The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-09-06

Was Hamilton west Indian or an
american? Was Christ a Bcthlehem!te
or tho lowly Nazarene"? We. OF Viz
En.a claim Poe and defy the world
10 take him away from us.
He who at this day belittles Edgar
Allan Poe belittles himself. :; was
IN spirit OF revenge and jealouty
that Lowell wrote the couplet referred
TO BY Mr.. Renshaw.
There comes Poe with his Raven like
'Barnaby Rudge,'
Three-hfths OF him genius and two
hfths mere fudge"
1t wac the expression OF sore-bacl<
raked by a currycomb Whose fault?
Currycomb's or backs? And then,
The proportion OF genius has got the
fudge skinned" three TO two. even In
this biased appraisal
In the years TO come the New Eng
land writers will be satellites that
shall revoivc around the great central
orb. Poe. You give us Virg!nians Poe,
and we don't want anybody else to
hold our own with New England in
the eyes of the world The world to-
day. save IN America, sees only Poe
when they turn the glasses of literary
criticism 10 America Travel the con-
t!nent and see Listen out for A,neri-
His erudit!on. his versatility. his utter
individuality. lift him where an army
OF Mr.. Renshaws will never pun him
down.
The New England school OF writer's
have always been tempered with Co.
lonialisn. They have initiated and
made their lord, England. Their pillar
OF cloud has been England They have
bent their knee TO England
Np ~, =
forth as a world figure OF invention
| rs the founder OF 4 new type in liter
ature-as n beacon-light OF ncwncss in
letters. They have followed the ortho-
! dox British writer's. and 10 romanti-
cism has tempered their English CLASH
cism.
AS for Henry Ward Becchcr. what's
our Caesar hecn catin'? No standard
work on American literature even
mentions him. II is a shame TO put
his name In the same paragraph with
Poc's II is as the FREELY at high
noon who says: What a great light
1 nlakc."
Poe was the founder and father
of the short story. and especially OF
to-day's ubiquitous type-the detective
story Poe was a great creative genius
in poetry. whom the world would, but
| cannot. initiate. His works OF cri.i-
I
as human impcrfection can make. Ills
| philosophy. his fantasy and cXtrava-
gancc In fact the universal scope OF
! his pen. are unsurpassed, If cqualcd.
( Utter originality--if originality he :,
! name on carth--astoUndinG versatility,
! profound analysis. mari, him. An al
/ most impossible blending OF the Wathe
ma tical with the imaginative intellect
| was his. He is poet cssayist. mathe o
mat!can, detective, psychologist and
| critic. His style. his tout ensemble
are utterly individual.
/ Every day Poe's cult Is gaining and
in France since Mallarme translated
| his Craven" and Baudclaire gave him
TO the French In French. He is the
| only great American writer that Eng
I land proudly counts with her glorious
| ma ters OF English. Poo Is hero. The
''drunkard" is n fact. Posterity shall.
! some day erect him n monument that
! shall ftly proclaim his genius. And
rightly stamp his greatness. TIL then
as now, the monuments in the hearts
| OF his lovers. shall remain the reSl
cmblcms of his glory.
Has New England. with all her
horde OF writers. and her volurnnouG
stacks OF paper with words on 1t. given
to the world the work OF Il Poe?'
When Bryant shall be read no more
| in Amcrica--it is tho only place he Is
read; when Emerson shall have passed
| from pages; when whittier shall have
been forgotten with the issue.to which