New-York tribune., 1922-05-21
Cosmopolitan Provincials
By Ernest Boyd

the theories provided for their en-
couragement. II great poet arises
in Latvia, or great dramatist in the
Aran Islands, the world will hear Of
them. They do not need Mr.. Eliot's
advice to keep their eye on the map.
A good Reuters correspondent might
be produced by his method, but no
| literature OF the imagination has
fourished without roots in q national
soil.
T MIDDLETON INJURY very prop
- erly protested in "The London Ma
tion" recently against this cant about
European" literature. The phrase is
almost meaningless except as a matter
Of geographical convenience outside
that Continent. T. s. Eliot's eng
lish Literature" is nearly as vague.
The latter presupposes that . living
language is static and ignores the in
teresting fact that the Romance
tongues all evolved from Latin, with
out in any way losing their separate
identity.
Philologists still call these Latin Ian
guages, but as contribution to
literary criticism the term would have
been slightly inadequate If used by .
critic who wished to persuade Italians
to write French, or spaniards to write
Rumanan. The national American
literature which Mr.. Eliot thinks Sec
ond rate would be tenth rate, or twen-
tieth, if it continued to be a pale
echo of English. All that gives color,
depth, originality to American litera-
ture, as to every literature since the
world began. is precisely that local,
autochthonous element which the
provincial cosmopolitan Is ashamed Of
and tries to dismiss with a theory.
The truth is that Mr.. Eliot is suf-
fering from that form Of provincialism
which seems to overtake the writer
who becomes obsessed with the i'm
portance of London and Paris. These
two cities have produced more
provincials than Little Rock, Arkan-
sas, and it's equivalents the world over
| / begin to think that the real test of
a cosmopolitan is that he shall pass
through that Scylla and Charybdis un-
scathed. | heard Ezra Pound saying
I all that Eliot says in his article many
years ago. He had the same contempt
for Irish (without knowing either the
language or the country, with an en-
tirely illogical pleasure in Provencal,
and he regarded America as hopeless
ly provincial But, as time passed.
observed that with his usual discern
ment for good work he usually selected
as the objects of his enthusiasm pre-
cisely those writer's who most strong
ly bore the imprint of their race.
Never was there more Irish Irish
man than James Joyce, though his Is
not the type described in the novels Of
Lever, George Birmingham, or Somer-
vile and Ross. "A Portrait of the
Artist and "Ulysses" are as definitely
product of Ireland as "The Playboy
of the Western World" and "The
Demi-Gods." To say this is not to be-
little but to emphasize the originality
of Synge, Stephens and Joyce. So far
as re-entering European literature is
concerned, I doubt If "Ulysses" will
wean many Frenchmen from their de-
light in "Fantomas" and the uplifting
novels of Henry Bordeaux. 1t Is part
of the illusion Of the real provincial
that France, and the European Cont
nent generally, is largely interested in
masterpieces.
Mr.. Eliot's railing at England for her
acceptance of the second-rate rests
upon this ingenious superstition. In
any case, whether Joyce be more easily
assimilated in foreign language than
Synge has nothing to do with the case,
for l am not aware that the absurdity
of Shakespeare in French, and the con-
sequent attitude Of French criticism
toward that barbarian" Oike T. s.
Eliot's barbarous Gaelic!) has made
Shakespeare second-rate provincial
writer.
REFERRED in passing to the weird
French poetry which T. S. Eliot has
published, for this preoccupation with
misunderstood and misapplied French
is the dominant characteristic of this
general state of mind which / have
called cosmopolitan provincialsm. In
the last issue Of "The Double Dealer" !"
for example, there is an article by
Miss Djuns Barnes, giving an account
of trip to Paris and visit to James
joyce For reasons imnossihIa IN die