North
Carolinians ''as the note Of the mocking
bird in our native woods is sweeter to
/ the ear of patriotism than the songs Of
the nightingale in foreign climes."
! Moreover our existent poetic literature
| has been the victim of poor critical judg.
ment. Under proper criticism the true
| poet is spurred to higher flights OF poesy;
! he does better work when he knows that
discriminating eyes are following the
movements of his pen. But hitherto the
| Carolina poetic barque has encountered
danger between the Scylla and Chary-
bdis of fulsome praise and indiscrlmi-
nate censure On the one hand ne has
been flattered by a friend or two less
endowed with poetic insight than per-
sual friendship. and on the other he has
| been wounded by the blade of a too
sweeping disapproval. True and thorough
criticism would greatly help the cause
| OF native verse.
Not to mention any other, we may note
the lack of artistic literary training
accounting in part for the rarity of real
literature among US. Our poets have gen.
orally exhibited more heart than mind.
Nearly always their feelings have runs
true but their forms of expression have
too often been tame, lnsipid, lacking iE
freshness and in fire. 1t is no. due 10
paucity or poetic materials nor so much
to intellectual mediocrity or limited poetic
power as to deficiencies in literary train
ing. The defect may be traced partly to
our schools and colleges. There has been
wanting also the clash of kindred spirits
in sympathetic critical association. The
individual discipline of mind and of
| work which insures that each piece IS
brought to the highest possible refine
ment before it is rushed into print arc
/ also TO be taken into account. When
these things are remedied. we shall enter
the era of d richer and more extended
! literature.
ON THE SLOPES OF PARNASSUS.
- ooI ,I1xyy,, 70
and heartless critics and mountainous
difficulties a few Of our writer's have I'M
dcubtedly assembled the slopes of Par
nassus 1t was fifty years ago and be-
fore the bulk OF our best poetry was
written that Mrs. Clarke in her preface
to Wood Notes" said: Though We may
not have produced any great poets, still
these footprints OF the muse" will show
that we possess some of:
THE poets that are sown
By nature; men endowed with highest
gifts,
The vision and faculty divine"
There is a much larger circle OF native
poets than our people are aware OF and
many OF them have sung sweetly, once
in a while sublimely The note OF pa
triotism sounded by Judge William CASTOR
in 1.-THE Old North State Forever Is re-
! pcated by our school children from Muir
ply to Manteo. and is sung by scattered
/ Caroinians the world over. The great
roem on ''Hatteras' by Joseph w. Hol-
den was pronounced by Gen. Clingman
| the finest of Southern poems, by Walter
Fl Page the best poem in sentiment and
tone yet written in the South. and it was
included by Longfellow in his collection
OF the best American poems. Mrs. Fran
ces C. Tiernan-"C Christian Reid'--though
author of manv popular novels has also
written excellent verse emitting her to
| a high place among our poets. Mrs.
Elizabeth Cakes Smith, native of Maine,
| 1c,A-4..,..oa -. r,re~l. rrn,o \