revealed through verse? Close and unprejudiced reading will discover several rather important tendencies which reveal themselves through form and style as well as through content and thought. In connection with the former may be mentioned complete metrical freedom, imagery, bare actuality, vividness: with the latter, the attitude of humor, irony, and grotesqueness. brotherhood and service, commonly called democracy; a new attitude toward nature; realism.

And the whole is enveloped and permeated by the atmosphere of freedom.

There is nothing new nor startling in spirit yet; the modern reader does not readily accept the new vision. This hesitancy is due, probably, to two causes: the one, an inherited training and prejudice for certain form types and conventional subject-matter; the other, the resuiting twisted, disproportionate vision of certain probing, active, democratic minds which have reacted and are endeavoring to construct a system in accordance with both tradition and desire.

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For the present purpose a few comments upon two or three of the most evident tendencies in contemporary poetry must suffice. Of these tendencies, "hard" imagery is undoubtedly the most noticeable. However, imagery is new note, for unconsciously, perhaps, poets have used imagery and symbols from the days of the earliest Hebrew writings. At present we have the conscious use of this method of embellishment. The creed of the "Imagists" may be found in "Some Ima ist Poets," 1915. Briefly, it is as follows: to use the exact word, the precise word which will bring to the reader the effect of the object as the writer saw it; to use new rhythms for the expression of new moods; to be unlimited in choice of subjects; to produce a particular, not a general image; to hold concentration as the very essence of poetry. There self-explanatory points are not particularly new, but are interesting because of their having been in disuse.

The imagists have been more or less of a failure, however, and naturally so. In their zeal to show disapproval of the traditional types they have made their creed an end in itself. Moreover, many writers who never could be poets anyway have seized upon this method in their eager attempts to express themselves in verse form. One or two quotations from the worst and from the best will show both ridiculous and sublime possibilities.

"On black bare trees a stale-cream moon Hangs dead, and sours the unborn buds." -F. S. Flint. Contrast the following lines from Walter de la Mare's "Silver":

"Slowly, silently, now the moon

Walks the night in her silver sheen; This way and that, she peers and sees Silver fruit upon silver trees.

A harvest mouse goes scampering by, With silver claws, and a silver eye; And moveless fish in the water gleam, By silver reeds in a silver stream." and is it such a far cry from Francis Carlin's "Cuckoo,"

"A sound but from an echo made,

And a body wrought of colored shade Have blent themselves into a bird." to the well-known beginning lines of Shelley's "Skylark"?

Whatever the possibilities and the failures of the imagist trend, its influence has been both "healthful and helpful," for the vital reaction against mere "prettiness and wordiness" indicates a creative dissatisfaction.

The spirit of brotherhood or democracy, or better conceived of by some as the idea of sympathetic service, is the keynote of much present-day poetry. This is inevitable if poetry is, as we believe it to be, the expression of life. Like imagery, it is no new note, for this spirit has been challenging for considerably more than a century. Burns, Paine, Shelley, Wordsworth, Byron, all show a certain revolt against social conditions. In the nineteenth century, as romanticism passes into realism, we find Kingsley, a "Christian socialist," Dickens, Thackeray, Whitman, who gave us a social consciousness, Markham, who gave us a social conscience, and a host of contemporary writers, not least among whom are Masefield, Lindsay, Sassoon, Sandburg, Untermeyer. Illuminating illustrations of this spirit are Vachel Lindsay's "The LeadenEyed;" Robert Schauffler's "Scum o' the Earth;" William Vaughn Moody's "On a Soldier Falling in the Philippines"; Edwin Markham's wellknown "The Man With the Hoe."

A very noticeable aspect of modern thought is seen in the attempt of modern poetry to portray the rugged realities of common lives. Again one feels a changed view, a widened vision, for it is not the sordid, hopeless realism which found its culmination in Thomas Hardy; rather it is a realism that is kinder and more sympathetic in its interpretation. Notwithstanding the fact that an occasional poet has written with considerable irony and bitterness, as Siegfried Sassoon, yet even he is at times most tender and merciful. One need only to read his latest books, "Counter-Attacks," and "The PictureShow," to be convinced. Robert Frost sometimes expresses very freely and simply a deep feeling for the common lot of life. "The Mending of the Wall," "The Tuft of Flowers," "The Road Not Taken," are but few of many poems

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through which he conveys this feeling. may mention, too, Wilfrid Gibson, whose poetry in its revelation of the dignity and wholesomeness of the ordinary life approaches that shown in "The Cotter's Saturday Night." The widened vision, then, appears to behold not only the present ugly actualities, but sees beyond, to an end great and strong and sweet, though that end can be reached possibly only through tragedy.

Of other tendencies there is not time to speak. Especially interesting, however, is the present attitude toward external nature, so opposite to that of the Pseudo-classicist, so different from that of the Romanticist, and so distinctly lacking, it would seem, in the spiritual interpretation of the Transcendentalist.

However one may differ from the modern poet's conception and presentation of life and thought, however one may question, he must believe that the aspects and manners of contemporary life are bound to find expression in poetry. One need merely to consider the period a transitional one, as it really is, to find a reasonable explanation for some peculiarities of its verse. In the geological world one finds extraordinary and grotesque forms of life marking all transitional periods. Unusual happenings and turbulency mark such social and political periods. Thus, too, it is in poetry. More normal and settled conditions will produce fewer verse absurdities.

That people are using verse form, free or otherwise, as a medium of expression is evident from the following statistics:

"Poetry, a Magazine of Verse" (American) received over fifty volumes of ori inal verse from March to October, 1920.

Braithwaite's "Anthology of Magazine Verse" for 1919 (American) lists 799 different contributors and 220 volumes of verse. The number of poems for each contributor varies from one to one hundred. So much for America. What English magazines have received or published 1 have no means of determining.

Some books and magazines for those who are interested in the study of contemporary poetry are the following:

Rittenhouse, Jessie: "The Second Book of Modern Verse." One hundred different authors are represented.

Bellman Press: "The Bellman Book of Verse," 1920. A carefully chosen collection of the best poems which have been printed in the Bellman Magazine. (No longer printed.) Wilkinson, Marguerite: "New Voices," 1920. Comprehensive in scope, friendly and unprejudiced in criticism.

Johnson, Robert: "Collected Poems," 1881, 1919. Conservative. Contains many fine and melodious verses.

Untermeyer, Louis: "Modern American Poetry," 1920. Small collection of the best recent poetry.

Untermeyer, Louis: "Modern British Poetry," 1920.

Poetry Press: "The New Poetry." Ninth annual anthology collected from "Poetry, a Magazine of Verse."

Braithwaite, William: "Anthology of Magazine Verse," 1919. Sixth annual antholo y of "poems of distinction" from American Magazines.

Braithwaite, William: "Some Imagist Poets," 1915. First anthology of its kind. Interesting because it contains the creed of the "Imagist" poets.

Kreymborg, Alfred: "Others." Favors the poetry of the imagist poets.

CRITICISM AND STUDY

Radical.

"Poetry Review." Contains original poems, critical articles, and reviews of contemporary poetry.

"Poet Lore." Devoted to both poetry and the drama.

"Poetry, a Magazine of Verse." Publishes various kinds of poetry, including classical sonnets and free verse. Best magazine of its kind that is printed.

"Contemporary Verse." More conservative than the preceding magazine. Devoted exclusively to original poetry. Includes the writings of hitherto unknown poets as well as those of repute.

"The Sonnet." Edited bi-monthly. Conservative. Prints many excellent sonnets.

"The Lyric." Organ of the Lyric Society, a body of men and women who are endeavoring to advance the poetry of America by acquainting the public with its own poets.

"Youth." Published by the Harvard Uni

versity poets. International in character and scope and interests, having contributors from various countries.

"The Bookman." This magazine not only publishes many poems, but furnishes much interesting information concerning poets and poetry. Each number contains a classified list of all new books.

RECENT FICTION

Miss Alice L. Marsh, Nordstrum High School "Mary-Girl" 1-by Hope Merrick.

For the money with which to build the chapel he so earnestly desires, Ezra Sheppard sends his young wife out to service. Ezra is a market gardener who has worked once at the Big House, but is now the owner of a few acres. He also is a Quaker preacher. Ezra has bought an old barn at the edge of his field, which he uses as a meeting-house. It is his dream to replace this with a modest brick temple, and to this end he and Mary are saving every possible shilling. So, when the chance comes for Mary to go as nurse in the family of a nei hboring earl, the separation from her husband and child to be absolute, Ezra regards it as providential. After twelve months of luxurious living, Mary comes back to her cottage, out of touch with her former life, a stranger to her own baby boy, and, while Ezra gets his chapel, for a time tragedy seems to threaten.

The book is the work of the late Hope Merrick, and furnishes a worthy memorial. It has great delicacy and sympathetic understanding of the problems which beset both the stern yet loving husband and his simple peasant wife. "Woman Triumphant" 2-by Vicente Blasco Ibanez.

An artist, whose love of beauty in the human form amounts to a passion, finally marries the woman who has been the model for many of his best achievements. After marriage, however, she shows great distaste for posing, and, what is more, refuses to let him employ others in that capacity. Her jealousy and constant espionage ruin his career, and he loses his love for her. Even after her death, however, the image of his wife, as he knew her when a young girl, haunts him so that he finds it impossible to find love or consolation in a second attachment. Woman is triumphant.

This novel has all the dash, the life and color, which makes Blasco Ibanez one of the greatest story-tellers of the day. It is interesting from start to finish.

"Jeremy" 3-by Hugh Walpole.

No one could fail to be charmed with this tender, simple story of little Jeremy Cole. The boy is so alive, so sincere, and so natural, that he makes a wide appeal. It is a good book to read to youngsters. Try the exquisite bit narrating the fight with Ernest.

That the style is charming goes without saying, for Mr. Walpole is one of the few living writers who keep alive the beauties of our language.

1 New York: E. P. Dutton & Co.

2 New York: E. P. Dutton & Co.

3 George H. Doran Co.

"Miss Lulu Bett" -by Zona Gale.

The story is told by months, from April to September, and has the charm which we always find in Zona Gale, the tenderness and sympathy which takes the boldness from realism and makes it an art. Miss Lulu Bett, her frankness, her absolute, straight-forward directness, wins our interest from the start, and her marriage in the bakery makes a fitting climax. "No Deferce" --by Sir Gilbert Parker.

The scenes of "No Defence" are laid in Ireland, England, the West Indies, and America, during the troublous days of the French Revolution. There is really nothing distinctive about the tale, which is of the traditional love and adventure sort, with a propitious ending for the two lovers, Sheila Llyn and Dyck Calhoun. "The Foolish Lovers" 6-by St. John Irvine.

Not especially noteworthy, but nevertheless somewhat entertaining, is this story of a strong young Irishman, and the way in which the influences of the various women with whom his life-lines cross keep time from hanging heavily on his hands.

Miss Beatrice Merriam, Northwestern High School

"The Geste of Duke Jocelyn"*-by Jefferey Farnol.

Full of quaint humor and rollicking, refreshing verse comes the new novel by that past master of romance, Jefferey Farnol. It is a "geste," for the book is written for his daughter, Gillian (very fond of romance), and his conversations with her, in the most tantalizing parts of the story, make whimsical breaks that please the fancy. He states his purpose thus: "I'll write for thee a book of sighing lover. Crammed with Romance from cover to cover; I'll write it as the Gestours wrote of old, In prose, blank verse, and rhyme it shall be told."

There are the most charming people in the story-an ugly duke with most enticing smiles; a lovely heroine, all fire and charming wiles; a doughty man-at-arms, who fishes in a brook; a duchess fair, at whom he would not look; an awesome witch, who had a kindly heart; a dwarf with strength that made him a man of parts; and many mighty knights of high de ree, who brought their honor into low repute, through shameful deeds. We have a mighty duke, who, because of a scarred face, seeks to find true love by traveling in the guise of a "gestour"-a motley. He sings his way into the favor of his lady fair and holds his place in her heart through doughty deeds of valor.

The verse smacks of Shakespeare's richness of language and of Lamb's quaint whimsies. "O' Henry Memorial Award: Prize Stories,

1919" Chosen by the Society of Arts and Sciences.

Already highly recommended by all critics is this series of striking short stories just published. From "England to America," by Margaret Prescott Montague, to "April 25, as Usual," by Edna Ferber, the stories are uniformly good.

D. Appleton Co.

5 Lippincott & Co.

6 Macmillan Co.

*Boston: Little, Brown & Co.

† New York: Doubleday, Page & Co.

The supreme sacrifices and fortitude of an English family guided by the great heart of Love; a mother who destroys her happiness and honorable name to save her son; a mother who clings frantically to her idol son-a talented musician; a novel strike in the Land of Moab; a pioneer mother who saves her child by serving the victims of blizzard; a coolie who

outwits the Boche; a view of Romany justice; a vignette of a Chinese thinker searching for the truth; a grinding-out of the law of compensation; a dog that is on trial in court; a misplanted pair of parents; and a picture of a selfish lady of the days of the Good Queen Bess-all contribute their quota to this excellent book.

Latin in the Twentieth Century High School, Edwin L. Miller, Principal, Northern High School.

Teaching the Ancient Languages, Joseph Corns, Principal, Southeastern High School.

Questions that the Detroit Public is Asking, Burton Barns, Supervisor of Geography.

The Teaching of Household Mechanics, Earl L. Bedell, Northwestern High School.

The Demands of the Times upon the Schools of America, William H. Kilpatrick, Professor of the Philosophy of Education, Teachers College, Columbia University.

Educational Problems Involved in the Stimulation of Self-Activity, S. A. Courtis, President, Detroit Teachers College.

Educational Values Underlying the Project, William H. Kilpatrick.

Teachers' Marks, P. C. Packer, Assistant Superintendent of Schools.

Vocational Guidance in the High School, John Brennan, Northwestern High School.

Some Experiments in Free-Hand Lettering, Frank Keppler, Supervisor of Mechanical Drawing.

The Retarded Development of Our High Schools, Charles L. Spain, Deputy Superintenden: of Schools.

High-School Lunch-Room Problems, E. G. Allen, Assistant Principal, Cass Technical High School.

What is the Meaning of Educational Measurements? S. A. Courtis.

Projects in English Composition, Catherine Morgan, Detroit Teachers College.

The Relation of the School Library to Modern Educational Methods, Martha Pritchard, Librarian, Teachers College.

Analysis of Reading, Charles H. Judd, Director of School of Education, University of Chicago. The Secret of Thrift, C. B. Upton, Provost of Teachers College, Columbia University.

Stopping the Failures, T. J. Knapp, Superintendent of Schools, Highland Park, Michigan.

Subject to be announced, David Snedden, Teachers College, Columbia University.