Evening star., 1926-04-23

of a unique and curious personality
removed beyond the realm of morals,
religious, political, and only interested
in the necessity of making his own IN
dividual comment, he became 10
America that mysterious and Whoiiy-
to-b -be-condemned personality-a purely
individualistic person, a creative artlst.
II have material to show that at
the early age of Is Poe already was
writing poetry and ambitious to pc
come a literary artist. In order 10 90
so, he fought with his family nrst, ana
afterward found himself perpetually
at war with the world at large. Nor
ally and physically, according 10 the
normal standards, his life was tras-
edy and a failure. But Mr.. roe con-
sidered that to succeed normally as
man was necessarily to fail lamen'
taby as an artist In the field of lit
erature he attained world triumph
and his ambition has been crowned
with a success that only equaled his
desires. In showing that Poe was
psychopathic case Mr.. krutch mas
simply added one more nail to the COT
fin of that beloved American myth,
The great but conforming, artist.
Out of considerable knowledge let me
assure you that any attempt to prove
that Poe's common sense proves his
is lost motion 1t was the very fan
tasy' that you discount which consti-
tutes his claim to be recorded on the
rolls of immortality. Faithfully yours,
"HERVEY ALLEN"
X X X
The touch of authenticity breathes
through the above letter and we count
it a privilege to be able to present 1t
to the readers of The Star. Perhaps
it might be pointed out here that one
does not have to agree with every
word in it to agree with most of it.
The thesis of Mr.. Allen. that genius
means non-confOrmity, may be agreed
with, in the main. while at the same
time one must make certain reserva-
tions. William Wordsworth. himself
something of a genius, spoke out
strongly, in his critical work, for
sweetness and light" although he
did not use those words) in literary
productions. His poems, he hoped.
would help toward that better day
when the gentle in life held universal
sway.
Between the socalled moral school
of literature and what may be termed
the Immoral mot immoral--there is a
difference) there will always be war
fare. The former believes that the
printed page IS a sacred lnlnR, CDdt
the art of writing is a high and noble
calling, and that the page should not
be sullied by any word or thought un-
becoming to the normally decent in
stincts of normally decent men and
women. The immoral school, on the
other hand, believes this attitude all
piffie, and insists that anything that
men and women think, do or say is fit
food for their mill of the gods.
1t is interesting to note that Poe, al
though he undoubtedly was such q
man and artist as Mr.. Allen describes,
has scarcely a word or thought in his
works that cannot be read aloud be-
fore a little girl. This is the test
not for the effect upon the child. but
upon the reader, Poe was an uncon-
forming artist, true enough, but his
works conform, There is a literary
paradox for you. His most bizarre
tales, although glimpses into abnor-
mality, are clean, per Sc.
We assure readers here las we al
ready have Mr.. Allen that we never
had the slightest idea or desire to
prove Edgar Allan Poe q nice, COM
nonsense fellow. but merely to point
out what Mr.. Allen himself says, that
sit is true he had lat times) consider
able critical common sense" No one
least of all our humble self. can dis.
count Poe'S fantasy, or would ever
care to discount it. 1t is. as Mr.. Allen
SO ably says, this very fantasy which
constitutes his claim to be recorded
on the rolls of Immortality"