The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1921-02-03


in this volume of unusual merit, and
some are positively bad. The publica>
ton Of this volume served, however, to
free her for better work. The second
book, "Sword Blades and Poppy Seed
shows remarkable advance, and gave
Its author an enviable position in
American literature The first poem
which gives the volume it's name, tells
of traveller meeting man who
takes him to an old room. filled with
symbols Of poetry, edged weapons
curiousiywrcught, together with seeds
of the poppy The title means that all
poems may be divided into two classes
stimulants and sedatives.
"All books are either dreams, or
swords,
You can cut, or you can drug, with
words"
Miss Lowell's poems might all be
classed as Sword Blades, even those
intended to be soothing, are, instead
stimulating. One reason why her
books are so interesting, is that she
knows how to tell story in verse
In her romances, style waits on mat
ter, both incident and poetry are sus-
tanned from beginning to end. In mar
rative skill she is surpassed by only one
contemporary, John Masefeld. In this
particular kind of verse composition
she has shown steady development.
In her last volume, "Men, Women
and Ghosts" the versatility of her
writing is very evident. In this vol.
ume are two long narratives, poems Of
patriotism, outdoor lyrics, town &C.
logues, pictures Of still life, and tragic
pastorals. Her robust vitality is
veined with humor. She watches a
roof shingler with active delight, dis
covering poetry in cheerful manual
toll. One day life seems to her de-
pressing, another day beautiful, an
other inspiring, another down right
/ funny, and these moods are reflected
in her poetry. Wa. .z
In an article by Louis Untermeye1
in which he refers to Amy Lowell as a
"Storm Center" he says that the quail
ity which arouses admiration and an
tagonism is most sharply pronounced
in Miss Lowell as human being. He1
amazing vitality, coupled with vigo1
of utterance make force so clean cut
and compelling that it sweeps aside
objections and DIRECTORS. She is. a
conversational dynamo, the atmos.
phere about her fairly crackles and
snaps with energy, and it is this very
positive quality which has caused
much opposition, especially among
negative people who are prone to re-
sent anything new or unaccustomed.
In her public lectures Miss Lowell
has taken up the cudgels for free
verse, and welded them Justify for all
of the radicals in poetry and the new
tendencies in other arts as well. Miss
Lowell is not reformer and has new
er attacked the past but has con-
structuvely encouraged progress
especially in literature. No one can
rob the sanctuary of Herrick, Burns
Keats, and the other idols, the temple
of poetry is large and unless there is
progress there can be only imitation.
In the first stage of Miss Lowell's
poetic career. her work was mixture
I of the initiative and exotic, but there
was also noticeable trace of the free
dom of color 50 pronounced in her
later work. In the second stage of her
development, she attained a larger
and more varied utterance and devel-
oped an affinity for 1magism, with its
insistence on the '.creation of new
rhythms." absolute freedom in
choice of subject, - "exact words" and
finally on production Of poetry that
is sthard and clear" Miss Lowell ex-
celled the imagists in their own man.
ner, surprising them in both feeling
and form.
Miss Lowell is the most vigorous
and. versatile of all women poets Of
America today. She has pungency
and power rare among present day
poets Of either sex. Her work min
giles curiously delicate, feminine fan
tasy, love of the dramatic and grotes-
que, and strong, almost square.
shouldered virility. With all these and
sharp satire she cuts through COM
mon and tawdry surfaces to hidden
depths and beautiful meanings. Part
of her freedom is due to acquisition OF
foreign cudture, but it has remained
native freedom with her. In spite
of her assured position in contempor-
airy literature. one feels her career
is only beginning.
- EPISCOPAL HALL i