"LOTS OF POETRY"
Sir-I am in the Labit of making allowances for the waggish ways of The Listener, Often it offers me material well worth adult notice, and if it chooses to convey it in baby talk, that is an idiosyncrasy which may irritate but does not altogether repel, But baby talk has its limitations, The page and a-half of inelegant horseplay entitled "Lots of Poetry" is an example. It saddened me the more, in that the judgments on these verse publications, weeded out from the mess of facetious by-play, the knowing winks, the girlish mincings, appear to be fairly well considered. These judgments could, I suggest, have been put, quite concisely and readably, in one column of -your space, if not less. The rest is tedious, tasteless, a stupid affront to those who sent you publications ‘to review. A paper such as the New Yorker which is more often than not really funny, knows how to handle its. reviews. Clearly, one must think twice before counting The Listener a responsible paper in this respect. Guy poetry by all means: it amuses you and others, and hurts no one, But don’t do it under prettence of reviewing, There’s no argument, really. Either you see this, or you don't. And if you did, you would not have printed "Lots of Poetry." ALLEN CURNOW (Christchurch). {A very slight capacity to take himself less seriously would have saved our correspondent from such solemn nonsense. Either he can see that or he can’t. But why shout out that he, can’t? -Ed.]
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/NZLIST19450622.2.13.1
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 13, Issue 313, 22 June 1945, Page 5
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257"LOTS OF POETRY" New Zealand Listener, Volume 13, Issue 313, 22 June 1945, Page 5
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Copyright in the work University Entrance by Janet Frame (credited as J.F., 22 March 1946, page 18), is owned by the Janet Frame Literary Trust. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise this article and make it available online as part of this digitised version of the New Zealand Listener. You can search, browse, and print this article for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from the Janet Frame Literary Trust for any other use.
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