New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1922-09-24

separate short chapters to fifty Of
them, including such names as Ana
tolc France, John Davidson, Sir James
George Frazer, Harold Frederic, A. f.
and j. NJ Synge. And ! give you my
word, ne has not one new, interesting,
illuminating, amusing or important
thing to say, about any of them.
George AIDE" he tells us, els an
American humoriSt"; when the lee
ture was over Joined the small throne
OF congratulations. When my turn
came | reminded the author Of The
Golden Bough' that we had met at
the Anatole France dinner He had
no recollection of the OCCASION; "tn
their speeches both Mr.. Shaw and
Mr., Walkley regretted that shyness
prevented them from making their re-
marks IN French. I determined that
Monsieur Brieux should know that one
kngiIshman, at least, in the audience
could overcome the affliction of shyness.
SO. at the reception that followed.
when / was waited into the presence
of this distinguished Frenchman, and
presented to him, said, with DELHI.
Grafton, pronouncing each word care
fully: Monsieur Brieux, TAI reca
beaucoup de plaisir de votre confer
ence charmante.'" Mr.. Hind,s
lmpteryiousness to Impressions is in
credible. One would think that If
nothing else, by sort of intellectual
osmosis he would have absorbed some
thing distinctive, impressive or a.
tractive in viewpoint from his npmer-
GUS contacts. But he has not; even
ms critical remarks. are the obvious
things that have been said over and
over again An amiable enough chan
l imagine, but I don't wonder at ST.,
James Frazer's forgetting him.
SEPTEMBER 9
Why is 1t, wonder, that Of all forms
OF expression, that of dramatic crjti-
clsm calls for the most persistent. CON
slant and elaborate defense on the part
Oh Its practitioners Why are dramatic
critics always apologizing for them
selves? No dramatist, except Shaw
(who may have formed the habit as
dramatic critic, feels called upon to
defend his plays before he lets YOU read
them; musical composers rarely make
explanations and excuses for what thew
nave written Ceven program notes arc
usually written by some one elsel.
scuiptors and painters do not argue ont
thelr theories to you before thew set
before you what their hands and imap-
lnatons have accomplishing even liter
airy critics usually write onlv a short
preface outlining their salient aims and
let IT go at that. But out Of the fifty-
one short essays in A. b. WaIkley's
4Fasnche and Prejudice" all but ff-
teen, as recall, are defense of his
theories Of criticism, and of these fif
eleven
the drama. George Jean Nathan's CHE
Crluc and the Drama" is a 152-page
continuation Of an apologize which be-
gan with his first book and which has
occupied two-thirds Of each succeeding
volume from his pen; and of which we
nave addenda in the current "Smart
Set. James Agate's "Alarums and Ex-
c eur begins early with an ESSAY on
ne Decay of Criticism" and oblique-
~ proves its point throughout the
pook. Pick up any book of dramatic
crlticlsm, thumb through the table of
toneents ana observe how many chap
ters are given over to the theory If
dramatic criticism, how much more
criticism of dramatic criticism there is
1 Ina, of dramatic criticism.
Inc interesting thing about this phe
no mind you, is precisely that
the critics apologies and self defense
are the most interesting things about
his writings. Mr.. Walkley on Dusc
bernhardt or Sir Arthur Wihq Pinero
IS almost intolerable; Mr. Walkley on
ms own craft is delight. Shaw,s
pooh OF dramatic criticism remains to
me the high point of his achievement
ana largely because there is little dra,
matte criticism in it. f'
SEPTEMBER IS
got mixed up in my luncheon da+os
oS-day and since could not Of r ua'cs
yuma Barnes by telephone I had to
| leaVe her in the company of NV wifo
ana wary Blair, while, apologeticallv.
! hastened over to John Farrar's Book.
iuan luncheon. | was fatigued nv lack
o. o. sleep and much work and verv I;telv
Dluna was glad enough to be rid If
III, me as an unsatisfactory acoustic for
her penetrating briliancies and 40 n
complete and utter mute myself. ! cot
seated at the "Bookman" party in t;me
NJ NJ near vaguely, as if in fog, Kenneth
! m ~, telling something about an
.neeIvlew ne gave Swedish news
paFeI' FRANK Crowninshield complain
Ing 'na1 the Russian influence upon the
ny Husleai shows was pernicious IN
tna0 american authors and producers
are are turning out bad limitations of the
russian thing, instead of giving nc
good satircal and sentimental skis
1pouV damlllar things of American citv
me christopher Morley telling how
| ne new lived the quiet life of a pate,.
ainlilas IN cottage on Long Island
ana got INTO his slippers, lighted his nine
ana read Sir Thomas Browne at nioht
'onn V. A Weaver recountinc some
/ ~ MS experiences in Paris, notably his
encounters with some of the numerous
meo9ping derelicts of the Dome, who have
Iaiien under the spell of a delectab,e
american - Calypso who writes noetrv,
hooert tortes Holiday saving that
arthur Mason, the author of that Va
mIarkabie aptobiograph Ocean Echoes y
mas Gene on to New York to tr1, n
make make living as writer; Heywood
prom defending his view Of Gone NJ
/ ours, by saying that he might have
stood 1t all right if Miss Gather had
hot Killed her hero with three "c1ean"
ouilet hoies; and Floyd Dell bashfullv
Suoeing couplet so much under his
breath that | couldn't get it.
SEPTEMBER 18
Roy l.. McCardeil is the world,s oil
| round champion literary nrize yv;nn,,.
having won to date S48. T28.3l rs 7oe .,
more than the Nobel Prize at the Ia
rate of exchance), in amounts vsru
! ing from $4,000 for a serial storv IL
! honorable mention, a years suhscr;n1
ton 10 magazine for poem. He has
los5 out two contests he ever entered
| ana IN one Of these the prize never was
awarded. got the following letter
from Mr.. McCardell this morning:
49, kleatiS m:ssed your regular Sun