Letters, Jun. 10, 1935

Benét on Auslander

Sirs:

I am not in the habit of writing "letters to the editor," but the whole tone of the review of Joseph Auslander's latest book of poems, No Traveller Returns, on p. 80 of your May 27 issue, strikes me as so sneering and uncritical in the best sense, that I feel I must protest. After all, I have been following American poetry for years, and should know just a little of what I am talking about. In the first place, to single out any one poet to whom to apply the title "Poetaster," is letting prejudice override fairness entirely. In the second place, to apply that term to such a poet as Joseph Auslander is the height of the ridiculous. . . . The great majority of us are minor poets, but "poetaster," by definition, implies the accusation of "paltry," which, in its turn, is a sneer.

I happen to admire Mr. Auslander's work very much indeed. On that point opinions may differ, as they differ in regard to every writer. But certainly his work is head and shoulders above the rank and file of those writing verse in this country. Moreover, he has preserved both honesty of intention and vigorous independence as a craftsman. Yet to your many readers he is presented almost in the role of a charlatan. . .

Mr. Auslander's chief claim to "newspaper fame," may be that his wife has just won the Pulitzer Prize. That is, however, not by a league his chief claim to fame in the minds of those who have followed American poetry for years and have its best interests at heart. His chief claim to fame lies in his own work—and I say this as one who has just written a short prefatory note to the new edition of Miss Wurdemann's Bright Ambush. . . . Such as that Mr. Auslander is "a lyric, not to say a complaining, poet" is to me an entirely uncalled-for, not to say an utterly unmeaning line. I could cite complaint, as your critic understands the term—or appears to understand it—in every fine poet since and including Shakespeare. Any adverse comment on existence might be so cited as a "complaint." The "complaint" in Dante and in Milton must indeed be enormous! The whole thing is laughable, if it were not so unjust. . . . And why all this stuff about the Pulitzer Prize? It seems very petty in the face of Mr. Auslander's own indifference. Plenty of poets have been writing for years, and writing well. Mr. Robinson Jeffers has been writing for years and writing well, and no Committee has ever given him the Pulitzer Prize. Do you suppose he cares?

The whole thing is to me distinctly shocking. You have a large circulation among plenty of people who only know of poetry what you tell them, and you have taken occasion to single out a particularly good poet for a casual, callous and uncritical pillorying. I happen to think that poetry is a higher form of writing than any other, and I honor any honest and able practitioner in the field.

WILLIAM ROSE BENÉT

Contributing Editor The Saturday Review of Literature New York City

Congratulations to Editor Benét for his spirited defense of a brother-poet.—ED.

Passenger's Report

Sirs: