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John Peale Bishop

Author

The Discipline of Poetry

What is the relation of verse to poetry? What advantages can a poet at present hope to gain by accepting constraints which, however useful they may have proved in the past, are now mere conventions? Arbitrary they have always been; suddenly—though [...]

The Missing All

Allen Tate, in the first of his recent "Reactionary Essays," speaking of the tradition of Puritan theoc-racy as it was finally reflected in the poetry of Emily Dickinson, has this to say: "Socially, we may not like the New England idea [...]

The Golden Bough

Ayear or so after the war, there appeared in The New Republic a critical appraisal by Gilbert Murray of "The Golden Bough." Quite rightly the distinguished Greek scholar declared it one of the finest creations among contemporary letters. He [...]

The South and Tradition

It requires a certain temerity to approach the Southern tradition. And yet I do not think that many persons, except a few old ladies and Mr. Joseph Hergesheimer, are likely to lose themselves in moonlight on the wet lawns, lamenting the lost valor, o [...]