Evening star., 1937-07-24

oS Eeuld 81. NulCeIlt INSN
York: Harper & Bros.
"HIS new book Of Miss Mlllay S
conversation at Midnight" Ii
the complete sequence o.
4 poems, part of which was pub
Gshed under the same title in Har.
per'S magazine some months ago, TIL,
reviewer in her magazine columns
commented on the work at the time
saying something to the effect thai
Americas lovely poet had seemed tc
turn philosopher, and, unnecessarily
that the change was loss. And in
deed, the magazine selection was very
solid gong. For the benefit of those
who read it and shared the review
er's opinion it must. be said that
the book-length Conversation" is an
improvement over the samples Of
fered in the magazine; it contains
some fine passages and some flights
out Of the gritty realm of social
problems and PHILOSOPHERS which are
recognizable as poetry in more than
form. For the most part, however,
Miss Mlllay deals in distinctly prose
thinking, and in many passages she
clothes it in prose. too-noble and
exalted prose, to be sure, but prose
just the same. Prose, not poetry.
Once, more, unnecessarily, the re-
viewer can say only that this is a loss.
Miss Millay is not, of course, the
first exquisite poet TO fall a victim
10 q social conscience Shelley. one
remembers, had a similar sensitive
ness. But Shelley is remembered to-
day for Il arise from dreams of
thee" rather more lovingly than for
his exposition of human wrongs and
rights. And the reason is that the
lyric is better work. One can predict
something of the same kind of mem
ory for Miss Mlllay in years to come.
Yet her present work is by far the
best reading on the social theme
which the reviewer has experienced
IN . long time, and the reason for
that unquestionably is that a writer
will always do better job at writ
Ing than one who merely writes
Social reformers and interpreters
generally are persons who merely
write, although they may write
very great deal. But Miss MiIlay is
writer.
Plunging into her social thinking
ehe employs the old, old device of
dialogue. She assemblies a group of
people OF various viewpoints on the
social scene but, with one exception.
common standard of culture and ed
ucation. Thus she gives us a sue
cessful stock broker who collects
paintings and breeds thoroughbred
horses. gifted painter who longs
Tor q satisfying religious faith, a
writer of successful short stores who
has no illusions about what he does.
q Roman Catholic priest who plays
Bach, q wealthy Italian-American
who engages in no occupation and
has an "aristocratic and subtle
mind" and Is q liberal and an ag-
nostic" and young Yale graduate
whom hard times have driven into
an advertising agency. The exception
noted above is the Communist poet
whose credo is hatred of all such
culture and educat ton as he can
Identity with the capitalist system Of
economics. In short, it is about such
gathering as one might find in
any prosperous home where the host
has a taste for honest human quail
1ty. q contempt for pretense and a
love OF Intellectual examination of
the times.
These people discuss religion, the
corruptlon OF manners which we are
currently undergoing in the name of
sclentif1c progress, the corruption of
pohtlcs, the failure Of the human
spirit In individuals, the threat of war
women and love, communism, disillu-
sion. They bring their various view
points duly to bear and the book closes
with furious exchange between the
6tockbroker and the Communists
an indication, one supposes. of what
seems to be ahead for the world. But
Mss Mlllay, one feels, puts her own
convictions into the mouth of Ricardo.
the Italian American And he is
the complete apostle OF serene dispas-
saonste disillusion.
The work is divided among various
poetic forms. There are sonnets and
Ayllcs, there Is free verse. The level
OF the volume Is high, it is rich with
sententious phrases, some of the
poems are truly noble and there are
at least two exquisite lyrics; thew are
uttered by Ricardo and one OF them
sppertalns to women and one TO lone
Aness. Yet at times one detects that
curious technical uncertainty that oc-
caslonaIly overtakes Miss Millay and
nnds her committing odd nalyeties,
particularly IN the way OF rhymes.
These instances, however, are few
Ii the social problem can be made
interesting to any one but the social
specialist, 1t will be by rendering It
IN human terms, and this Miss MlIIav
has accomplished by her device of
dialogue. The language of her people
n beautiful beyond nature, but their
thinking is still the thinking OF many
men and women, The summing up
Is not happy, but 1t is an opinion
which we can hardly deny. Ricardo
says,
AL soil is rock under the waited seed
OF Reason;
Wherever it falls, it falls on stony
ground.
Sentiment, jealousy, cruelty, anger.
fear
Tap at the door Of the mind and
are admitted at once:
But Reason knocks IN vain at that
occupied ear;
II has no appointment and the mind
is in conference"
A melancholy conclusion, certainly.
but, after all, not 50 new in human
history as to. cause US any more alarm
than 1t may have brought to our an
cestors some centuries before the dis
covery Of America,
THE STAIN SCHOOL OF FALsI-
FlCAT1ON. BY Leon Trotsky
New York: Pioneer Publishers.
THAT vivacious old gentleman, Leon
DoyiSp,1rI,