OUR SHORT STORIES AND VERSE

New Zealand Listener, Volume 14, Issue 362, 31 May 1946, Page 5

OUR SHORT STORIES AND VERSE

Sir,-I agree with your correspondent W. Oliver that it is time The Listener printed better samples of poetic art. I cannot agree that either Hervey or Mulgan are leading lights but at least they make an attempt at rhythm and sense. The day of skeletal modernistic bits and pieces is done. T. S. Eliot is empty enough, but it is even worse to have to read the cynical and silly imitations of that emptiness in every magazine corner, There is no reason why The Listener shouldn’t publish real poetry; surely such a venture would not damage its journalism value? Sincere

writings always have a fightfal place and, where verse is ‘concerned, the genuine variety must be honoured again as minds become more evolved. Why are not real poets sought out-Douglas Stewart, Eileen Duggan, Charles Brasch, Bridgman, and one or two more-writers whose work is rarely seen out here now because there is no magazine, since Art in New Zealand degenerated, which has a cultural standard up to theirs?"

B. S.

BLACK

(Lower Hutt),

2YD PROGRAMMES Sir,-Please allow me to reply briefly to your correspondents "Homey & Co,," who in The Listener of May 17 cite several names of features from 2YD which, they claim, proves their assertion that this station’s programmes are mainly, or solely, of a rubbishy nature, Homey & Co. conveniently overlook the following items, regular features that have raised the artistic status of 2YD above the average: "Orchestral Nights," "Stars of the Concert Hall," "Hall of Fame," and the series of "Famous Composers" comprising the entire recorded output of Chopin (20 broadcasts), Mendelssohn (14), Sibelius (20), Grieg (18), with Schubert, Schumann, etc., still to come.

L. D.

AUSTIN

(Wellington).

Sir,-Mr. Austin is right. "Homey’s" condemnation of these programmes is more than wrong, it is unjust, because the people responsible for 2YD cannot answer accusations levelled at them, I am a constant listener to Station 2YD and sometimes eliminate programmes or sessions that do not suit my taste. But the rest I find good and interesting. Homey & Co. claim that from 3YA they hear such artists as Albert Schweitzer, E. Power Biggs, Edwin Fischer and Webster Booth, such composers as Handel, Bach, Franck and Tchaikovski. If they listened to 2YD

(which they obviously do not do) they would have heard programmes of Handel, Tchaikovski, Chopin, Berlioz, Mendelssohn, Vaughan Williams, Weber, Sullivan, Grieg, Sibelius, German, Elgar. In a programme called "Orchestral Nights" they would have heard major symphonic orchestras: American, Continental and English. They would have heard as guest artists the greatest names in the world of music. They would have heard the greatest operatic singers, and so on. Of course they would have heard Krazy Kapers too, but they are on YA stations as well-"KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT" (Seatoun).