[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.]
Sut,—Mr. .1. A. Spender's remark that " the one thing our young writers cannot stand is chaff " is interesting, if true, but I am .iirclirred to think that. there Are -other things which they dislike quite as much, and that it would be equally true (or false) to say that the one thing our older critics cannot stand is being asked to be serious for a moment.
In the prisent case, the effort to find a grain of sense in a bushel of chaff was worthwhile, and I thank Mr. Sassoon for trying to answer some of my questions. He repeats what we already know, that most of the older readers prefer lyrical poetry and Schubert, whereas the younger ones turn to more " metaphysical " poetry and, say, late Beethoven, -but he does not explain why this is so, or why each side tries to score points off the other. But I certainly found 'Mr. Sassoon's kindly and unamusing letter more interesting than his sprightly essay : fireworks are fun, but a farthing candle gives a better light for reading.—Yours truly,
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