Susurrous Objection

To the Editors of the CRIMSON

Re Mr. Smail's review of the Advocate in Tuesday's issue of the CRIMSON. It seems the smug Mr. Smail sees the reviewer Mr. Kaiser as too virtuosic to have much value in his criticism; he challenges Mr. Kaiser's right to use the phrase "the not-so-faint susurrus of hosannahs," which "makes a mockery of the English language." He recommends that Mr. Kaiser get a good dose of Fowler's "Modern English Usage." As it turns out it would seem that Ezra Pound, about whom the review was written, is the one who needs Fowler. (P.S. I am sure Mr. Pound would like nothing better than to receive a copy of "Modern English Usage.") If the not-so erudite Mr. Smail would care to read Mr. Pound's rather well-known poem, "Hugh Selwym Mauberly." Part II, "The Age Demanded," he would find these very words used by Pound in the line. "Lifting the faint susurrus Of his subjective hosannah." It is always pleasant to see a reviewer obviously unacquainted with poetry criticize a critic who is acquainted with poetry. First suggestion: let Mr. Smail read Pound before he starts to criticize people who know more about literature than he does. Michael Peirce '53

Mr. Peirce demonstrates a detailed knowledge of poetry that obviously qualifies him to write criticism for the Advocate, but he misses the point. the reviewer was not challenging Mr. Kalser's wide knowledge of poetry; the intelligence that the ghastly phrase in question comes from Pound does not change the issue. For all our "not-soerudite" reviewer knows the whole review may have been composed exclusively of quotations from Pound, all woven together.

But the fact that an obscure and ugly phrase happens to have been borrowed from Pound does not make it good writing. It would not be good writing even if the reading public were familiar with the Third Part of "Mauberly," which is not the case.