I promise the advent of a tragic age: the highest art in the saying of yea to life, “tragedy,” will be born when mankind has the knowledge of the hardest, but most necessary of wars, behind it, without, however, suffering from that knowledge.—_Nietzsche._ A Vers Libre Prize Contest Through the generosity of a friend, THE LITTLE REVIEW is enabled to offer an unusual prize for poetry—possibly the first prize extended to free verse. The giver is “interested in all experiments, and has followed the poetry published in THE LITTLE REVIEW with keen appreciation and a growing admiration for the poetic form known as _vers libre_.” The conditions are as follows: Contributions must be received by August 15th. They must not be longer than twenty-five lines. They must be sent anonymously with stamps for return. The name and address of the author must be fixed to the manuscript in a sealed envelope. It should be borne in mind that free verse is wanted—verse having beauty of rhythm, not merely prose separated into lines. There will be three judges: William Carlos Williams, Zoë Aikens and Helen Hoyt. There will be two prizes of $25 each. They are offered not as a first and second prize, but for “the two best short poems in free verse form.” As there will probably be a large number of poems to read, we suggest that contributors adhere closely to the conditions of the contest. The Reader Critic The Nymph (_Edgar Lee, have you missed anything?—Editor._) I see it all now: I was born with the soul of a nymph, And they expected me to be law-abiding and moral! Why, I was a nymph from the day my mother lashed me For playing kissing games with the boys, out behind the school, To the day I shot my lover in a South State Street cabaret For flirting with another girl and they put me in the penitentiary. Good God! is it a sin to be young? —_Anonymous._ How Stanilaus Szukalski Expresses Life _L. C. B._: