The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1924-11-02

She is not really, you know, our Aun,
Lavinia. We simply call the dear ole
soul "aunt" because she means so mucr
to us on those rare occasions when sht
drops in for visit. Once we hear thu
phaeton creaking along the gravel road
way, we know we must hurry if We
are to hide the radio contraption, con
ceal all copies of 1.-THE American Mer
curry" and dust off our edition of Wal
ter Scott and move it to a place of hon
or on the reading table before she en-
tiers. Aunt Lavini, you see, believe,
that no one has written anything read
able since Henry Timrod wrote "Tht
Lilly Confidante," on verse of which SHE
sings over and over in her happy mo
ments:
'Lily-browed and lily-hearted,
She is very dear to me;
Lovely; yes, if being lovely
Is resembling thee"
She still lives, you know, thee ant
thou" stage of poetry and believes tina:
the only publication today worth read
ing is Mildred Rutherford's ''Scrar
Book" She wears lace mittens and a
big hat of sometime in the eighties, the
lat resting on the top of her lovely
white hair for all the world like bit
of whipped cream on dessert Once
when we spoke about a certain school
of poets here in the south as progress
sive she brought us up with a clap
of course, my dears, those people can
afford to be progressive; they have no
traditions to which they must be loyal
So it is that when Aunt Lavinia pays
us call we all, even to Telfair III
(who lisps 1.-THE Bells" most quantity
h.r
ton few writers more recent than Ed
gar Allen Poe.
For Aunt Lavinia's next visit we are
saving up pleasing little folder sent us
from the Edgar Allen Poe Shrine at
Richmond. We are as delighted as
cravings of the Shrine and the Shrine
garden which the pamphlet carries by
way of Illustrations. The society is
organized to keep alive the Poet cult, to
give it center by careful boarding Of
personal treasures and of Visions edi-
tions of the poets work, and has, as G.
Alphonso Smith said: Done more to
remove the stigma of neglect from Tie
memory of the dead poet and to restore
him to the grateful affections of lis
readers than all other agencies com.
bined." Since this is so, we are glad to
pass on the fact that the Shrine (Old
Stone House, Richmond), is soliciting
memberships ranging from one dollar
for Sustaining membership" through
three and five to $50 for life member.
ship"
The name of Richard Kirk, a pro.
fessor of English at Tulane university
peers out at US sardonically from the
pages of three current publications
the Double-DeaIer, The Step Ladder
and the Year Book of the South Caro-
lima society. IL all of Mr.. Kinks work
resembles that which we have seen re-
Gently, his is voice much needed Ill
the, medley of preesnt-day verse. He
raises an ironic, thoughtful, almost me-
tallic note in the choir, of what OUT
Aunt Lavinia is wont to call "our sweet
singers No one selection will rep
resent the man fairly, but from the Step
Ladder we select as typical his
THE STONE CUTTER
eve are like this dust that falls away
Beneath your chisel as you cut the
stone;
Little by little stands the name alone
Above the dust that mingles with the
clay.
The first copy of the Southwest Re,
view" formerly the Texas Review
reached lis today. The new editors an
nounce that whatever success is to at
tend their journey will in their opin-
ion. depend largely upon its adaptation
to the milieu from which it springs;
the first issue bears evidence that they
intend to make it really expressive OF
the southwest. Its contributors are
largely from this section, the essays