Vol. VI No. 1 - Modernist Magazines Project

THE BERMONDSEY BOOK
can give him is to publish three of his poems in this number of the
BERMONDSEY BOOK.]
As yours is one of the friendliest magazines that I have ever come across,
I thought that you might be kind enough to give me a little friendly advice.
If you can I will really be most grateful; if you can't, I won't be in any way
offended.
The position is this. I am seventeen and a half and have been doing my
best to write poetry for the last two years—not quite as a hobby or just an
amusement, but because I honestly hope to be able to write it well in the
future, and also it seems to me to be the most natural way of "letting off
steam" on any subject. I suppose thousands of people have felt the same,
carried on writing for a while, and then dropped it as they would golf or
tennis or any other game or hobby; but I feel that I can't and I really want
to make some progress in it.
But progress is impossible without criticism and it's criticism that I've so
far failed to get. One or two friends, of course, and the English masters at
school have helped me, and it has been very good of them to do so, but on
the whole they've simply said: "Oh, how nice," and left it at that.
Mr. Garrod, the Professor of Poetry at Oxford, showed one of my poems
to Humbert Wolfe when he lectured at Merton about a year ago; but he
gave no criticism except for writing me a small note (I thought it ripping
of him to take the trouble) saying that the technique of the piece was
quite good.
I have also sent pieces to magazines such as the Observer, Spectator and
Argosy, partly to try to get them into print, but mainly in the hope of getting
some criticism. They have all come back, of course, with varying swiftness,
but what is worse they have come back uncriticised, and I am still left in
the dark.
All this is probably the most self-centred trash that you've ever seen
written, and I'm sorry; but I'm going to impose on you still further. I have
enclosed a few of my short poems; do you think you could give me some
criticism of them? it would be a tremendous help to me and I should be most
sincerely grateful to you. If not, could you give me any suggestion of where
I could obtain such criticism?
To ask for a lot and give not a scrap in return must seem unfair to you;
but, as I said, I rely upon your friendliness.
Yours,
R. GITTINGS.
* * *
"HOUSES FOR NOTHING"
In these days of industrial depression and severe economic pressure, to
speak of getting a brand new house, with up-to-date bath-room, and electric
light, free of charge, sounds somewhat ridiculous, does it not?