Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-03-01
POET CRATES
OF AMERICAN POESY
Louis Untermayer Thinks Philo.
musian Club Should Discard
Greek Name

Yesterday was a great day for poets.
Vachei Lindsay roaring like n lion at
Bryn Mawr and Louis Cntermeyer, swimmer
jeweler, poet and talker. bought lunch for
the poetry reporter
Louis Untermeyer wears a mahogany plush
hat, which is his right poet. and sleeve
links of white gold. which Is his right as a
designer of beautiful jewelry. one of the
most dynamic and athletic Of American
poets, he has the good sense TO be also a
business man. the vice president and designer
OF a large firm of manufacturing jewelers. in
New York.
Like a swimmer diving from a SPRING
board-swimming is Mr. Untermeyers favor
ite pastime-the poet leapt from the base
OF the Franklin statue outside the postoffice
at Ninth and Chestnut streets and greeted
the reporter He was fresh from delivering
an address on THE New Era in American
Poetry" at the Philomusian Club in West
Philadelphia. and was bubbng with cnthu-
slasm over the Greek gasoline temple he had
seen at Thirty-ninth ana Walnut streets,
near the Philomusan clubhouse
Il think it's the most beautiful bit of
classic architecture I've seen in America"
he cried.
What did you tell the phiIomusiarso op
interpolated the reported Catching at
various eddies and rifles in the sparkling
stream of Mr.. Cntermeyers utterance the
interviewer netted the following:
Cried shame on Them
II told them they ought to be ashamed
or themselves" said Mr. Cntermeyer I'm
an era full of so much fine interesting Amer
icanism they went and picked out an ugly
ancient Greek name for their club It's the
influence Of that marvellous Gasoline Temple
/ suppose. And in an era when the Amer
lean poets are doing such interesting vital
and original work, they are all talking about
the English poets and looking everywhere
but at home for their poetry 1 enjoyed
myself by telling them that Just round the
corner from their clubhouse in the West
Philadelphia High School, a young teacher
of English, Roy Helten, is writing poetry
that is vivid of their native pavements
poetry that is genuine and fresh and full
OF originality. Mr.. Helton isn't going back
to the Acropolis for his inspiration; he
finds II on Race and Vine streets which is
something of 4 feat.
American poetry didn't stop with Long
fellow" said Mr.. Untermeyer. Il was
amused to see your paper reprinting Long
fellows poem about a turnip. Well, Phila-
delphia poets today are writing even better
poems about turnips. It's time people get
wise to the wonderful impulse that is moving
in American poetry today.
Village smithies No Longer Inspire
Poets no longer go TO village blacksmiths
and chambered autiluses TO eXtort an ir-
relevant motto. And the democracy of Ian
guage: poets are using the spoken word
| rather than archaic and snowy language.
| People don't need a dictionary of rare words
| to understand poetry. Life is now the poet s
| glossary. | read the Phiomusians a poem
| of Mr.. Heton's. Mr.. Helton was the only
other man in the room, among several hum
| dred ladies' You should have seen him blush.
| Well. it's nice TO know that there are still
| poets capable of blushing.
| Robert Frost believe is the greatest
| living American poet. When the history OF
| American poetry is written. Frost viii go
| down the greatest pioneer since WhitfAan.
| Do you find IL works well 20 be both a
| business man and a poet?" asked the re-
porter
| We'll" said Mr. Untermeyer, IL have g
curiously constituted landlord who likes to
| be paid at least by the 9th of the month
| and an eleven-year-old son who likes to have
| three meals day. I've been seventeen
| years in the jewelry business-Tm thirty
three now-I enjoy being vice president
| of the firm because that's where the pay
envelope comes from, and / like being the
| designer of jewelry because it's fascinating
work. My business uses a different lobe oi
| my misunderstanding that l have both the
| lobe and the brain-and l come TO my
| writing fresh In the evening The ivory
tower attitude is no good for a poet. He
needs to be a man mingng with men
| yachel Lindsays naivete is largely due tc
| the fact that he has never worked at 9
really steady job"
Mr.. Untermeyer thinks that the best poei
an his family is his eleven-year-old sor
Dick who collaborated with him in some
of the poems in his book These Times.
After Dick, he believes that his wife. Jear
Starr Untermeyer. is the second best poet 'oi
= the family