6 JUNE 1914, Page 27

The Spirit of Japanese Poetry. By Yone Nogucbi. (John Murray.

2s. net.)—The well-known Japanese poet, who here undertakes to interpret the spirit of his national Muse, thinks that English poetry has something to learn from Japan, where an austere brevity has long been in fashion. He holds that English poets waste too much energy in "words, words,

words "—in this being inferior to our novelists. It is always interesting to know the opinion of an accomplished foreigner, even if we take the liberty of disagreeing with it. Vauvenargnes, it may be remembered, observed, lea meilleurs auteurs portent trop.—Through the Torii. By Yone Noguchi. (Fain Mathews. 5s. net.)—These prose poems and fragments of criticism, written in a quaint exotic English, are well worth reading.