Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-26
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
/. G.. NJ.

Like glove to hand. so does the bulk
of modern poetry At the mood and
circumstanc Of Summer reading. II
comes out, as a rule. in little volumes
each as thin as a uneeda biscuit.
full score Of them would not put q
penny of excess baggage toll on one
parcel-posted belongings. This IL a
bit of good luck, since without extra
cost it offers change and variety OIL
reading to the loafing half hours OF
vacation time. To such materlal ao
vantage Of light weight by scales
there is commonly added also a cor
responding lack Of burden upon the
mental and emotional equipment Oh
the reader. Gathered up to serve q
book purpose from occasional prln.
ings in papers and magazines, eacn
| volume communicates an effect OF
lightness and inconsequence tnat, II
is safe to say, gives no fair measure
Of the effort lying back of its pro-
duction. Reading these little books
one marvels at the pertinacity OF the
poet, at his unbreakable will to sing
and to go on singing, no more con-
cerned than a bird over audiences
and popularity and money returns of
the best-seller stripe. No other work
man in the world Is apparently so
free from anxieties about either
prestige or profit as is the poet-any
poet of any time. Such common ex-
clusiveness of attitude may be the
natural result of cumulative expert
ence, since poetry has ever been a
matter of general Indifference and
neglect Nobody reads poetry, practi.
cally nobody. There is no time for it.
Moreover, it's emotional source is little
| ito q elusive
and obscure. Just what the poet
means by this and this and this. no
one knows, no one cares. Even when
words do sing together in pleasing
tunes and cadences-why, If one Is
| looking for music there are always
| the radio returns from the Palais dor
and the Hofbrau and such. No, Ger.
tainly, there is neither time nor taste
for poetry. However. poets continue
to write. And here is
A LITTLE BOOK OF AMERICAN
VERSE. Compiled by T. A. DAILY.
David Mckay Co.
| In friendly gesture Of invitation,
Mr.. DAILY here swings wide the door
to admit us to that succession OF
| American troubadourS who have
chosen deliberately the open ways OF
| good cheer and laughter rather than
the dark road Of lamentation. To good
| purpose he has made use of the time
sequence in this presentation. There
fore, the procession leads off with
Edward Bangs and his yankee
Doodle" away back round 1875. 1t
ends with Elinor Wylie, few steps
from us, her offering, "A Little Joke, y
plucked straight from the fiourishing
plant sof modern sophistication and
protest. In between these two,
stretches a long line of notables In the
art of poetry. from the old puritan
| himself to the new exponent or free
thought and free verse. Such an
arrangement permits an orderly view
of the growth of humor in verse, and
an equally clear picture Of the changes
| that have come over the spirit of the
comic muse within the period Of this
succession. A concrete case of COM
Darisofl lies in a poem by Ralph Waldo
| Emerson and one by Mr.. Daily him.
self. The first is 1.-THE Humble-Bee, "
written in 1903. The second Is ION
| the Road to Arden" poem Of yester'
day or the day before. Both are in
| spired by the song that the bee has
| to sing. One is a soliloquy, a re-
| strained happiness its key. The other
| is story drawn out of the 1dling
! vagrancy of poet by the roadside.
Little things, both, but the essence or
change in mood and tune between the
| past and present of American poetry
| is all here. One meets with surprise
along this way. Here Is Longfellow
glorifying "Catawba Wine" One is
sure that, today he would be stern
] Drohibitionist, because of his conven
| tional New England stripe. On the
other hand the 'Eulogium on Rum"
by one Joseph Smith, in 1893, rings
true to Joseph Smith, no matter about
| his date Another establishment,
among many, is to come upon Am
| brose Bierce, man of the brilliant
mind and the wry smile, here in this
company Of lighter songsters. Read
| ing. one finds him still in his habitual
mood of sardonic laughter. and feels
better for meeting him again un-
| changed. It gives verify to the whole
and accounts for some other inclusions
| here that upon the face of things
| appear to be bit questionable. How.
| ever, there is no doubt about the good
| service rendered by this compilation,
| a good service to current readers ana
an even better one to him who may
be inspired to expand and complete
| the work for which Mr.. DAILY has
| so competently opened the way ana
| set the pattern.
Sci ECTED POEMS ON WOODROW
WILSON. Edited by {. b. NC
Allister. Dean & Co.
Here Is a volume Of poems pro-
| jected primarily in devotion to IDEAL
| ism generally. The special mission
of the little book is. however, to pay
direct tribute to the memory or a
great man, Woodrow Wilson. From
a mass Of material. flowing spon-
taneously from all quarters toward
this goal, about 60 poems find place
here. These, as one, bear directly
upon the qualities and gifts, upon
the attitude and outlook, upon the
deeds and words that proclaim the
craftsmanship, the political sagacity,
the love of peace, the international
friendship and good will Of the war
President, Woodrow Wilson. From
one and another Of these points of
approach, or from all Of them TO-
gether, the service Of this public man
is recognized and applauded in song.
The keynote of the whole Is, however.
not material, but affection and homage
instead. The volume is of emotional
source. It is drawn from the springs
of love and praise and gratitude rather
than from the cool waters of intel
lectual calculation and Judgment. A
more potent thing, too, by virtue of
this fact. Wilson as leader, as cru
sader, as high idealist, as man of
peace. as Waterman on the tower, as
prophet-as all these does he here
stand. Then there are lamentations
over his passing and visions of a
world better for his having been.
Lament of the Players" is a touch
ing little thing that you may see
today in the passage of Keith's
Mr.. Wilson used every week to make
his way to the box habitually occu
MED hv him The snirif of the whole