MODERN LITERATURE

Evening Star, Issue 18031, 27 July 1922, Page 10

MODERN LITERATURE

.MR GUmCtG’S LECTURE. A very enjoyable lecture was given to tho Literary Society of the Otago University and others interested in literature in the Allan Hall last evening by Mr A. H. Grinling. ~ . Tho lecturer took as his subject ‘Literature of To-day,’ and commenced by stating that, every age produced its own literature, and'one age could not be sdt against another. Tho literature of to-day, he maintained, was not antagonistic to tho literature of yesterday. By combining Urn two 'wo eouM gauge ths literature of tomorrow. Ho went to to say that. compulsory education was a big factor in literature. To-day everyone read, even if only tho newspapers or magazines. There was also competition amongst the various publishing houses, and authors were oneonragedtb be prolific. The flood of literature increased Tho difficulty of picking the plums out of the dough of the presentday literature.

On the subject of how to read, the speaker said that to-day it was practically necessary to have acquaintance with the Continental literature in order to gain a. true perspective of world-wide -problems. Pec,pie, ho said, differed in their tasto in literature. His advice to people was to read tho books that they were attracted by‘. and- to work back to the older authors, starting at tho newest. They must lit the book to the mood they were in. Modern literature, the speaker continued. 1 could be divided into tlirco periods. First came the decadent, in the years from .1890 to 1900, then carao a further period from 1901 to 1910, and finally tho Georgian period,' 1911 to tho present day. Included in. the contributors to the first period were Swinburne and Oscar Wilde. Tu.live second period a reaction set in, and Bernard Sit aw and G. K. Chesterton led the way. This period also saw the rise of poetry, in which' John Masefield was conspicuous. The poetry ot to-day was not in tho sentimental style of the Tennyson period. In illustration* ho read extracts and short compositions by the present-day poets. Continuing, Mr Grinling said that there was an increase in tho number of women poets and novelists, and in somo cases they showed far greater promise than the men. ' Tho American pools were far more daring than tho English poets, and' were making experiments and breaking away from -tradition. He mentioned such Americans as Lowell, Aitken, Fletcher, and Lindsay, and- road several eamples of their works.'all of which wore appreciated by his listeners. Next to poetry, said Mr Grinling, came the poetic play, of which John Drinkwater was the foremost exponent. Ho referred' to ‘Mary Stuart’ -and ‘Abraham Lincoln’ as examples of that composer’s works. And following tho plays came tho essays. E. y. Lucas. Chesterton, and Hilaire Belloc were prominent critics named, also J. M. Murrav. of tiro ‘ Athenaeum.’ Tho American critics, he said, took a far wider sweep than the English, and- were more cosmopolitan. ’ Referring to novels, the lecturer said that he placed those by Joseph Conrad and John Galsworthy first on tho list, H. G. Wells stood in a class by -himself, D.

H, Lawrence perhaps Blood out most I among tho lesser men novelists, hut there worn other good) writers like Compton Mackenzie, Stephen M'Kenna, and Arnold Bennett. To look at tho rows and rows of modern novels in book shops, he said, made one’ melancholythe good ones were few and far between. On being questioned at tho conclusion of his lecture, Mr Grinling qaid that he considered; A. S. ? Hutchinson a , promising young novelist, arid; W. J. Locke a pleasant storyteller but not a good--novelist. Tho most reliable literary paper was.‘The Times Literary Supplement,’ as, most of tho critics worked in- cliques. _ In answer to another question, ho said that a,hundred' years ago there was tho same chaos as to-day, and there was every reason to bo full of hope and expectation that somo great genius would come to the fore. Ho considered that Ttudyard Kipling was out of touch with tho present generation. H. ; G. Wells ho put in a higher category than Arnold Bennett, in- that ho had found God, while Bennett was a materialist.

A hearty vote of thanks was accorded Mr Grinling at the conclusion of his address.