PAGE TWELVE THE MICHIGAN DAILY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 14, 19'4 PACE TWELVE SUNDAY, DECEMBER 14, 19~4 hooks and Writers 1 www They told us When we were in I Science Applied To Artj THE SHORT STORY'S MUTATIONS.l Frances Newman. New York. B. W. F zebsch, Inc. 1924 $2.50 This has been, more or less, a reve- lation to me. I have a mild antipa- thy for writers of the female sex. But t I must bow to Miss Newman. I didI not know that a woman could do as< well. The author has undertaken to ex-t plain the development of the short st(,ry since the days of Petronius.1 Her theory is original. As might he cxpected in this twentieth century, it is scientific. The short story, Misst Newman believes, progresses, not by evolution, but by mutations. Evolu- tion is, biologically, the gradual change of species of animals or plants t" ro-1 successive generations.rThe accumulation of such differences through long periods of time may re- sult in large changes. A mutation, on the other hand, is a sudden mark- ed change appearing in the offspring of normai parents. These Iarg( changes or variations are called mu, tations from he Latin mutare to change, or saltations from the Lirtin saltare, to leap. Thus the short story has not slowly evolved to its present form; rather has it developed by sud- den leaps, caused by the rise of a genius, in a new direction. Suci on- explained changes lead to new epochs. The creators of such epochs are fol- lowed by disciples who work out the new ideas; they inherit their mas- ters' teCli.ique and add their own. At the b ith of a genius appears an unforseen variation-thus it goes. The mutation theory is explained in ten chapters of comment which are il- lustrated by sixteen stories. Incident- ally twelve of these are translated by the author-the bit of expurgation is, deubtless,''due to the sex of the trans- lator. According to Miss Newman, Petron- irs is the modern short story. The next s' pnin the development is the French 'fablau:.x with.i"their gaiete, malice, and polissonnehe (L'esprit gaulois). Then came the Gesta Romanorum ann the tales of Boccaccio, the creator of several literary mutants. Voltaire with his "carbolic prose," "the first writer whose words laid a smoothly lacquered surface over his acrimoni- ous animus;" Hans Christian Ander- sen, who wrote of the chimney-sweep and the shepherdess (which gave James Branch Cabell the title for his book and the domestic, practical char- acter of his women); Alfred de Mus- set with his story of Mimi Pinson, who was a realistic grisette; Prosper Merimee, who gave the story its uni- que and single effect of which Poe wrote; Guy de Maupassant, who gave a story the form its emotion demand- ed, these follow. And so the suc- ce r;n traced through Jules La- The Romantics Essays in the Romantic Poets. Ily Solonicn Francis Ging'erich, Ph.D. Associate Professor of English in the University of Michigan. Ne V Y'k. The Macmillan company- 1924. Every year the Romantic poets! come in more and more for their share of the world's print. Witness this brief year Professor Chew's momentous tome on Byron; Harold Nicholson's irreverent and Stracheyes- que study of the same; and the charm- ing dramatization of Shelley's life by the Frenchman Maurois. Professor Gingerich's book is not a star of a magnitude with these, 'rt this apparently adverse statement s not to be construed as criticism rather as description. Whereas the above mentioned works play in large measure the inapired part of Johun crying in the wilderness of popular misconception the present author 11a5 undertaken to present a guidebook to that wilderness on more conven- tional lines. He seeks to detail the evolution of the deeper suibjecti ce life of the poet as conditioned by his times. It is Professor Gingerich's thesis thr't the poet's relation to life is not that special connection the niloso1-er, psychol.ogist, or theologian has: yet the poet conshders all these ('zcto s n life and his reaction to them is evident in his work. Rather, the poet is a synthesist of all these depart- ments in an amateur way, his chic- and professional business being t( center such thoughts on a suplemeI interpretation of the immediate ex- perience. This composite kind of truth, the author esteems to be - the, poet's function. for-ue, -enry James, Anton Chekhov. Sherwood Anderon, D. H. Lawrenrc. James Joyce. 'he series ends with Paul Morand's "Nordic Night," an unusual and well-written story. The selections share interest with thme rem arks. With an eaten sive - produced "other poems of distinc- tion." Fortunately for poetry, the title of Poetry's Future the work belies the actual situation and, following the great American i i tradition, the real poets of the fu- - - ture are really still obscure section- The Poets of the Future. A College hands. Even Harvard, which has, Anthology for 1922-24 Edited by supplied the minor poetry market for1 Henry T. Schnitlkind, Ph.D. Bos- the past years, comes through with ten, Mass. The Stratford company, a work by Charles Hamburg entitled IPubihirers. U24. "In the Sky was a Frail Dab of White." I. was my impression that Dr. The kind of verse affected by colleget Shnittkind that Braithwaite of the. poets is evidently the heroic genre, as S knB wthis first verse from Allen Earl Wood-e campuses, called the roll of collegey; poets every year. Evidently such is all's Syracuse The Wind: not the case. The poetry business has "I am the great eternal wind, not looked up during the past two Through the waste of years I years, present anthology is a com. pour; And from pole to pole where my' This is a depressing jog-too much great waves roll 1ike reviewing an issue of the ci-de- I am king forevermore." vant. Whimsies. Or even more so. Or else the slight, whimsical manner Whimsies was but one; Dr. Schnitt- of the free-versifiers. Example from kind's mosaic is legion-the index Wind by Kathryn Shephard (Wash- reads like an educational directory ington): and those not positively representedn combs the long grass i"Wind cmsteln rs by a poem are mentioned as having On the hillside And leaves it straight and smooth; The examples chosen to illustrate Hair of a young boy this theme are the four outstanding Damp after swimming." Romantics, Coleridge, Wordsworth, A hint of the T. S. Eliot-Millay Shelley and Byron. The various fdchool occurs in TrilogyA Spencer points of the discussion are sufficient- Murphy (North Carolina): ly illustrated with quotations from "Boston. City of teacups. the works of these poets;' the foot- 1A shabby old man with fine eyes notes are not subversive ot interest; And a soft voice and the presentation of the theolo. Drank from a paper thin cup of gical background is simple enough finest china. for the layman. I The handle was broken. A cold old lady died: A cold doctor said 'Lack tion.' The old lady would not folios. Motionless almost. Echoes, echoes, Echoes in learned polysy White Hopes (Continued from Page E rounds with McVey but i enough to say that the clew carried him along. Another real battle Kearns had was of nutri- against Al Kaufmann, then another white hope favorite, in Califorenia. sell her Kearns beat him in six rounds. Kearns fought Stanley Ketchel in Milwaukee and took a beating from the great Ketchel. yllables." After dropping out of the ring game Kearns took up blacksmithing until the world war broke out. Then he re-enlisted in the army. He ha: been a city fireman since 1920. leven) is frank er negro Read the Want Ads * * * Sunday School that * * * ; u ~I Gifts From Overseas Gifts Selected -at- FOSTER'S Always Please It is more blessed * * * To give ** Than to receive. But it's a lot more Worry and bother Isn't it? Afrcr you worry ii e. Fm pwv. m. 3 * * * .,: _... .........i..r..........a ur.......... ...s. r..r In.. .. ...U r~t9.......fl..... Suit Cases and Bags Johnston 's Burbank 's liunte 's This is the store that supplies you with these two articles for less-Christmas shopping now in full force-something for everybody-Many things different. The Home Spl Store Yourself into a frenzy Picking out your * *r Girl's present Xmas Candies in Special Gift Wrappers The right candy at the right price. And she comes back knowledge to aid her, the author ex- 209-211 E. Washington St. plains the mutations by mentioning literary and extra-literary influences. The writer's erudition does not, as it11 might in other hands, result in pedan- Him HHHRHHHHHHHHH try. Clever phraseology, humor, and touches of pale satire contribute to this explanation of the genealogy orf the short story. Miss Newman has efore You Leave the courage of her convictions and the Yo ability to express her meaning °clear- ly and rapidly. For Home and Those- Withal, this is a remarkable work, (I IIIIIIIIIIiIInIIIIlll lliWWIIW~._: Home-Cooked M eals You Cannot SEE It, HEAR It, or -i DODGE It. Why not drop in and let us There are no "Stop, I ook and Listen" signs to warn serve you with one of the you against dangers of fire, -e h - theft or accident. same, real dinners that mothe You cannot see or hear the prepares. loss that may await you to- morrow. ,=-- But you can prevent the loss that follows the unfor- tunate eventualities that - surround all' business. Insure today-do not worry 2 for tomorrow. -''- This agency represents the BESIM ER S oldest and strongest com- panies and solicits your full Across from D. U. R. Depot_ confidence. Consult us as - - you would your lawyer, "We've Been Serving the Best for Years" S without obligation. May we ° help you TODAY? - j :~lIIIilllllil1lillil llllll lili li illlllilltl llill l11U IllIIt11 I I I111lll lillllllh.II Butler 29FstNational1 Bank Bldg. MART- HALLER 11ft a112 East Liberty St. niguniniungnninilililult . s nn a~srao s sis~islt !l19191fi-; - * * * 1' Arbor Fountain With a necktie * * * Which is al wet 313 South State St. .:.'""".."*.." '.'." '" ".r "' """rio -i-"m..r u * * * 7 7 If you are single, Ive protect you. If you are married, we protect your and your family. As a Christmas Gift a Kodak or An Eastman Camera Is To Bie Appreciated They are not Expensive Either, and You may Procure them Here in Several Sizes I 1 i 1 I i i Or a box of cigars Which are a * * * Total loss It makes the good Old Christmas * * * Chee-o kind of flt * * 9. "'4' If this hits home, Drop around to Burr, Patterson Save Your Battery Cold weather requires lighter weight oil. Save your battery, save your engine by filling the crankcase with the cor- ii ~ ~ IIGive a Piece of Furniture for Christmas zc2~II ARtTHA WA SHING~TON ISewing Cabinet Invisible Hinges fi Seven Panel Ends o Solid Mahogany $18.503 Many PreiIV - Occasional Pieces That Are Inexpensie Priscilla Sewing Cabinet .............$12.50 *. *. 11 f 'Al 4 ""?I"i And Company's Store at Forest and South. U * * * They're specialiss In vifts. and may rect weight STARO- LINE OIL. KODAKS CAMERA SUPPLIES FIL.f S For Sale by 1I