Papers from LilliputPriestley, J. B. (John Boynton)
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Papers from Lilliput
Priestley, J. B. (John Boynton)
English essays -- 20th century
But one could go on quoting until the volume was exhausted. There is,
however, something still to be said before leaving _The Golden
Garnering_. There is no doubt that Grigsby shows himself in this book as
one in the true tradition of our great English poets; he takes his place
in that magnificent procession which includes Shakespeare, Milton,
Wordsworth, Shelley and all the other masters of the craft; and his
verse has so clearly the same qualities as that of his great
predecessors that perhaps it is not surprising that some critics, of
more ill-will than knowledge or judgment, have gone so far as to accuse
Grigsby of plagiarism. The accusation is, of course, so unjust, nay, so
utterly absurd, that it merely recoils on the heads of those who have
been foolish enough to make it. But as some of the passages quoted above
have been actually cited as instances of the so-called plagiarism,
readers who have not already dismissed these charges have here an
opportunity of discovering what importance need be attached to them.
Those of us who know the poet have no fear of the result. And here, this
slight sketch of Grigsby’s life and work must end. He has much yet to
offer a public that is looking to him more and more for vision and hope;
there is, to my knowledge, at least one volume still in manuscript that
will surprise even the most ardent lovers of _The Golden Garnering_. We
may be sure that what follows from his pen will not fall below the very
high standard he has set himself. And pondering over the poet’s career,
still happily unfinished, though none of us can hope to claim such
genius, we may at least try to emulate the other virtues that, in this
rare instance among men of letters, go along with it, the patience and
perseverance, the unselfish, even temper, and, not least, that devotion
to a high ideal which is not so uncommon among men of our race as our
enemies would have us believe.
A PARAGON OF HOSTS
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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