26 FEBRUARY 1960, Page 15

SIR,—May I say something in reply to Mr. Craig. An

'interest' in 'literature' gives no person the right to set himself up as a critic of any part of literature, and no critic can expect to be authoritative over more than a small specialised field: a disbelief in any par- ticular branch of literature clearly disqualifies the holder from anything but a personal prejudice of no critical value at all.

Many Scottish poets are turning to the long poem to get to grips with contemporary life, and in this they have the understanding of no less intelligent a writer than Mr. E. M. Forster, who has recently pointed out that this is an age, not for the novel, but the epic and dramatic poem.—Yours faithfully, TOM SCOTT 12 St. Vincent Street, Edinburgh