Page:Our Poets of Today (1918).djvu/43

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OUR POETS OF TODAY
7

constant exercise. It was a discouraging struggle, for she was her only critic, but to this fact is undoubtedly due much of her individuality and excellence."

Miss Lowell's first published poem appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, and in 1912, "A Dome of Many-Coloured Glass" was issued. "Sword Blades and Poppy Seed" followed in the spring of 1913, and here was demonstrated the natural growth of the tendencies shown in the first volume for free verse, together with sonnets, pictorial pieces and lyrics; long narratives, bits of imagery and our earliest specimens of "polyphonic prose."

Critical essays came with the publication of "Six French Poets," an authoritative volume and one of the finest pieces of writing that we have on French poetry.

"Men, Women and Ghosts" followed in 1916, developing more strongly but with the same fineness and sureness of the master poet, polyphonic prose. The fifth book to come from Miss Lowell's pen, "Tendencies in Modern American Poetry," is an expression of her ideas in separating the wheat from the chaff in our modern American poetry. This was published in October, 1917. "Can Grande's Castle," impressively beautiful, was published early in the fall of 1918.

Amy Lowell writes with a vigorous hand, simple in style, but with potent meaning. In the following lines from "A Bather" something may be judged of her ability as a chooser of words, of a talent for appeal to the senses in poetry that has few equals:

Thick dappled by circles of sunshine and fluttering shade,
Your bright, naked body advances, blown over by leaves,