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Page 1
I am quite aware of the danger attending such exacting honor-rolls. At
best, an editor's judgment is only personal, and the realization of this
fact gives me no small diffidence in attempting to decide what American
lyrics are best worthy of preservation. That every reader of the
"American Treasury" will find some favorite poem omitted, there can be
little doubt. But the effort made in this book towards a careful
estimate of our lyrical poetry is at any rate, I feel sure, in a good
direction.
There appear in the index of Mr. Stedman's "Poets of America" the names
of over three hundred native writers. American verse in the last half
century has been extraordinarily prolific. It would seem that the time
has come, in the course of our national literature, for proving all
things and holding fast that which is good.
The fact that the title of this compilation instantly calls to mind that
of Mr. Palgrave's scholarly collection of English lyrics need not prove
a disadvantage to the book if the purpose which led to the choice of
name is understood. The verse of a single century produced in a new
country should not be expected to equal the poetic wealth of an old and
intellectual nation. But if American poetry cannot hope to rival the
poetry of the mother country, it may at least be compared with it; and
the fact of such a comparative point of view will aid rather than hinder
the student of our native poetry in estimating its value.
American verse has suffered at the hands both of its admirers and its
enemies. Injudicious praise, no less than supercilious contempt, has
reacted unfavorably on the fame of our poets. Again and again has some
minor versifier been hailed as the "American Keats" or the "American
Burns." Really excellent poets, though distinctly poets of second rank,
have been elevated amid the blare of critical trumpets to the company of
Wordsworth and Milton. All this is unprofitable and silly. But not much
better is the attitude of certain critics who patronize everything in
the English language which has been written outside of England. Though
America has added--leaving Poe out of account--no distinctly new notes
to English poetry, it has added certainly not a few true ones. A nation
need never apologize for its literature when it has produced such
lyrics--to go no further--as "On a Bust of Dante," "Ichabod," "The
Chambered Nautilus," and the "Waterfowl."
My method of arrangement is roughly chronological. The First Book, which
is shorter than the others, might be called the book of Bryant; the
Second, of Longfellow; and the Third, of Aldrich. Since the periods must
of course overlap, this division of the poems can be at most only
suggestive.
I have made it no part of my design to grant to the better known poets a
larger number of lyrics than those given later and younger men. I have
paid no regard to that purely conventional idea of proportion, that
would assign to five or six writers a dozen selections each, and to
another set of poets, in proportion to their popular fame, half that
number. We can safely leave the final adjustment of all rival claims to
Time, the best critic; in the meanwhile having the more modest aim of
selecting, irrespective of contemporary judgments, whatever is best
suited to our purpose.
A word more should be said about the title. I have not interpreted the
term lyric so rigidly as to exclude sonnets, ballads, elegiac verse, or
even pieces of almost pure description. If I had held to the strictest
sense of lyric, this book would never have been compiled; for I suspect
nothing will strike the reader more forcibly than the fact that, despite
the excellence of the poems included, there is a notable lack of
unconsciousness--of pure singing quality. Such things as Pinkney's
"Health" and Holmes's "Old Ironsides" are the exception. The poems are
composed cleverly, but they do not quite sing themselves to their own
music. The best American verse, while not insincere, is seldom wholly
spontaneous. This is not saying that much spontaneous verse has not been
written in this country; much has been, but the singer's voice has too
often been uncultivated, and the product inartistic.
The names of many popular poets are entirely omitted. In no case,
however, was this probably due to oversight. I have gone over carefully
a wide field of verse, not without finding much to admire, but never
quite happening upon that final touch of successful achievement where
art and inspiration join. I am especially sorry to leave unrepresented
a writer--more imaginative, possibly, than any American poet except
Poe--whose utter contempt for technique in the ordinary sense places him
wholly outside my present purpose.
I wish to acknowledge various favors kindly shown by Professor C.T.
Winchester, Professor Barrett Wendell, and Mr. H.E. Scudder. Thanks are
also due Mr. T.B. Aldrich for the privilege of including the six poems
from his pen, which were kindly selected for the book by the poet
himself. The following firms deserve thanks for permitting the use of
copyrighted poems:
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