Part 40 (2/2)

I have heard the wild geese, I have seen the leaves fall, There was frost last night On the garden wall.

It is gone to-day And I hear the wind call.

The wind? . . . That is all.

If the swallow will light When the evening is near; If the crane will not scream Like a soul in fear; I will think no more Of the dying year, And the wind, its seer.

Atropos. [John Myers O'Hara]

Atropos, dread One of the Three, Holding the thread Woven for me;

Grimly thy shears, Steely and bright, Menace the years Left for delight.

Grant it may chance, Just as they close, June may entrance Earth with the rose;

Reigning as though, Bliss to the breath, Endless and no Whisper of death.

Biographical Notes

[The format of these notes has been slightly altered. Most notably, dates (hopefully correct, but not entirely certain for the lesser known poets) have been added -- when available -- in square brackets after each name, and the number of entries for that author in this anthology is in parentheses.

In some cases there are several short poems under one entry.

These notes (first included in 1920, whereas the selections were made in 1919) combined with the searchability of electronic texts, renders the original Indexes of Authors and of First Lines obsolete, and so both have been dropped. Occasionally, relevant comments follow in angled brackets. -- A. L., 1998.]

Aiken, Conrad. [1889-1973] (3) Born at Savannah, Ga., Aug. 5, 1889. Received the degree of A.B.

from Harvard University in 1912 and in August of the same year married Miss Jessie McDonald, of Montreal, Canada. Mr. Aiken's first volume of poetry, ”Earth Triumphant”, was published in 1914, and has been followed by ”Turns and Movies”, 1916; ”Nocturne of Remembered Spring”, 1917; and ”The Charnel Rose”, 1918. Mr. Aiken is a keen and trenchant critic, as well as a poet, and his volume on the modern movement in poetry, ”Skepticisms”, is one of the finest and most stimulating contributions to the subject.

[Conrad Aiken won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1930 for ”Selected Poems”.

-- A. L., 1998.]

Akins, Zoe. [1886-1958] (1) <zoe”> Born at Humansville, Mo., Oct. 30, 1886. Educated at home and at Monticello Seminary, G.o.dfrey, Ill. Miss Akins began her literary work by contributing poems and critical articles to 'Reedy's Mirror', St. Louis, and in 1911 published her volume of poems, ”Interpretations”. The drama, however, soon began to absorb her, and she has had several plays produced, including ”The Magical City”, ”Papa”, a comedy, and ”Decla.s.se”, which won a great success with Ethel Barrymore in the leading role.

</zoe”>

<script>