New Britain herald., 1928-02-29
Through tie Static

Volume was fair again last night, but the snapping and buzzing was extremely annoying, especially dur ing the early part of the evening. In fact, it was noticeable throughout the day. There was some fading.
 The Trinity College dialogue over WTIC was interesting last evening. A group of now nearly forgotten writers made Hartford the literary capitol of the United States late in the 18th century. Professor Paul Spencer Wood of Grinnell College, Iowa, acting head of the English de- partment at Trinity this year. told one of his students. The dialogue was entitled "The Hartford Wits"
 According to Professor Wood, John Trumbull, Timothy Dwight, Joel Barlow. David Humphries, Lemuel Hopkins and a few lesser lights published great deal of prose and poetry that was widely read, both in America and abroad and they certainly deserved their designation: Wits" Literary styles have changed since their days, said the professor. but human nature has not and their satires are surprising ly modern to the person who does not realize that people have been very much the same in the goth cen tury, and the 18th and the 18th and the 12th, and as far back as written records go. AS an illustration of his point, Professor Wood quoted from John Trumbull's 'The Progress of Dulness," which, he said, shows that flaming youth has always famed in much the same way, or words 10 that effect. The quotation was a clever one, but we weren't quick enough to get the entire verse. How ever it held that the politer genera ton holds ''ruffs and blushes out of fashion," Professor Wood observed that those words were written 15O years ago.
 An explanation was given for the fact that Hartford was the literary capitol of the country for the short while. It was stated that Boston suf fered more from the Revolutionary War than did Hartford and the Con- necticut Valley. Boston and especi- ally Harvard College were disturbed by religious dissension about that time. Yale College was less affected. Practically all of the Hartford wits were Yale graduates.
 Three of the wits. Trumbull, who qualified for entrance to Yale when seven years old and entered when IS with most of his college course al- ready covered independently; Dwight, who became president of Yale, and Barlow. who was Euro pean agent for the famous Euro pean nutmegs, soldier and chaplain, ambassador, world traveller and writer, were discussed individually.
 The reason that the work of all these men is seldom read today is that the work, although serious. was artificial: it represented a patriotic duty rather than spontaneous 1m- pulse. The poets set about to create an American literature when the country became independent. They felt that an American state should have a distinctly American poetry. The dialogue was we'll delivered and was arranged in a highly interesting manner. It was one of the most in teresting of the series so far ac- cording to our way of thinking.
 
 Red Christiansen was the feature attraction from WEAF at o'clock. Red" as you may know, was at Hartford year ago, at which time he gave a dramatized story of a shipwreck which he attended one time. It must have been a jolly af