Evening star., 1949-07-31
Reading and Writing
DR.. Evans Would Thrash Out Premises
of Bollingen Award Controversy
By Moy McGrory

members Of the jury indignantly
attest the democratic procedure"
used in making the award and
praise the defense of DR.. Evans.
Mr.. Green says, II am not in
dignant about anything. I think
the laugh is on us Fellows OF the
Library Of Congress for giving the
Bollingen Award to Ezra Pounds
book. Naturally, everybody agrees
with the fine statement of DR.
Evans that literary judgments ard
preferences, like other matters OF
mind, should be free, and they
certainly were in this matter"
Appreciated More by Poets.
Leonie Adams, consultant in
poetry at the Library, who is ex-
officio a member of the Fellows
and who these days is spending
a good deal of time poring over
such unpoetic journals as the
Congressional Record, has an ex-
PLANTATION for the majority opin-
ion.
Pound, who had made such
great technical contributions, is
more likely to be appreciated by
poets, for whom formal questions
are the greatest part of his
achievement, than by the general
reader"
She also pointed out that an
acquaintance with modern poetry
in general and with the previous
cantos in particular would be re-
quired for a full appreciation OF
Mr.. Pounds work.
Neutral observers who feel that
the award may have had its un-
seemly aspects and yet feel that a
choice dictated more by general
popularity than by artistic con-
siderations might have resulted in
the selection Of some one more
along the lines of Edgar Guest
have taken heart at DR.. Evans
firm and constructive stand. He
hopes that a hearing along the
lines Of possible realignment Of
the board may be held next week.
Certainly a convocation of the
poets would pose great difficulties,
since T. S. Eliot has returned to
England, w. H. Auden is In Italy
and the other members are in
different parts of the country.
In the whole controversy only
one question has been asked
which could possibly provoke a
unanimous answer.
Gould you," Mr.. Patterson
wants to know, compare Pound
with Tennyson or Longfellow?"
And now for a strictly non
political poetry note: "Leonie Ad-
ans, the Library Of Congress
poet, will publish her first volume
Of poetry in 20 years. come the
fall.
Other literary notes from Cap.
itol Hill: Frank Kelley, author
of that excellent novel about 8
newspaperman and the U. NJ. "Ar
Edge of Light" who is one o.
Senator Lucas right-hand mer
on the Senate Majority Polio,
Committee, has just finished &
chapter on an ex-boss of his fol
"The Men Who Make Youl
World" due in October. Mr.. Kel-
ley wrote a profile of President
Truman. whom he served in the
last campaign under the impress
sive title of assistant director OF
the Democratic National Com
mitee. AS such, he dug up ma
terial for 800 of those highly
effective back-platform speeches
which the President made on his
Western trip.
Which twin has the ETC.? Pub
lie Affairs Press begs that you
do not confuse their Guide to
America" by Elmer Jenkins, with
American Guide" by Henry Ais
berg (Hastings House,. Just to
make it harder. both books will
be published on August IL.
Pierson Ricks bewails the fact
that a new novel by Harriette
Arrow bears the same title as
that used by him for novel pub
lished in 1947. His was called
"The Hunters Horn," while Miss
Arrows is Hunters Horn. He
has no legal recourse, as he points
out since titles cannot be copy
righted. They can be defended
only under the Fair Trade Prac-
tices Act when they have been
circulated so generally as to be
widely identified in the public
mind with the author.