Evening star., 1927-03-10

The death at Copenhagen of Georg
Brandes. famous Danish literary critic,
recalls to Americans his interesting
views as to the relative rank of Amer
lean writer's. His judgment was of
Importance because of his own con-
ceded rank as perhaps the worlds
greatest critic in the field of literature.
He was credited with having been a
pioneer in modern realism and as one
who emphasized scientific truth as
opposed to romance.
"He knew something of American
literature" says the Lynchburg News,
"and his opinions regarding 1t are in
teresting, although not likely to be
accepted here as the last word. Few
will question his ranking OF Poe as
first among American poets, but many
will doubt whether Thomas Paine
should be given second place in the
list of our writer's He seemed to
know nothing of Herman Melville,
perhaps the greatest prose writer that
America ever produced and one or the
greatest in the English speaking world.
In that respect he is like the vast
majority of Americans. Hawthorne he
did not mention, and he was silent also
on Mark Twain and Howells. or more
or less cotemporary American writer's
he placed Jack London first. with Up
ton Sinclair and Frank Norris next.
Jack Londons work seems certain to
endure. His Call of the Wild Is al
ready a. schoolboy classic, and Is likely
TO remain one. But 1t may be ques-
toned whether the novels OF Upton
Sinclair and Frank Norris, although
much may be said for them, Will out
live the best of Mrs. Wharton, or
Dresser, or Cabell.
"Brandes exerted an immense lnnu-
ence because he was a good Euro
mean whose sympathies transcribed
frontiers" according to the Springfield
Republican,. I'm his later years ne
was sometimes called the dean OF
European culture which expresses
rather happily his position and the
character of his work. He was as
much interested in life as In DOCKS,
and early in his career he conceived
the ambitious project of writing COM
prehensive history Of modern htera
ture in it's relation to politics ana the
general trend of ideas. ne
tried hard to understand ana enjoy
the romantic school, but MS mino'
even from youth, was TOO keenly I
tional to be good at make-believe.
That he was. nevertheless, able to give
a good and interesting account or the
romanticism which filled so great
place in the early nineteenth century
is a. striking example OF mentai
breadth and objectivity. No successor
has vet appeared, but one Will De
needed TO apply to the events or our
own age the method which he applied
so instructively to the events OF cen
tury ago."
"He was held by many to be Eu-
ropes leading critic" says the Bunaio
Evening News Certainly he must
have read nearly everything that was
worth an intelligent mans time' ana
apparently much that was not. ne
wrote most prolifically. In
the World War he thundered vigor-
ously against the folly OF 1t all and
the somewhat indefinite They whose
business it was to stop the horror.
The white race, he contended, was de-
stroying itself. In the end he insisted
that America was the winner or the
war: that Europe'S era was finished
and American domination OF the world
had begun"
The st. Paul Dispatch emphasizes
"his far-seeing patriotism" and con-
tinues: HE consistently championed
the DdnlSn Gauss III INOItA olcofi6
against the Germans. But when the
World War came he used every ounce
of power in his pen to keep Denmark
from being drawn into the destructive
vortex. Having spent a great part of
his early life in Paris, he became a
close friend OF Georges Clemenceau,
aud the friendship lasted until Clemen-
ceau would have Denmark join with
France in the conflict. and to that end
sought the aid Of Brandes. The lat
ter's letter 10 atill extants and Clenasn-