The Washington herald., 1911-07-07

Every man and every woman who
writes receives tons of manuscript from
people who want to write asking for
criticism and advice and assistance.
Long ago learned that to read, ad-
wise, and attempt to aid such aspirants
meant giving up the time and strength
which were necessary to my own af-
fairs.
Besides this I learned that people with
real talent and with a real message for
the world never troubled any one but
editors and publishers with their manu-
scripts They sent directly to the market.
They did not ask people by the wayside
to sell their wares.
At the age of fourteen this writer sent
her childish effusions to editors, never
thinking for moment that any one but
the editor himself could be of any as
sistance to her. Whatever obstacle lay
d in her path she asked no one but God
to- help in the removal
Candid and Not a Candied Opinion.
- Every busy literary man and woman
ihstructs a secretary to send manuscripts
back to the writer's and to give the ad-
dress of some good, reliable literary
agent who makes a business of reading
and Selling such effusions as seem to be
Salable.
But sometimes, through mischieVous
fate or accident, a poem will reach the
busy man or woman with a request that
It be read, and that an honest, candid
opinion be given of its merits.
Such a letter reached me recently, and
[ gave just what was asked, a candid
mot a candied) opinion.
l wrote the would-be poet that his lines
showed literary feeling, but that he
lacked the, power of expression, and that
he had better keep to prose. said 1t
would be a waste OF his time to attempt
to become a poet.
Some Sample Poetry"
He has written me sorrowful and ac-
cusative letter
He says I have destroyed hope and
driven him into a despondent state of
mind, and his belief in human kindness
has received a death blow. Then he adds
the following lines:
Child of feeling in the world hard is thy lot;
For kindness and sympathy, even the poets have
in feeHngless world all alone thou dost stand and
hard is thy task;
In feelngless world the hard cuts the soft as
- long as life lasts. ~.
But your kind and good Maker VIII Try you to
save:
Will temper the winds hold your hand to the grave
Nothing Like Cold Black Print.
Perhaps when the unhappy man sees
these dreadful lines in print he will be-
gin to understand the crime against the |
muses. which it was my hope to save
him from committing Perhaps he will |
scan them and see how utterly devoid of |
one poetical quality they are; how task !
and lasts make themselves deadly foes
when trying to rhyme and how alto
gether awful is his attempt to be a poet.
There is no crime against art more
ineXcusable than bad verse wheezy
music on and old street organ, badly /
composed and rendered, may yet lend a |
moments joyousness TO a dull, dingy /
street, and some weary toiler may feel /
his heart lightened at the sound which
takes his thoughts away from monoto-
nous work.
A badly drawn and painted bit of land
scape may yet give the eye which looks
only on commonplace and dreary sur
Eoundings a moments relief with its
splash of color, and an inartistic statue
may lift the thoughts of the passer-by to
the ideal which the sculptor had in
mind.
The Sin of Trashy Verse.
But trashy verse. jolting, unrhythmical,
devoid of music and Earring in rhyme,
can only bring misery and sorrow to the
heart of men and angels.
: 1t is an objectionable sin.
And it is a cruel waste of time and
effort on the part of the perpetrator.
Kindness and sympathy, which my cor
respondent says even poets have not"
We're displayed in my letter when l tried
to prevent him from thinking he could
ever be poet.
( The most cruel thing possible would