Evening star., 1938-01-19
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
BY MARGARET CERMOND.
800 YEARS: The Poets and Poetry Of
Maryland. Edited by Loker Raley.

new YORK: henry Harrison.
1.-TWO small ships, the Ark and the
Dove" notes the preface to this inter-
esting study on the poets and poetry Of
Maryland, put out of Cowes, Isle Of
Wight, on November %, 1888, bound for
chartered territory in the New World.
Aboard them were Leonard Calvert,
brother of the second Lord Baltimore,
twenty gentlemen of very good fashion
and about two hunded laborers and
craftsmen. The crossing was long
and stormy, but the expedition arrived
safely upon st. Clements Island. in the
Potomac River. about March Is, 1884.
Permanent settlement was made a few
days later on the banks of the st. Marys
River, an arm of the Potomac. The In
dian tribes were friendly and the colony
at once began to build homes"
1t was only 80 years after this coura-
geous group Of seekers after a more
liberal social order began its experiment
in freedom on the sloping green banks
of st. Marys that Maryland produced
its first poet. Not great deal is known
about the life and habits Of George
Alsop except that he was born in Eng
land and came to America when he was
26 years old under a system which per-
mitted Englishmen who were unable to
pay passage to emigrate to Maryland
as bound workers on the plantations of
gentlemen. After four years of service
they were granted fifty acres of land
and given their freedom. Whether or
not Alsop remained in Maryland is a
matter of doubt. But, however or
wherever he spent the rest of his life,
the beauty of the land to which he had
come so enraptured him that through
the medium of verse he sought to ex-
press to others the glories of land that
he declared to be unparalleled in all the
earth. He was not great poet, but
his literary talent justifies the honor of
ranking him as Maryland's first poet
Since Alsop's day Maryland's impulse
toward the creative has not slackened,
nor has the cultural influence of the
Old Line State upon the progress of the
fine arts in North American civilization
ever been negligible quantity. In lit
erature. painting, music and sculpture,
the influence Of Maryland has been
manifest and the State itself has long
been regarded as one of the art centers
of the country.
The poets of Maryland have not been
neglected by historians, commentators
uIiA otuuClto VI UetelODtQenC.
but for some reason no representative
collection of biographical notes and Sc
lectlons from the works of the States
outstanding poets has appeared in one
volume until now. 1t has been the
purpose of the editor Of this volume to
make such collection and to present
1t in testimony to the generous share
contributed to strong literary tradi-
Stof hU
women whose native soil has been that
of Maryland or who, by family or other
connections, may rightfully be claimed
as literary members of that Common
wealth.
The volume contains twenty-three bio
graphical sketches, including George
Alsop. Ebenezer Cook, DR.. John Shaw.
r. Lewis, Francis Scott Key, Edward
Coote Pinkney, Edgar Allen Poe, James
Ryder Randall. Sidney Lanier, John
Bannister Tabb Daniel MacIntyre
Henderson. Lizette Woodwork Reese,
Harriet Winton Davis, Homer C. House,
Dell Raley, Lillian Sue Keech, Daniel
Henderson. Maria Briscoe Croker, Her.
vey Alien. Sally Bruce Kinsoving, Edgar
Daniel Kramer, Frederick Thayer, jr.,
and Loker Raley.
Following the notes on the life of
each of these writer's is printed the
finest of his or her work. In several
instances only one poem accompanies
the sketch, but generous selection has
been accorded most of them, with COM
plete footnotes and photographed ref
erences. The chapter on Edgar Allen
Poe has been written by Thomas Olive
Mabbott. who selected the poems used,
and Leopold Proser selected the poems
and contributed the chapter on Sidney
Lanier.
The volume is attractive and handy,
and Is a worthy contribution to the
record OF Maryland's status in the lit
erary progress Of the Nation.
X 4
vesant Jackson. Boston: Bruce
Humphries, Inc.
1t seems likely that not any woman
in the history of this country has been
the subject of so many contrary tales
as has been that valiant old soul who in
the first half of the nineteenth century
was one of the most familiar figures in
Washington, and who is believed to have
been the first newspaper woman in
America.
AAAlC AsOyd1l Was llOU a
lovable old woman. But it is safe to
assume that had she lived in more
tolerant age and been treated less
brutally in the mans world into which
circumstances forced her, very different
record and a more accurate history of
her life would today be available. Life
from its beginning had treated Annee
harshly except for the few years of COM
fort. congenial companionship and hap
piness that seems to have accompanied
her marriage. But life was cruel in those
days to any woman who ran counter to
family wishes, who attained public prom
1nence OF any Sort or who sought justice
or the right to earn a living.
It is human nature to make the most
OF the caprices, the temperament and
the unusual activities of any human
being who fails to conform to the senti-
ment Of the times and it is human
nature to magnify and exploit the
simplest acts of those who receive public
attention. Mrs. Royal came into the
limelight in circumstances that today
would not register disapproval or cause
any particular comment: But she was
born eighty years too soon to receive
the admiration of mankind, and so she
was accorded the i'll will and the un-
kindness that those of her own day be-
ieved to be her due.
She made countless enemies and won
but few. friends. And writer's who
have attempted to tell the story of her
life hova o1pooct {,,vo vi q I,11y irr,,orod