Writings in the United Amateur, 1915-1922Lovecraft, H. P. (Howard Phillips)
History
Writings in the United Amateur, 1915-1922
Lovecraft, H. P. (Howard Phillips)
Essays; Literature -- History and criticism; Periodicals
five, "=Chaots=" should be "=chants=". But why continue the painful
chronicle? Mr. Kleiner said just what we would like to say about
misprints over a year ago, when he wrote "The Rhyme of the Hapless
Poet"! "Submission", by Eugene B. Kuntz, is a delightful bit of light
prose, forming the autobiography of a much-rejected manuscript. This
piece well exhibits Dr. Kuntz's remarkable versatility. The humour is
keen, and nowhere overstrained. "Number 1287", a short story by Gracia
Isola Yarbrough, exhibits many of the flaws of immature work, yet
contains graphic touches that promise well for the author. The lack of
unity in plot and development detracts somewhat from the general effect,
while the unusual lapses of time and artificial working up of the later
situations are also antagonistic to technical polish. Triteness is
present, but that is to be expected in all amateur fiction. "A Drama of
Business", by Edgar Ralph Cheyney, is a terse bit of prose which might
well serve as an editorial in a liberal literary magazine. "The Schools
of Yesterday and Today", a sketch by Selma Guilford, presents in
pleasing fashion an interesting and optimistic contrast. In "Mother",
George M. Whiteside treats a noble theme in rather skilful fashion,
though the rhyming of "=breezes=" and "=trees is=" can hardly be deemed
suitable in a serious poem. "When the Sea Calls", a poem by Winifred
Virginia Jordan, is possibly the most striking feature of the magazine.
Mrs. Jordan's style in dealing with the wilder aspects of Nature has a
grim potency all its own, and we can endorse without qualification the
judgment of Mr. Moe when he calls this poem "positively magnificent in
dynamic effect". To Mrs. Jordan is granted a natural poetic genius which
few other amateurs can hope to parallel. Not many of our literary
artists can so aptly fit words to weird or unusual passages, or so
happily command all the advantages of alliteration and onomatopoeia. We
believe that Mrs. Jordan's amateur eminence will eventually ripen into
professional recognition. "Preachers in Politics", by Rev. James Thomas
Self, is a long, thoughtful, and extremely well phrased essay against
the descent of the ministry to the uncertain affairs of practical
legislation. Dr. Self has a just idea of the dignity of the cloth; an
idea which some clergymen of less conservative habits would do well to
acquire. Very painful is the sight of the slang-mouthing "evangelist"
who deserts his pulpit for the stump or the circus-tent. "Peace,
Germany!", a poem by Maude Kingsbury Barton, constitutes an appeal to
the present outlaw among nations. We feel, however, that it is only from
London that Germany will eventually be convinced of the futility of her
pseudo-Napoleonic enterprise. And when peace does come to Germany, it
will be British-made peace! The structure of Mrs. Barton's poem is
regular, and many of the images are very well selected. The worst
misprints are those in the sixth stanza, where "=in=" is omitted before
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account