Literary Views And Reviews

Press, Volume LXXXI, Issue 24624, 21 July 1945, Page 5

Literary Views And Reviews

N.Z. POETRY A NEW ANTHOLOGY A B 4°v k rhL Ne w Zealai >d Verse, 1922by Al,en Curnow. The Caxton Press, 195 pp. [Reviewed by E. H. McCORMICK.] siSs t fhat r «S lt p f st there have been Zealand 1 , be t mature interest in New tWr fes hut ri ir 2, , noticeable in the thp wnrcf 1 re . la * lvel y quiescent during ine worst period of the war has aeain fo^thpVa^f ollßßl itSelf - Waiters, who overSfJt^f?w years have been either or pSrnli ß 1 • u r daily occupations qt^tp° ncerned ltb urgent affairs of CU«mn ar rff . taking U P 1116 dis- °( those issues which west emporanly set aside while larger isnmv» W f fe , be t° re us. The pause may prove to have been salutary. For while there was little of iml^lanri 6 r? Üb l‘ Shed about New /.ealand literature between 1941 and 1944 (with the chief ex¥u r Hol croft’s “The Waitthere was a good deal of thinking about the subject; and some of our writers had opportunities to retheir, outside the physical confines of this country and to examine their opinions in the large world of experience, where the validity of literary conclusions must, in the long run, be tested. One of the incidental and more valuable results of the war may be a new depth in the writing rJ 1 erary criticism of this country, if this comes to pass, some literary sign-poster of the future may, in his crude way, seize upon Allen Curnow’s Book of New Zealand Verse” as a point of origin in discussing post-war developments. It is a measure of Mr Curnow’s seriousness and of his accomplishment that it is possible, with no sense of incongruity, to conceive of his book having m New Zealand poetry something like the place held in English literature bv the early criticism and poetry of T. S. Eliot. Mr Curnow writes with the authority of a practising poet. In the most sustained and penetrating critical estimate yet given of New Zealand ver se,. he has gone far in defining a tradition and has contributed largely to that reservoir of ideas which nourishes, though it cannot create, poetry. His selection of verse, itself an important exercise in criticism, will foster a heightened sense of achievement and continuity amongst future writers of this country. One thinks with kindly envy of the young poets who, conning over this book, may rid themselves of the feeling that they work in isolation and without precedent. They will be luckier than most of their elders. Critical Introduction In his introduction, a first-rate piece of criticism by any standards, Mr Curnow rapidly and justly reviews earlier anthologies of New Zealand verse and sets out his own intention, “to cut our losses; to provide some ground upon which the worth of our verse can be estimated.” For reasons that necessitate consideration of New Zealand verse from the time of early settlement, Mr Curnow explains that in fulfilling his purpose he has limited himself to writing of the last two decades and from this selected the work of only 16 poets. (One other poet, Eileen Duggan, would have been included, had she not refused permission for the reprinting of her work in this collection.) Without attempting any simple explanation of complex facts, Mr Curnow describes the circu nstances in which these writers,' differing greatly in age and working in virtual independence, freed themselves from the artificial conventions of earlier New Zealand verse, or ignored them, and began to write with quickened perceptions and a standard of accomplishment new to this country. He then discusses and illustrates some of the recurring themes of their verse and gives a critical estimate of the more important figures, excluding himself. The verse selections follow, each writer appearing in the order of his year of birth, with his separate poems arranged chronologically. Finally comes a bibliography. It is a wellordered publication, reflecting the tidiness of mind that is shown in the introduction. And in appearance and production the, book deserves more than the customary last-sentence tribute. It meets the standards which the Caxton Press has taught us to expect; and, an interesting reversal of circumstances, it is, through British war-time exigencies, far superior to what we should have had if the volume had been published in England. It may be some constitutional or acquired defect that makes me find Mr Curnow’s introduction more impressive, on the whole, than the verse he has assembled to illustrate his claims and provide a touchstone for our poetic achievement. What is the work of Arnold Wall doing here? is my first and largest query. One knows Professor Wall as a writer who has exercised a well-stored mind in the production of interesting verse; one has had pleasure from an occasional felicity of expression or quirk of the imagination. But a poet of significance? It is not enough, in expressing one’s doubt, to cite from this collection lines which, for various reason s, no other writer in the volume would have passed; the clumsy “Let us forgive her her greed”; the trite ‘‘And all was peace, and calm, and friendliness” (Rupert Brooke?); the too studied and, to my mind, quite misapplied "His sweet, sad, semitoned sibilance (Tennyson?). These may be minor blemishes, but there is no sign, as far as I can perceive, of what I Mr Curnow to mean by his phrase, “the time life of the poem.” I am driven to conclude that my judgment or Mr Curnow’s, in this instance, is defective, or that there are in Arnold Walls verse qualities to be appreciated only by one who lives in Canterbury. (This selection has made me more conscious than before of the importance of the narrowly local co-existing in poetry with the universal.)

Selection and Rejection That is my major point of disagreement, made with perhaps undue length because Mr Curnow's standards elsewhere are generally high. What may contribute to the slight feeling of deflation in passing from the introduction to the verse is Mr Curnow’s decision to include in the collection certain poems that “take significance from their place in the work of the selected poets. Such a criterion is necessarily uncertain, and it has, I think, led to the inclusion of some indifferent verse. Mr Curnow s “Spring, 1942” is, for example, inferior to the other selections he ’'ns made from his work, though it is probably of great significance to himself, (in spite of its deeper seriousness, m reading this poem I was reminded of the nrivate communications which poets of the Auden group used to address to one another in public.) On the other hand, if one purpose of the anthology had been to indicate the development of individual poets, a few mbre selections might perhaps have been made from the work of Robin Hyde and Walter D’Arcy Cresswell. Incidentally, I assume that limitations of space, rather than the anthologist’s desire to show his poets at their best, have forced Mr Curnow regrettably to make selections from “Lyttelton Harbour” and Dominion,” two poems which, if their authors’ intentions are to be respected, must be considered as wholes. Youngest, Not Least The final stress must, however, be placed on the feeling of achievement induced by reading “A Book of New Zealand Verse,” not on minor flaws. Several poets, notably Ursula Bethell and Charles Brasch, appear with enhanced stature, partly because they are given the benefit of Mr Curnow s sensitive interpretation, partly because their less successful verse has been pruned away. One of the most significant poets in the collection is the youngest: James K. Baxter The sureness of touch, the deliberate selfrestraint within rather narrow’ limits shown in his half-dozen poems, are more than signs of great promise; they give some evidence that the vvork of the last two decades, impressively consolidated in Mr Cumow’s book, has begun to create a living tradition of verse writing and with it a sense of values, worth more than a horary of academic criticism. New Zealand poets of the future will perhaps need less pruning. ' „ . In his introduction Mr Curnow has referred to my essay. “Letters and Art in New Zealand.” I hope I am not trespassing too far beyond a reviewer s limits when I say that his comments teem to m quite fair, with only one]

WAR BOOKS ITALIAN CAMPAIGN Mr Henry Bateson’s First into Italy (Jarrolds. 104 pp. Through Whitcombe and Tombs Ltd.)—the title is not a personal claim but a tribute to the Bth Army—is as good a book as eye-witness reporting is likely to produce. It has all the primary merits of the first-hand statement: it is clear, well-balanced, and, without running into sensational emphasis, vivid. When Mr Bateson suggests a criticism of the conduct of the campaign, it is because his narrative fairly carries him up to it, and it is suggested, not dogmatically asserted. On certain failings of official campaign communiques, he expresses himself more positively, but still temperately and with excellent reasons. But the main purpose of the book, which covers the period between the first mainland landings and the fighting on the Sangro and at Termoli, is to show how very ill-grounded was the belief that the advance in Italy was unenergetic, how extremely difficult the physical difficulties of the campaign were—even before the winter—and how capably and methodically the Germans exploited them. This useful purpose is admirably fulfilled. THE GAP The war has given sharp twists to the interests of many a writer, and Lieutenant-Commander John Moore is one. Before the war the rural life and scene gave him most of his subjects. In Escort Carrier (Hutchinson. 48 pp. Through Whitcombe and Tombs Ltd.) he is a long, grim distance from them. This small book gives a distinctly detailed account of the battle of "The Gap,” in the Atlantic, between the range limits of British-based and American-based aircraft, where the burden of safeguarding convoys and harrying U-boats fell on the escort carriers and the destroyers. Training, daily routine and life on the “Woolworth carriers” or “banana boats,” as the Navy called them, and swift, fierce action are described in a delightful, economical style; and many photographs accompany the text. NAVAL .The author of The Dutch Navy at War (Allen and Unwin. 131 pp.), Lieutenant-Commander A. Kroese, commanded the Netherlands destroyer Kortenaer, one of the ships lost in the battle of the Java Sea, early in 1942. One of his seven chapters is devoted to this battle, not a victory “from a material point of view," Allied losses being probably much heavier than the Japanese, whose transport fleet was not reached, but undoubtedly a strategic victory, as it delayed the Japanese advance and gained invaluable lime when time was against us. Most of the book is concerned with the naval war in the Pacific, a chapter on early strategic dispositions being particularly good. Maps and illustrations. Petty Officer J. E. Macdonell, R.A.N., also writes about the Pacific war. In a series of sketches, written with genuine gusto, Fleet Destroyer (The Book Depot. Melbourne. 102 pp.) describes th 6 transformation of the raw reserves that manned an Australian destroyer, last year, into the first-class fighting crew of an efficient unit in Somerville's battle fleet. This is enlivening reading. “ABOVE ALL NATIONS” “Above a’l nations is humanity,” runs an inscription in the campus of Cornell University, U.S.A. Professor George Catlin, Vera Brittain, and Sheila Hodges turn to it for the title of their anthology, Above All Nations (Gollancz. 88 pp.), a collection of extracts from press reports and war books, recording acts of generosity, justice, kindness, and mercy done by the fighting men of all nations towards their enemies in this war. One section collects similar acts by civilians. Perhaps the most deeply impressive paragraph in the book is this, from “Time” of January 1, this year; , A group of clergymen meeting last week in Chicago said: ‘.’ln considering the treatment of a defeated Germany, we as religious leaders first affirm our confident hope that the victorious Allies will be guided by justice rather than by vengeance. We believe that a re-educated German people can in time become a worthy member of the family of mankind.” , „ _ The clergymen asking justice for Germans were Jewish. The meeting: the Central Conference of American Rabbis.

VARIATION ON AN OLD THEME Sir, —Though Professor Sinclaire’s essays are usually as delightful as they are instructive, there is one reflection one cannot help making on his latest article. The peculiar insularity of his choice is unfortunately typical of many English literary critics, who regard it as axiomatic that England has practically a monopoly of literature —just as Germany claimed a monopoly of "culture” and philosophy. Without wishing to depreciate English literature, I think this attitude rather unfortunate, and founded on dangerous prejudice. Of Professor Sinclaire’s chosen "Twelve Books,” seven are English; one (the Bible) is practically international; two represent the classics; and two (Dante, and Ibsen’s "Peer Gynt”) apparently stand for the whole of European (other than English) literature, apart from those classics. Although personal preferences are delicate things and must not be forced, I wonder if Professor Sinclaire could not perhaps reconsider his choice. Personally 1 should gladly send Wordsworth and Browning and even Jane Austen to join Shelley and Lamb, in order to make room for “Faust” (“Anonymous”?), and perhaps, to pick names at random, for Bossuet or "Gil Bias” or Calderon.—Yours, etc., E. BADIAN. July 16, 1945.