The New York herald., 1922-10-22

a SyItnetlc urdfnd, so Il wrote tnlS iii
pressionistic' play with a theatrical de
velopment corresponding. But intend nj
concessions. to your traditional tastes
Don't worry. I'll be giving you some
more synthetic things later on-and they
will be ultra-futuristic. Yours truly, F
T. NJ"
The lyric dramatization of noise. Those
who remember the tom-tom of O'Neill will
ask for nothing more lyric and more dra-
matte; in fact, Emperor Jones' may be
said to have been built up around the sin.
lister drum beat. So in artistic purpose
also the two plays are identical.
III.
But rather satisfactory alibi can be
built up for Marinetti on historical grounds
Long before ONeill was known in America
Marinetti had introduced the African ne.
gro into what may be called literature il
his "Mafarka the Futurist," a novel which
he advertises (characteristicaIly again) as
prosecuted and suppressed with two
months and fifteen days of Imprisonment
for the author" And now within the last
few weeks he has issued "Gli Indomabili'
(The Indomitables), an allegorical lit.
erary satire, written in novel form and in
Futuristic prose. on the background OF
memories from my last trip to the upper
Nile" 1t is clear that IL O'Neills pla,
had any part at all in the origin of the
Fiery Drum" the suggestion fitted into
preoccupations already quite mature
Marinetti. in fact, must have been one OF
the first to sense the oncoming vogue OF
Africa as the wild West" the wild
South" that is. Of European Imagination
which has recently given a new birth to
the Continental story of adventure.
A line or two from ''The Indomitables'
VIII suggest Marinetti's present state OF
mind regarding Futurism and prose. We
take them from the chorus of the night.
ingales in the chapter called the "Orchestra
OF the Trees: Through the lofty branches
over the lake the nightingales came flv.
ing IN great waves of melody. and trilling
trilling, trilling, trilling. they began theil
song. impelling all the choristers of the
oasis to lift their voices in harmony. ex.
alting. perfecting the chorus in a more in.
tense musical radiance. Tic (pronounce
tee-oh) ito, tio. tix! Tio, ito, tio, Tx!
'"The frenzied gurglings of Light" sail
Mirmofm
Quito quito. quito. quitio," sang the
Indomitables at the top of their voices i'm.
itaung the nightingales who were gurelins
no. no. to- ito. ito. ito. ito. ito. ito. tio
their notes They trilled and trilIed. as on,
no. no. tho. tio. tio. ito. ito, tio ito. tio
laughs. weeps. sighs. kisses. swears-aI
to- tio tio, ito. ito. ito. ito, tio. ito. tio
plunging finally into a cascade of CRYSTAL
no. TO- ito. tio. ito. ito. ito, tio ito. tio
ine vibrations that sought the depths o.
no to- ito. tio. ito. ito. ito. to- ito. tio
human intoxication and human sorrow"
This kind of Futuristic prose is intelli.
giole after all-words that in italian have
some beauty of imagery set to the musi,
which they describe. How these words
should be read we cannot imagine; per-
maps you pronounce them with the lips
and surgle meanwhile with your brain
or perhaps It is the other way round W.
should like to see the idea tried in politi.
cal oratory. for instance.
In his preface to THE Indomitables'
Marinetti claims much for the influence o.
the free word" movement upon the writ
ers of our day. citing long passages from
D'Annunzio's "Notturno" in the style O.
which many critics have noted concession.
to modernist literary movements Tn,
passages he quotes show many words anc
expressions-pure Understanding b,