PAGE FOUR
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1923
_. _ _ _ Y _ __ .l
The Better Magazines
THE CENTURY
LISLE ROSE'
Perhaps the best-balanced magazine Bois, the celebrated negro leader, sets
in the United States is the Century. forth again the author's belief that his
is sufficintlyrace must secure its freedom and its
ts editor, Glenn Frank, s opportunity for development within
level-headed to avoid the vagaries this country, and not in Africa, as a
characteristic of some of the more great many advocate. An exposition
highbrow publications, sufficiently of contemporary conditions in Egypt
broadminded to extend his interests comes from Mrs. Grace Thompson
over an extremely wide field. The Seton.
o w j c Two other serious articles I wish
Century cannot with justice be accused'to treat at somewhat greater length.
of onesidedness, or narrowness. It Both deal with the crucial problem
deals with literature of all sorts, with before the world today-the preserva-
sceiology, with philosophy, even with Lion of Western Civilization. Nathan-
tel Peffer gets down to ee-rock in his
business. It can truly boast of being isoistic gets tbfrt i ndc is
pessimistic but truthful indictment o
more catholic than most of its contem osur achievements. Peffer would ask
poraries. why Western Civilization shoulI not
The February issue exhibits extra perish, whether it merits preser-
ordinarily well the wide range of writ vation. I finds that all we can offer
to the other civilizations are Science,
logs ussuatly fonsd its thsmezttse and Christianity, of which the firs,
In this issue are two short stories, threatens to destroy its creators, while
two novels, three informal essays, a rthe second, which might avert the,
sonet sequence, four articles on con- rsuin, is powerless.
temporary problems, and a criticism-' Now sth indictments are not ot-
or perhaps appreciation wosld be the common: we have had them by the
better term-of Robert Frost's poetry. score from young intellectuals. What
Different though these productions mats .Peffer's article peculiarly im-
are, they will all appeal to the average Ipressive is the absolute pitilessness of
reader; not only because they are in- his logic. Mencken's pessimistic state-
terestingly written, but because they ments are at once discounted because
avoid any suggestion of insult or of they proceed from emotion; your me-
insincerity. Justly or not, the aver liorist can with equal reason advance
age reader is repelled by most maga- an opposing theory. But Peffer neith-
zines which pretend to be even faint-. er applauds nor groans: he simply
ly highbrow: he perceives in their at- presents. And so black are the mere
titude toward him either a chilly su- facts that they strike terror into us.
perciliousness or a hypocritical mani- Both of our boasted achievements
festation of equality. He sees that he seem valueless.
is regarded with pity; that he is tacit- Mr. Frank takes a view equally pes-r
ly, if not openly stamped as an Out- simistic in the latest of his papers on
sider, a barbarian; and he is angered. the American and his world. Frank'
With the Century he feels, maybe not 'is here concerned with the effect en
quite at ease, but at least welcome. the man in the street of a wider pro-
The magazine does not for one inO- mulgation of the Mechanistic Philoso-
ment lower its standards; it does at- phy. Four possible reactions to such
tempt, I think, to appeal to a fairly a philosophy are listed, but the editor
wide public. In this latest issue, as , declines to state which he considers
have mentioned, practically every ar- most likely to occur. Personally, I
ticle is of interest to all btW9 , ~& tthink Mr. Frank fails to realize how
What one is most interesting is of generally some form of Materialism is
course dependent upon the individual found even at present among the peo-
reader. Probably Michigan students pie. He apparently believes that the
will be eager to read Carl Van Doren's new attitude will come as a great
discussion of Robert Frost's person- shock: a view in which I cannot con-
ality and work. The campus has been cir.
a bit slow to receive Mr. Frost's poet- In the second place, those who re-
ry, though the man himself won swift tain some positive religion will be
appreciation. This slowness is nat- slower than he expects to give it up.
ural enough, for admittedly his work The Idealistic Philosophy, in either its
resists superficial reading, and is ben- 'pure or its vulgar manifestations, will
efitted by such a study as Van Doren's. act as a check upon the Mechanistic
This able critic has, within a brief interpretation. Agnosticism perhaps
six pages, come nearer to expressing may increase; but I doubt if Material-
the essence of the "Yankee poet's" ism will secure a greater proportion
genius and achievements than has any of adherents than it has at present.
other critic I have ever read. Frost Mechanism, after all, is as positive a
will no longer be cold and puzzling to theory as Theism;; and positivism in
those who read the Century's appre- philosophy has seen its day. "We do
ciation. not know" is all any man can say: the
While I am on the subject of poetry rest is a matter of choice. I see no
I may as well speak of the one bit of reason for believing that Optimism
verse in the number, Witter Bynner's may not be espoused with as much
sonnet sequence, Chinese Procession. reason as Pessimism.
As always, Bynner seems to me just I have .left myself no room to dis-
to fail. He tantalizes me with his con- cuss the fiction in the number. In
stant failure to achieve what he prom- fact, I realize that this excessively
ises. Bynner is a coming poet; the rambling article is the worst possible
trouble is that he has been coming for recommendation of a compact, well-
eight or nine years. Always success balanced magazine. I can only hope
is one short step beyond him; always that what I have said may stir some
tte inevitabi phrase f es htm as he unterest in a magazine with which all
appears about to capture it. Despite who aspire to the nae of student
a few telling lines, Chinese Proces- should be intimately acquainted.
sions is for me a failure. In litera
ture there is no border-zone, and Byn-
ner must remain on the wrong side Hergesheimer on Criticism
until lie can definitely place himself Joseph Hergesheimer has decided
on the other. How he is to get across that creative writing is burdened, w
I do not know; perhaps a closer atten- "pretentiousness, conceit and lies."
eral verses in his latest poem appear In fact, he said so recently, in a let-
slovenly. I shall doubtless discover ter to one of the Midland authors. Io
that they are really the highest artis- is thrusting particularly at the work
try; at present they seem to me to be of the book reviewer. While he may
the result of carelessness rather than be justified if he refers to a few of
of skill, those sky drifters who subsist upon
Important as the purely literary and exude unclarified gusts of rhet-
features of the issue are, the numer- orical filigree, or to those who cast
ous articles on present-day problems sombre clouds of pessimistic wisdom
are still more so. Charles Merz, an over his best novels, we have a smug
American journalist of some reputa- certainty that there are a goodly num-
tion and a great deal of insight, con- ber of honest reviewers. Mr. Herges-
trIbutes a discussion of the significant iheismer should consult his publisher
youth-movement in the post-bellum on the value of book reviews. He found
Germany. Back to Africa, by Dr. Du it necessary to do so once.
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