TASTE IN LITERATURE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LVI, 4 October 1924, Page 10

TASTE IN LITERATURE

.... MUCH HARMFUL TRASH KK.UJ CORRECTING THE TENDENCV SCHOOL LIBRARY SYSTEM i ENCOURAGING EXPANSION

Few people will deny Mr Bransby Williams - indictment of the modern problem novel, comments the New Zealand Herald. Many books of the type are mule rubbish which appeal only to immature and prurient minds, and it is disturbing to learn from local inquitg' that

the demand for them is very extensive, particularly among young women Many w filer:; who lack the art to giv« them prominence, appear deliberately to ton - (ciilr.itc upon a, theme which will guar a good sale of Ihcir hook's, .lake .seme comedians they go as far as they ilarr simply to swell receipts, 'they merchandise vice.

It might'be unjust to the present generations to suggest that the generations of the period of the Victorian novelists had no appetite for unsavoury literature, but it would be unjust to those generations to assert that the crude problem novel of to-day would have enjoyed the yogue it does to-day, and certainly the young women of the Victorian age could not have demanded “sex” books with the calm assurance •demonstrated in bookshops every day. One New Zealand library used to adopt the practice of placing questionable books on a shelf below the counter so that they not he issued unless officially asked for. This became known and some girls used to ask, “What is there on the naughty shelf to-day?”

NOT A HEALTHY SIGN

It does not follow that because girls

and young women read noveisi of the class mentioned they will be any the worse for it—the lily can bloom on a i übbish-tip—but the chances are that an appetite for these books is not a. healthy sign. A bookseller stated yesterday that 75 per cent, of those who asked lor novels which were dangerous to the immature were young women. In regard to book-buying in general, it was stated that many young people appear to have no knowledge whatever of what, is literature and what is> not. Tlie title of a book and the picture on l he cover often have more innuenco upon their selection than the name of the author. They are net acquainted with the immortals. To them a book is simply a book, whether it is a pot-boiler of an unknown or a classic.

The opinion was expressed that part of the trouble was due. to the vogue of the cinematograph. There was an adult generation which had grown up under the influence of the picture theatre, and as a result of the frequency of poor picture plays and lees reading, there was an astonishing lack of taste and discernment. “Many of the young people,” said the speaker, “think that good books must be a, series of thrilling or passionate episodes. They have adopted false standards of life and it is evident in the class of novel they appreciate.”

WORK IN THE SCHOOLS

Fortunately there are strong grounds for the belief that a much higher taste in literature will be evident when the boys and girls of the present day reach adult, years. The general use of epitomised versions of the works of Such authors as Kingsley, Dickens., Scott and Stevenson as readers in ilie schools is one strong influence and another in Auckland city is (lie development of the school library system, which is an extension of the work of the juvenile department of the public library. A fresh collection of books is sent*to each of 20 schools at the beginning of every year by the public library for circulation. No fewer than 52,352 volumes were issued from the school libraries last year, besides some 30,000 issued from the juvenile department of the public library. Each standard, from the third to the sixth, lias its own collection of books, graded to suit the respective ages. No charge is made lor the use of the books. The first issue of a school collection was made in 1917, and the last of the 20 quite recently. Almost invariably the headmaster, when returning the books at the end of the first year, has stated that a marked improvement had been noticed in the quality of the children’s essays, striking proof of the value of the system.

WHAT CHILDREN WANT

It is not customary to include many volumes of the classics in the collections sent to the schools. The experience of the juvenile department is that boys and girls read classics only if a special interest has been stimulated at home or at school They demand tales of adventure, to a less degree school yarns, fairy stories, and occasionally there is a run on technical text books, such as those relating to wireless. These classes of literature are therefore sent to the school libraries, the idea being that if a boy reads the good wholesome stories of such authors as Ballantyne and Ilenty, Ellis, Westerman, Brcreton and Gilson, and a girl the books of Angola Brazil and Mary Grant Bruce, they will receive a stimulus to the imagination, become familiar with good English, and lay the foundations of a literary appreciation. In country schools there has been a very encouraging expausion of libraries during recent years. Funds for this purpose receive a Government subsidy, and it is money wisely spent. Frequently the collections have a'wide range. Beside works of such authors as Dickens, Thackory, Scott, and Dumas and adventure bo'oks, are volumes and periodicals which touch the fringes of science, works of biography and travel, and sometimes there is an encyclopaedia. Last week one book shop supplied over £IOO worht of books for country school libraries, the 'selection in each case being made by people of obvious literary judgment and taste.

There may be difference of opinion on the question of placing classics in these collections. If boys and girls will read them without undue compulsion, good and well, but the main ouject is to encourage the reading of stimulaitng, uplifting books of such literary merit that the children in later years will know what is trash. Very sound work in that direction is now being done in Auckland.