THE MODERNS
SiR.—I think that ordinary readers complain of the badness of modern poetry, not that it is too obscure or too difficult. The obscurity and difficulty arc usually due to the inefficiency of the poets. I wish Mr. Wain would give us what I am sure he is well qualified to do—an explanation of the decline of poetry from its greatness in the nineteenth century. Alterna- tively, if he does not accept that this decline is a fact, I wish he would tell us whether he really thinks that we now have anyone who reaches the level of what in past days would have been classed as a minor poet, and if so, why. Poets are always complaining that their books are not bought, but surely the explana- tion is that they are not worth buying. Almost anything seems to pass for poetry nowadays. —Yours faithfully.
• HECTOR MUNRO
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