Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-04-26
POETS HOLD STAGE
AMONG PEN WOMEN
Matinee of VerSe-Makers Is
Principal Feature on
Program Today.

The League of American Pen Won
en-, in the second annual congress of
the body here, will swing into affairs
in earnest today with the poets matt
nee at $50 o'clock this afternoon as
the principal feature OF the program.
Six hundred members are in the
Capital for the congress, which will
survey the opportunities OF the day in
the fields of creative literature, art,
musical composition, poetry, sculpture,
Journalism and drama, and bring
these opportunities to the attention of
its roster.
Matinee for Poets.
Today's program includes the poets
matinee, to open at 2:30 o'clock at the
Shoreham Hotel; a tea for members,
visiting authors, editors and publish
ers at the home of Mrs. Clarence NJ
Busch, first national vice president, a t
3012 Massachusetts avenue; recep
lion and buffet supper to poets, must
clans and speakers on the program at
the home of Admiral and Mrs. Luther
F. Gregory, 3402 Garfield street. Mrs.
Gregory is chairman of arrangements.
The book fair of the congress, will
be opened by fifty outstanding au
thors, men and women, tomorrow 1t
the book department of Woodward &
Lothrop,s department store. The book
fair is being; held in conjunction with
the congress.
The first annual festival OF music
of the American Women Composers,
an organization affiliated with the
League of Pen Women, will also open
tomorrow.
Headquarters of the congress will
be maintained at the Shoreham Hotel.
The congress opened brilliantly at
1890 Yesterday afternoon with the
authors breakfast at the Mayflower
Hotel.
Attended by 500.
The breakfast was attended by
about 600 delegates to the congress
and continued until about 400 yester-
day afternoon. 1t developed into an
exchange by noted literati of conf
dences of their art, explanations of
the thought underlying their works
and the barring of the inspiration that
spurrcd them to write.
The address of welcome to the
visitors was made by Mrs. Harry At
wood Colman, national president of
the league. George Barr Baker acted
as POSTMASTER.
In the first speech on the program,
Helen Rowland, Washington woman.
a newspaper syndicate feature writer.
told of the events which led up 10 her
taking up the topic for which she is
famous-men. And she took a fling
at the Washington men in the course
of her address. She said that Wash
ington, a city of beauty, where the
ideal courtships could be carried on
lacks the romance that is necessary
because there are no men between the
married stage and the callow youths.
Mcclure Gives Advice.
S. s. Mcclure. editor of the Mcclure
publications, the next speaker. praised
literature as the only enduring art
He gave the pen women some pointers
on publication of their work and urged
the adoption of American history as
vehicle for inspirational creation.
Ida Vera Simonton told of the birth
of the story, "Hell's Playground" in
the African jungles.
Katherine EggleSton Holmes, who
said she writes the 'rip-snorter, said
that at present she is chiefly engaged
in being a wife. She advanced the
theory that the author is a dra-
matist through the medium of his or
her pen, or, in more modern parlance.
the keys of her typewriter. II play
the characters / write about. / play
ed one of them so well, the part of a
little. forsaken old maid, that | got
the reputation in New York of being
the most proposed-to-woman in the
city at the time, receiving 39S pro-
posals of marriage following the pub
LEGATION of the story. 1 did not marry
any of them, having a perfectly good
husband, a son about 20 enter col
lege.'
Raps SaIacious Plays.
Col. Jasper Brady. editor of the
Metro-Goldwyn films, the next speaker.
fayed the present tendency of the
atrical producers to favor the salaci-
Gus in plays for the box office sue
cess that they invariably have. Eu-
gene O'NeilFs Desire Under the
Elms," and the Belasco production,
Ladies of the Evening" both cur
rent New York successes, were objects
of his TRADE.
But he said, 'it is all the fault of
the playgoers. While the really
worthwhile productions in New York
draw houses of 80 or 40 per cent the
plays built to pander to the low tastes
of the public put out their stand
ing room only" signs and run on and
on for months.
Last night at the Shoreham Hotel,
Mrs. Colman, the national president
was hostess at reception for the Pen
Women. Receiving with her were
Mr.. and Mrs. S. S. Mcclure Mrs
Clarence NJ. Busch, Helen Rowland,
Mrs. Katherine Eggleston Holmes, Ida
Bailey Allen and Miss JACK Wilbur.
Will Read Poems.
Twenty authors will read from their
own works at the poets matinee in
the ball room of the Shoreham Hotel
this afternoon. The program will be
conducted by Mrs. Leo p. Harlow. ma.
tional chairman of the poetry section
of the league and author of THE
Divine Image" Those who will read
from theif own works will be:
Katherine Hopkins Chapman. State
vice president from Alabama; Eath
crime Tiff Jones. New. York, profess
sional reader: Mrs. Luther E. Greg
CORY of Alaska and Washington, d.
c.. Jeanne Robert Foster, American
editor of The Trans Atlantic Review
Virginia Lyme TunstalI Norfolk, Va. :;
Minnie Ferrie Hauenstein, Buffalo.
n. Y; Clinton ScollardNef Connect
cut and California: Roselle Mercier
York, winner of the first prize given
by the Poetry Society of America in
1923; Mary Smton Leitch, Lynnfav-
en-, Va; Lizette Woodwork Reese
Baltimore, Md; Isabel Fiske Conant
New York: Jessie B. Rittenhouse of
Connecticut and California; Sharlot