500 THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 
women fragments of whose work has gone to the making of poetic 
literature, and whose lines are suited to refine our sensibilities and - 
ennoble our moods. A number of representative collections have been 
brought together. While these may not have indicated the possession 
on our part of any special degree of the schooling of technical under- 
standing or of the culture of artistic restraint, they at least proclaim 
us as having a willing and a singing heart. Of the publication among 
us of individual volumes there has been no end. But these volumes 
for the most part have worked against rather than in favour of the 
awakening of that creative and imaginative life for which this writing 
pleads. They have not been authentic poetry even by the kindly 
test of these pages. They have most often been an untutored display 
of unschooled moods which has led the “Saturday Night” to exclaim 
“Poor Mary!” or “Poor Willie!” as the case might require. Mr. 
Stringer it is true, gave usa preface to his last volume “Open Water.” 
That is a good thing. It indicates that we are beginning to think 
about our verse making. Both people and poets among us are, 
consciously or unconsciously, forming an ideal for the poet and honour- 
ing his function sufficiently to make demands upon it. This fact 
may seem to be discredited by. the daily appearance of poor work 
upon the editorial pages of certain: of our newspapers, but, examined 
closely, there are gleams of hope apparent even in that. From time 
to time there is at least sincere rapture and real passion. That is 
promising. I think the day of the long artistically wrought poem 
will return because interest in the long poem will return. Interest 
in the written poem for the sake of its high function, its power to 
extricate and reveal and express the poetry of life will come again. 
The people are going to discover in themselves during these passionate 
days of the world’s life a stirring of the spirit and a desire for poetry, 
an uninstructed and misguided desire with unfortunate and inadequate 
definitions of poetry it may be, but nevertheless a real desire and one 
gradually to be tempered by schooling and culture. That will 
react upon our poets. Whitman says: 
“To have great poets 
there must be great audiences too.” 
There is truth in it. 
