Writings in the United Amateur, 1915-1922

by H. P. Lovecraft

  THE UNITED AMATEUR AUGUST 1916

  DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC CRITICISM

  FIRST ANNUAL REPORT 1915-1916.

  Following a novel idea originated by the present Columbusadministration, the Department of Public Criticism will herewith submitfor the first time in its history an annual report, or summary of thepreceding year's literary events within the United Amateur PressAssociation.

  The programme of improvement informally decided upon in the officialyear of 1913-1914 received its definite ratification at the Rocky MountConvention, when the assembled representatives of the United pledged"Individual collective support" to Mr. Fritter, the new President, inhis endeavors to raise the literary standard of our society, and when anabsolutely unanimous vote invested Mrs. J. W. Renshaw, the leadingspirit of progress, with the important office of Second Vice-President.Pres. Fritter has since discharged his obligations and sustained hisresponsibilities in a thoroughly satisfactory manner despite many tryingdifficulties, whilst Mrs. Renshaw, as a recruiter, has succeeded inlaying the foundations of a completely broadened, elevated, andrejuvenated association. Yet all that has been accomplished is merelythe prologue of that greater period of change which must bring about thefinal assimilation of Mrs. Renshaw's phenomenally gifted recruits, andthe materialization of the still nebulous plans evolved during the pasttwelvemonth.

  The undersigned has on several occasions advocated the formation of aregular "Department of Instruction" in the United, to be conducted byprofessional teachers and college instructors for the purpose of guidingthe more or less inexperienced members. He has communicated his idea toseveral high-school preceptors of great ability, and has learned thatunder present conditions such a department is not perfectly feasible. Ithas been suggested that if each experienced and educated amateur wouldassume a personal and sympathetic advisory position toward some one ofthe younger or cruder members, much actual good might result. As ourlist now stands, the crude and the cultured are perhaps evenly balanced,yet instant success even in this modified course can scarcely beexpected. At least another year seems to be required, in which thevarious members may gain a closer knowledge of each other through thewider diffusion of their printed efforts. However, the need for a moreuniformly educated membership is pressing, and the undersigned willwelcome aid or advice of any kind from those willing to assist him inestablishing some sort of scholastic Department.

  Another idea which has received undeserved neglect and discouragingopposition is the Authors' Placing Bureau or "United Literary Service",as outlined by the Second Vice-President. The normal goal of the amateurwriter is the outside world of letters, and the United should certainlybe able to provide improved facilities for the progress of its membersinto the professional field. The objections offered to this plan areapparently less vital than those affecting the Department ofInstruction, and it is to be hoped that the mistaken zeal of ournon-professional sticklers may not serve to prevent a step so sorelyneeded.

  Passing on to the details of Departmental work, the undersigned ispleased to report a remarkable increase in the literary value of thecompositions brought forth in the United this year; an increase whichmay be fairly declared to constitute a true elevation of ourintellectual standard, and which undoubtedly compensates for the presentregrettable paucity of amateur publishing media. In verse, particularly,is the advance notable. Some of our poets are securing recognition inthe outside world of letters, whilst many lesser bards show a steadyupward trend in their amateur efforts. Prose continues to suffer becauseof the seemingly unavoidable brevity of the average amateur journal. Itis impossible to crowd any really well developed piece of prose withinthe limits generally assigned, hence our best authors seem almost to bedriven into verse as a medium of expression. Financial prosperity ofsufficient extent to ensure the publication of larger papers isobviously the only remedy for this deplorable condition.

  Of our poets, the Laureate Rheinhart Kleiner (also Laureate of theNational for 1916-1917) continues as the foremost technician andharmonist. His accurate and tasteful lines satisfy the ear and theunderstanding with equal completeness, and he shows no sign of yieldingto the corrupting influences of decadent modern standards. In his ownjournal, =The Piper=, he reveals a versatile and phenomenally wellstocked mind. The September number, containing imitations of the work ofother amateur poets, will long be remembered. Mrs. Renshaw maintains herhigh place as a philosophical and expressionistic bard, though hamperedby unusual theories of spontaneous versification. A greater deference tothe human ear and metrical sense would render her already lofty poetryas attractive as it is exalted. Miss Olive G. Owen, former Laureate, haslately returned to activity, and may well be expected to duplicate herformer successes in the domain of the Muses. The poetical progress ofAndrew Francis Lockhart is a notable feature of amateur letters thisyear. Mr. Lockhart has always possessed the true genius of the bard,writing ably and voluminously; but his recent technical care is bringingout hitherto undiscovered beauties in his verse, and placing him in thevery front rank of United poets. "Benediction" and "Consolation" arevastly above the average.

  Of the new poets of prime magnitude who have risen above our horizonduring the past year, Mrs. Winifred Virginia Jordan of Newton Centre,Mass., deserves especial mention both for high quality and great volumeof work. Mrs. Jordan's poetry is of a tunefully delicate and highlyindividualistic sort which has placed it in great demand amongst amateureditors, and it is not unlikely that the author may be rewarded with aLaureateship at no distant date. The work is invariably of spontaneouslygraceful rhythm and universally pleasing in sentiment, having frequentlyan elusive suggestion of the unreal. A few of Mrs. Jordan's poems are ofthe grimly weird and powerful variety. "The Song of the North Wind" is aremarkable contribution to amateur letters, and has won the enthusiasticadmiration of the United's poetical element. Professional success hasrecently crowned the efforts of Mrs. Jordan. =Weekly Unity= for June 17contains her lines on "The Singing Heart", whilst several other poemsfrom her pen have been accepted by =The National Magazine=. Rev. JamesTobey Pyke is another poet of the first order whose writings have latelyenriched the literature of the United. His style is correct, and histhought deep and philosophical. "The Meadow Cricket" is a poem whichdeserved more than a superficial perusal. John Russell, formerly ofScotland but now of Florida, is a satirist and dialect writer ofenviable talent. His favorite measure is the octosyllabic couplet, andin his skilled hands this simple metre assumes a new and sparklinglustre. Rev. Frederick Chenault is a prolific lyrical poet whosesentiments are of uniform loftiness. The substitution of exact rhyme forassonance in his lines would double the already immense merit of hiswork. Other new bards of established ability are W. S. Harrison,Kathleen Baldwin, Eugene B. Kuntz, Mary Evelyn Brown, Henry ClevelandWood, John W. Frazier, William Hume, Ella Colby Eckert, J. E. Hoag,Edgar Ralph Cheyney, Margaret A. Richard, William de Ryee, Helen H.Salls, and Jeanette Aylworth.

  Of the poets whom we may term "rising", none presents a more strikingfigure than Ira A. Cole of Bazine, Kansas. Previously well known as aprose writer and publisher, he made his debut as a metrist just a yearago, through a very beautiful piece in the heroic couplet entitled "ADream of the Golden Age". Mr. Cole is one of the few survivors of thegenuine classic school, and constitutes a legitimate successor to thelate Georgian poets. His development has been of extraordinary rapidity,and he will shortly surprise the amateur public both by a poetic dramacalled "The Pauper and the Prince", and by a long mythological poem notunlike Moore's "Lalla Rookh". The natural and pantheistic character ofMr. Cole's philosophy adapts him with phenomenal grace to his positionas a mirror of classical antiquity. Another developing poet is Mr. RoyWesley Nixon of Florida. "Grandma", his latest published composition, isa sonnet of real merit. Adam Dickson, a Scotsman by birth, but now aresident of Los Angeles, writes tunefully and pleasantly. His pieces arenot yet of perfect polish, but each exhibits improvement over thepreceding. He tends to favor the anapaest and the iambic tetrameter.Mrs. Ida Cochran Hau
ghton of Columbus is scarcely a novice, but herlatest pieces are undeniably showing a great increase of technicalgrace. Chester Pierce Munroe of North Carolina is a delicate amatorylyrist of the Kleiner type. He has the quaint and attractive Georgiantouch, particularly evident in "To Flavia" and "To Chloris". Miss M.Estella Shufelt is absolutely new to the kingdom of poesy, yet hasalready produced work of phenomenal sweetness and piety. Mrs. E. L.Whitehead, though formerly confined wholly to prose, has entered thepoetical field with intelligent and discriminating care. Her words arethoughtfully weighed and selected, whilst her technique has rapidlyassumed a scholarly exactitude. Two new poets whose work requires muchtechnical improvement are Mrs. Agnes R. Arnold and Mr. George M.Whiteside. Mr. Whiteside has indications of qualities not far remotefrom genius, and would be well repaid by a rigorous course of study.Messrs. John Hartman Oswald and James Laurence Crowley are both giftedwith a fluency and self-sufficiency which might prove valuable assets ina study of poesy. W. F. Booker of North Carolina possesses phenomenalgrace, which greater technical care would develop into unusual power.Rev. Robert L. Selle, D. D., of Little Rock, Arkansas, is inspired bysincerest religious fervor, and has produced a voluminous quantity ofverse whose orthodoxy is above dispute. Mrs. Maude K. Barton writesfrequently and well, though her technical polish has not yet attainedits maximum. John Osman Baldwin of Ohio is a natural poet of spontaneousgrace, though requiring cultivation in correct style.

  From the foregoing estimate it may easily be gathered that imperfecttechnique is the cardinal sin of the average amateur poet. We have amongus scores of writers blest with beautiful thoughts and attractivefluency, yet the number of precise versifiers may be counted on one'sfingers. Our association needs increased requirements in classicscholarship and literary exactitude. At present, it is impossible for animpartial critic to give unstinted approval to the technique of any wellknown United poet save Rheinhart Kleiner.

  Turning to the consideration of our prose writers, the undersigned findsit difficult to render a true judgment, owing to the adverse conditionsmentioned earlier in this report. Many fluent pens are doubtless crampedinto feebleness through want of space.

  Fiction is among us the least developed of all the branches ofliterature. Really good stories are rare phenomena, whilst evenmediocrity is none too common. The best short stories of the year areprobably those by M. Almedia Bretholl and Eleanor Barnhart; the othersare mainly juvenile work. Roy W. Nixon and Miss Coralie Austin representthe extremes of excitement and tameness, with "A Bottle of CarbolicAcid" on the one hand, and with "Jane" and "'Twixt the Red and theWhite" on the other. Both of these authors possess substantial ability.David H. Whittier is developing along classic lines, and will be aprominent figure in the next generation of amateur journalists. Mr.Moe's pupils are all good story-tellers, the work of Miss Gladys L. Baggstanding forth quite prominently this year. Florence Brugger's "Tale ofthe Sea" is a graphic narrative from a youthful pen, as is WilliamDowdell's "Behind the Canvas Wall", in a somewhat different way.Henriette and Florenz Ziegfeld have each contributed excellent work, normust Mary M. Sisson's "Tempora Mutantur" be forgotten.

  The rather loosely defined domain of the "sketch" has thriven this year,since it elicits fluent expression from those less prolific in otherbranches of literature. Mr. Melvin Ryder has entertained us with anentire magazine of this sort of material, whilst Mrs. Ida C. Haughton,Irene Metzger, Benjamin Repp, Mary Faye Durr, Ethel Halsey, Clara InglisStalker, Freda de Larot, Helene E. Hoffman Cole, Helen M. Woodruff, IraA. Cole, and Eloise N. Griffith prove no less entertaining with shortersketches.

  Criticism is well represented by Leo Fritter, Edna M. Haughton, Mrs.J. W. Renshaw, and Rheinhart Kleiner. The latter is no less gifted acritic than a poet, and gives out very acute judgments in his journal,=The Piper=.

  In viewing the formal essays of the year, one is impressed with theprofusion of mere schoolboy compositions. Masters of the Addisonian artare few but those few almost atone for the general lack of polish. HenryClapham McGavack leads the list with a clarity of style and keenness ofreasoning unsurpassed in the association. His "Dr. Burgess,Propagandist" is an amateur classic. Edgar Ralph Cheyney is an extremeradical, but is none the less a masterful essayist. His articles take avery high rank both for thoughtfulness and for diction. A third writerof unusual power and analytical depth is Arthur W. Ashby, whose essayson the varied aspects of Nature command our serious attention. The twoSchillings, George and Samuel, deserve more than a passing mention,whilst Pres. Fritter's Laureateship well attests his merit. Rev. E. P.Parham has produced work of attractive quality. Joseph W. Renshaw'sessays and editorials command notice whenever beheld; whilst Ira A.Cole, ever versatile, will shortly display his epistolary skill in thenow unpublished series of "Churchill-Tutcombie Letters". William T.Harrington has progressed by leaps and bounds to a prominent placeamongst our essay-writers, his able encomiums of Old England being adelightful feature of the year. It would be gratifying to speak ofMaurice W. Moe's splendid style and terse English at this point, for heis one of our very foremost essayists; but his enforced inactivity inamateur journalism this year has deprived us of any current specimenssave the brief editorial in the February =Pippin=.

  The general quality of our prose is by no means satisfactory. Too manyof our authors are contaminated with modern theories which cause them toabandon grace, dignity, and precision, and to cultivate the lowest formsof slang.

  Papers and magazines have been neither ample nor numerous this year; infact, the tendency of the times appears to be a centralization of effortin THE UNITED AMATEUR; something which is for many reasons to beapplauded, and for a few reasons to be deplored. Those members who feelcapable of issuing individual papers should be encouraged to do so;whilst those who are ordinarily silent, should be encouraged to join thecontributing staff of THE UNITED AMATEUR as provided by the Campbellamendment.

  The best individual journal of the year is =Ole Miss'=. For frequencyand regularity, =The Scot=, =The Woodbee=, =The Dixie Booster=, and =TheCoyote= are to be commended. THE UNITED AMATEUR has prospered as amonthly despite adverse conditions. The elaborate September, October andFebruary numbers put us in deep debt to Mr. Edward F. Daas, whilesubsequent examples of good editorship must be accredited to Mr. GeorgeSchilling. It is gratifying to note the increasing literary character ofthe Official Organ; purely official numbers are invariably tedious, manyof the long, detailed reports being quite superfluous. It is a strongand sincere hope of the undersigned, that Mr. Daas may rejoin us at andafter the present convention. The resumption of =The Lake Breeze= wouldsupply a pressing need. Mr. Moitoret's =Cleveland Sun=, which promisesto be a frequently issued paper, made its first appearance lately, andwill, after much of its "loudness" has been removed, be of substantialbenefit to new members. The "sporting" features should be eliminated atonce, as not only being in bad taste, but exerting a noxious influenceover the literary development of the younger members.

  While upon the subject of papers, the undersigned would like to enter arenewed protest against the persistent use of certain distorted forms ofspelling commonly called "simplified". These wretched innovations,popular amongst the less educated element during the past decade, arenow becoming offensively prominent in certain periodicals of supposedlybetter grade, and require concerted opposition on the part of allfriends of our language. The advantages claimed for the changes arealmost wholly unsubstantial, whilst the inevitable disadvantages areimmense. Let us see fewer "thrus" and "thoros" in the amateur press!

  What the association needs above all things is a return to earlier formsin prose and verse alike; to poetry that does not pain the ear, andparagraphs that do not affront the aesthetic sense of the reader. If ourwriters would pay more attention to the tasteful Georgian models, theywould produce work of infinitely less cacophonous quality. Almost everyone of our authors who is familiar with the literature of the past, isdistinguished by exceptional grace and fluency of composition.

  As this report draws toward its conclu
sion, a few minor aims of theDepartment of Public Criticism are to be noted. It is now the desire ofthe undersigned to aid authors in rectifying the injustices to whichthey are subjected by the wretched typography of most amateur journals.Writers are hereby encouraged to transmit to this Department correctedcopies of all misprinted work, the corrections to be made public in THEUNITED AMATEUR. By this method it is hoped that no amateur journalistwill again be forced to suffer for faults not his own, as so many havesuffered in the past. Of course, the critical reports themselves arefrequently misprinted, but the vast majority of mistakes may with carebe eliminated.

  Concerning the name of this association, which a number wish changed ina manner that will eliminate the word "amateur", the undersigned feelsthat the sentiment of the veteran element is too strongly against such amove to warrant its immediate adoption. The primary object is thetraining of young writers before they have attained the professionalgrade, wherefore the present title is by no means such a misnomer asmight be inferred from the talents of the more cultivated members.However, the proposed alteration is certainly justified in many ways,hence the idea should be deferred rather than abandoned altogether.

  The wane of interest in amateur political affairs is to be commended asa recognition of the superior importance of literary matters. Amateurjournalism is rapidly progressing nearer and nearer its ideal: a devicefor the instruction of the young and crude, and an aid for the obscureauthor of any sort, rather than a playground for the aimless and thefrivolous.

  Last of all, the undersigned wishes to thank the membership for its kindreception of the Department's reports. It is ever the Chairman's designto render impartial judgment, and if harshness or captiousness may atany time have been noticed in the reports, it has in each case beenunintentional. An ideal of sound conservatism has been followed, but inno instance has the critic sought to enforce upon others that peculiarlyarchaic style of which he is personally fond, and which he is accustomedto employ in his own compositions. The Department of Public Criticismaspires to be of substantial assistance to the members of the United,and hopes next year to co-operate with Mr. Lockhart in presentingreviews of truly constructive quality.

  Solicitous for the approval, and confident of the indulgence of theassociation, the Department herewith has the honor to conclude its firstannual report; in the hope that such a summary of events and estimate ofconditions may be of use to the incoming administration.

  H. P. LOVECRAFT, Chairman.