Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-09-04
OF Poets and "Poets"


1 liable to spring up in a night, any
where: some of them a great delicacy,
properly dshed others are deadly: and you
can never exactly tell which is which. Be-
sides. there are about many kinds Of poets
there of fungi, and they are similarly
conspicuous as contra sted with the rest of the
vegetable world in their gaudy and striking
coloration their uselessness and in the happy
brevity Of their lives Pity 1t is that 1t is
only mushrooms that we can call by hard
names. There is the language of poets; there
should be special nomenclature of very
hard terms applicable to poets-at least 10
some of them"
Thus spoke the objector
AS ONE Of the penalties of wearing
n very long gown very long while. the
Gownsman is the recipient of many volumes
of verse. In fact he maintained for some
years a fourteen-foot shelf whereon to stable
these gift horses, into whose mouths 1t is
not mannerly too curiously to peer But
even this ample space did not suffice to
shelve this perennial crop, and in various
attempts the volumes have been variously
disposed None to Leary's; Leary deals
only in standard poets, only in poets who
have been dead a long while. not in poets who
are dead now. Some to the paper man
but it appears that the printing of poetry
on white paper reduces its market value.
even in these times of scarcity. Some Of the
volumes have been lent in the hope-based
on long experience with the loaning and
straying Of books-that they might neveO re-
turn. But the punctiliousness OF people In
the return Of things which they do not want
frustrated this generous endeavor to dinuse
poetry, for its moral influence. among those
who habitually confuse their Ideas as to
mine and thine. One or two volumes Of
manx dry leaves have served admirably thu
purpose of starting wood fire; but the
Gownsman would advise against this as none
too certain a disposition of poetry, as much
of our annual growth Is remarkably sue
culent and apt, in the escaping of the juices,
to make your fire smoke and choke up your
chimney The veracious Gownsman remem-
bers an evening spoiled by an abortive at
tempt to light a FIRE with volume Of Miss
AMY Lowell. One wonders whether the
poetess could. perhaps. be addicted to-but
nerish the thought! Her volume was GER
,ainly a smoker. 1t is safer. If you want to
he sure. to leave the poets in lighting fire.
For tVe purpose the Gownsman has found
nothing like a dsquisition on Shakespeare !;
pre- eminent here, as everywhere.
NryHEN YOU receive a volume of verse.
w acknowledge 1t at once-before you have
had an opportunity" to read 1t. This will
save YOU some white lying and II you have
a conscience salve 1t. The best formuiary
IN use in replying to a poet is that or DE-
| Holmes: pear sir, / have received your
book Of poetry. Believe me, sir shall lose
| no time in reading It," The oracle at Del
NH scarcely ever did better than that For
10 the poet, whoever could lose time" In
| reading what he has written? To the pro-
| fane-and the writer may have been among
| them-the phrase may mean-weil. some
| thing else. II you must use adJectiVes-aha
| there are those who cannot live. without
| them-"interesting' Is altogether the most
| efficient, though unhappily much overworked
For a volume Of poetry" may be inter
| esting" in several ways: AS literature (occa-
i sionally), as intellectual gymnastics, as I'M
| suistic nihilism. psychological exhibie
| II a more or less curious departure IRON
| the sweet ways of human won't"
| nut to return: In acknowledging a boob
| d of verse, the one thing not to have done
| is to have read a word of It, Such action
| hampers the free play of your critical mind
YOU the difficult problem. shall l lose thu
| truth, or lose my friend?" The Gownsman
| is no casuist but he has heard that truth
is hung on every tree"-which is 30 mucf
| the worse for truth But to friends they
/ are rare in this cold. hard world And shall
| a man lose his friend merely because hi'
friend, happens to think himself "a poet?
yTNHERE Is q popular belief current that 4
be . poet is 70 be something queer. 'Ans
ike most popular beliefs this one has BASH
In fact The Desire TO write verses--espe
cisliy 70 be seen postlcAlly in pEipt-is
\ ;oomnon fptm ef egotismk often HvoIopinl