The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1953-05-11
KY Book,
y A. de T. Gingras

prose and poetry are sometimes
in a slim volume.
Elizabeth Coatsworth has writ
ten a short novel which deserves
a place in American literature. It
is an excellent piece Of prose fic.
ton. The author has managed to
show with great vividness and
sympathy, the eternal story of the
realities of mans life in this world
intruding on the inherent poetry
and tenderness in his soul.
Cephas Hewes, the principal
figure in the story, doesn't like
what has happened to him in his
middle years. The autumn Of the
beginning of the story is in tune
with his despair. The house Of his
ancestors is falling to ruin, and
his farming is not successful. Hi
wife has grown fat and middle
aged, and his children's good quail
tiles are submerged in the gawki-
ness of their growing-up. The gate
of the family burying ground
swing open to enhance a mood Of
death and autumnal despair.
And it is at this point that Mrs.
Coatsworth brings Silky into the
picture. The reader may see in the
beautiful young girl with the silky
shining aura about her, whatever
his mood or the shape of his mag
nation may suggest. She may be
simply ghost. She may be the
symbol of the romance Of the pros
porous yesterdays of the house.
She may be Cephas' dreams when
he was q boy. She may be good
luck trying to sing her way through
the despair in his heart. She may
be beauty trying to crash thru the
ugliness and ruin Of the autumn.
This poetic and excellent story
is in a literary category with
short American classics like Ethan
Frome, Death Comes for the Arch
bishop and Old Man of the Sea.
It's small canvas manages to have
literary breadth, depth and height.
(WEBSTER'S New World Diction-
OF The American Language, World
Publishing company, New York
City, 1924 pages.)
This is the latest bargain In
words on the book mart In many
months.
It contains more than 140, 900
words, the bulk of the raw mater
ial for all the English literature
written since the beginning Of the
language. That is, with the excep-
ton of q few Chaucerian obscure
ties. Hemingway four-letter items,
and some of the mongrel words
dished up by James Joyce.
Here also Is a great mass Of all
the words used In all the millions
of tons Of newspapers and period
Gals written In the English langu-
age since the invention Of the
printing press.
The only thing these 40, 900
smallest units of language need II
rhetorical, grammatical, and some
times lyrical and epic arrange
ment to tell all the stories In the
English language. With an accom-
panying skill In manipulating the
dictionaries Of other languages,
the words in this volume may also
tell oil the yarns Of all other lands
and all other tongues.
What's more, If there Is any poor
man with creative genius who has
need Of an art, this book is his
boon. II he has not the wherewithal
for clay and paints, for q violin
or a harp. he has here the raw
material for the poor mans art
of literature.
JUNIOR SELECTION
Guest Review BY Doris Spangen-
berg
Japanese Children's Stories, pub
lished by Charles z. futile Co.,
Rutland, Vermont, 10s pages.)
This collection acquaints the
young American reader with Jap
anese customs, and at the same
time establishes q sense of ident-
lily with Japanese children.
Many Of the patterns are SINH
Lar to those Of the western fairy
tale. Oriental story tellers for ex-
ample, have also speculated on
why the sea Is salt. Dragons and
morals are featured In the stories.
The dragons, demons and COB
lins are usually the friendly type,
whose difficulties are solved when
they are befriended by some hu-
man
However. the morals are 4 little
too obvious for the average Amer
lean boy or girl. and the stories are
ut times Illogical 10 the point Of
being unconvincins- In The Egg
That Would Not Break, after be-
ing hammered and sawed and run
over by q carriage. the egg was
finally broken By = little girl who
merely held Il gently in her hands.
At the close OF the book are In
sormative notes explaining the IN
usual features In the stories. Rats
and mice are not considered bad
ur unpleasant animals in Japan.
A l. a.