News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1921-01-12
Woman's Club

The class in Correct English met as us.
ual at the Library on Monday after for
their weekly lesson. The lesson was an
unusually interesting one this week.
Abous fifty were present at the regular
! meeting on Monday evening to hear A.
w Peach, Professor of Literature of Nor
witch University, who spoke on the subject
Vermont in Literature. Professor
Peach was presented to the meeting by
Miss Barbara Dawson Ct the Peoples
/ Academy faculty, who had the program.
He said in part:
The statement has been made that
! there is no literature in Vermont, and no
Vermont in literature. This is not true,
1t is true that Vermont has never set
apart holiday in honor of any writer
either of prose or poetry. Nevertheless
| she has writers that are as worthy of such
| honor as those in other states who have
made such holidays. If Vermont has no
| literature the fault is with the people
rather than the writer's. We are prone to
believe that which comes from other
sources better than our own. and we reach
out for the literature of other states and
cities rather than reading and encourag-
ing our own. The consequence of this is
that the writer's grow discouraged and
either leave the state or give up writing
1t is the duty of every intelligent man and
woman of Vermont, and particularly the
duty of organizations such as this Club,
to help preserve the wealth of literary
material in our state and assist those who
are trying to make use of it.
Prof. Peach said the first Vermont
writer who had any claim to lasting liter:
airy merit is Daniel P. Thompson, author
of the Green Mountain Boys. " The
Tory's Daughter" and other volumes
familiar to several generations of Vermont
ers. These books, he said, while praise
worthy are passing from fame to obscurity,
but the reverse is true of the works
o. another writer of the past, Roland E.
Robinson of Ferrisburg, who wrote " Un-
Gle Lisha's Shop" and other books de-
pecting true Vermont characters and
scenes. OF Our earlier poets he considered
only two worthy ofrepresenting our state,
john G.. SAKE and Mrs. Julia c. r. Dorr,
from whose works he read reflections.
The poem Splendid Old Vermont" of the
latter author he considered particularly
fine and worthy of use in school books
and at patriotic gatherings.
OF the living writers he spoke of Dor
othy Garfield Fisher, of Arlington, who
is acclaimed in literary circles as one of
the leading women novelists of America.
of Sarah n. Cleghorn who writes both
prose and poetry, Miss Theodore Peck
of Burlington, whose novel Chester Of
the Grants" has been so widely read :,
and Mary F. Waller of Bethel, who wrote
The Woodcarver of olympus" He
also mentioned. Justine Humphrey of
Rutland. who wrote THE Homestead"
and William Dudley Policy OF St. Johns
bury, wko has made a name for himself
in the field of short story writing and as
the author of novel THE Greater
Glory" Daniel L. Cady of Burlington
also has his place as preserver of old
customs and speech Clarence Budding
ton Kelland is a Vermont author who
II longer lives in the state but frequent
" uses it as background for his stories
Prof. Peach believes that the works of
all these writer should be given perma-
nent place in our libraries. that our child
rem should be taught to read then, aud
that the writers should be asked to
speak to the clubs.
At the business meeting one new name
was presented tor membership and S25
voted for the Near East Relief.