Literature
Daily hansan
Literature
58th Year, No. 125 SECTION B
LAWRENCE, KANSAS
Friday, April 21, 1961
BACK INTO YOUR CELLS—As far as we know this is a typical campus scene of KU students
strolling to class. We don't know what the man with the pistol on his hip is doing there.
Student Calls Conservatism A 'Dynamic, Driving Force'
By Bob Thomas
Conservatism on the college campus is a dynamic, driving force. No more can the "conservative" be characterized as a stodgy old man with a cigar and a single statement, "I'm agin it." Conservatism is a youthful movement of reasoned principles and ideals.
Ample proof of this was found this weekend at the convention of the Midwest Federation of College Young Republicans' meeting in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Federation has members from Oklahoma to North Dakota, from Nebraska to Michigan.
THROUGHOUT the convention I talked to leaders of the conservative movement and to the delegates themselves. All sorts of opinions were represented there; the convention itself was split along self-styled "liberal" and "conservative" lines. But actually this split was between "liberal-conservatives" and "conservative-conservatives." As John Kolbe, chairman of the party philosophy committee of the convention, said, "We differ mainly in the means to common ends."
What is conservatism as these young men and women see it? For the most part these young people ascribe to the general views of such people as Senator Goldwater and Congressman Bruce of Indiana. Here is a quote from the party philosophy plank of the platform adopted, "We believe that man possesses inalienable rights, which are not derived from government, but from God. We
affirm that the only proper function of government therefore, is to provide justice, to ensure internal order, and to ensure national security."
In order to see how this is applied, here are some excerpts from some of the planks of the platform. Labor.
UDK Literary Section
We support state right-to-work laws.
We believe that minimum wage laws should be repealed and that the federal government should stay out of this area. Education
We advocate indirect aids to education and not direct national support. Farm Policy
We call for the government to get out of price supports within fifteen years.
We advocate putting the farmer gradually back on the free enterprise system.
The term "creative arts" covers a lot of ground. What we mean by this is that the Kansan will be delighted to print anything that reflects man (and woman) thinking.
—Foreign Policy
We take this to mean anything from the fine art of politics to satire, parody and spoof. Surely there is someone out there who has suffered through Faulkner's prose or whose enthusiasm for Hemingway has turned to disgust. Revenge is yours in this supplement.
The Kansan hopes that this will be the first in a series of supplements which will reflect the work of students, staff and faculty members in the creative arts. This tentative first step is offered in the hope it will stimulate students and others to submit material for publication.
We advocate moving the UN from New York to Geneva.
We endorse the Connally amendment.
BUT. WHILE these views were supported by the majority of the convention, there was definite opposition to them. And, not all the platform was extremely conservative. The civil rights plank endorsed "calm, deliberate student action" in assuring "equal opportunities for all Americans." The foreign policy plank also condemned apartheid in South Africa and endorsed the Peace Corps.
A delegate from the University of Detroit said, "I just can't go along with some of the things we've passed; they're almost reactionary." Another from the University of Minnesota stated that he believed the conservatives were going too far. "If we want to remain a national power, we must support the views of Gov. Rockefeller and not Goldwater."
The more "rightist" type of conservatism seemed to be the order of the day, however.
JOHN KOLBE, Northwestern U. is one of the most articulate spokes- (Continued on page 12)
(Continued on page 12)
KU Poet Crusades For Modern Poetry
By John Peterson
A KU English instructor who is both a poet and editor is crusading for the recognition of modern poetry which has character, backbone and meaning to dispell today's illusion that poetry, with its deep personal mysticism, is "oral diarrhea."
H. M. Hershberger is the editor of "The West Poet, a quality semi-annual poetry publication." The young poet introduced his poetry to the campus last week at Poetry Hour to an overflow audience.
Mr. Hershberger has led an adventurous life which he feels helps his poetic range considerably. Indicative of this are the numerous jobs that he has held—television newscaster, warehouse steedore, Marine corps combat correspondent in Korea, arctic survival instructor, mountain guide in the Sangre de Cristo mountains of New Mexico, reporter, and ditch digger.
"THE WESTERN POET" is dedicated to fostering the growth and spirit of poetry and has attracted most of the major poets now writing in America. The purpose of the journal is to give some voice to the new poetry being written, Mr. Hershberger said.
He feels that the journal will fill a void that has existed in the past.
"The journal is designed, both in format and content, to be a collector's item. We hope to be the first step up the ladder for a lot of new poets. It is our intention to make whatever efforts we are able to make towards dispelling the clouds of critical obscurantism which envelop modern poetry.
'MODERN POETRY' as a term is the most abused and least understood term of our literary time. The self-styled critical guardians of poetry today have done poetry an almost irreparable harm by making the poetry reading public think there are meaningful poetic statements lurking in the contrived morass that masquerades as poetry.'
Mr. Hershberger said that the poets who adhere to the miserable standards promulgated by these critics are equally to blame.
"They are, and they know they
are, prostituting a beautiful art, an art which is flourishing despite these bastardly attempts to foist an 'official-academic-critical' poetry upon us. The only thing the new, young poetry needs is a voice, a voice that, when it comes, will dispel the illusion.
"This illusion is that poetry is manufactured by a genius who plumbs his mystical depths for a personal mysticism of religion upon which to found his texts of oral diarrhea. Poetry today is thrust upon the public not in poems but in acres of bleak footnotes and volumes of explanation which are even more obscure than the poetry they try to defend.
"MODERN CRITICISM is the most flourishing case of apologetics the world has ever seen. Any art, be it music, painting, or poetry, that needs to be explained to an adult audience is dead. Not sick, dead. It should be carted off before the rest of the body is infected."
The English instructor said that "The Western Poet" hopes to present the vital poetry of today which speaks for itself. He said that there is "no official academic, voice boosting or boasting it, nor critical exegesis designed to explain it. Because it is genuine it will be heard.
"THIS POETRY will take its place in our rich heritage of poetry, and it will be written by young poets who are bringing all their emotions, thoughts and experiences to bear upon the poetical statement. It is good, meaningful; it will, because it has character and backbone and meaning, drive the imposters out of the picture.
"Our biggest hope is that some well intentioned soul will not decide to kill off the poets by anthologizing them. We want this poetry to get out in the middle of the street and holler."
MR. HERSHBERGER indicated that "The Western Poet" is happy to receive manuscripts and urges that anyone who might be interested can query him about submitting to the magazine.
"We are eager to hear from poets (Continued on page 11)
American Studies Magazine Now On Sale at the Union Book Store
By Janet Bramel
The Spring 1961 issue of the American Studies magazine published at KU is now available in the Kansas Union Book Store. The price is 75 cents.
The Journal has been published at KU since the fall of 1959. Previously, it was put out at Park College under the name, "Bulletin of the CMVASA." It has readers across the nation and in many foreign countries, and its circulation includes more than 700 foreign and domestic libraries.
It now sports a redesigned cover on which its title — "Journal of the Central Mississippi Valley American Studies Association" — takes up about a third of the space.
"YES, IT'S A cumbersome title," Stuart Levine, English instructor and editor of the Journal, said, "though it does not seem to have hurt us. Scholars often refer to professional magazines by initial, and our readers have been taking our initials — CMVASA and pronouncing them 'cumvasa.'"
This is the third issue of the Journal, which is sponsored jointly by the University and the regional chapter of the American Studies Association.
"The lead article is a major contribution to our understanding of Stephen Crane. It corrects a lot of misconceptions about Crane, but it doesn't over-correct," Mr. Levine said.
The author is Robert W. Schneider of the College of Wooster, who according to Mr. Levine, "isn't out to debunk; he just wants a clear-headed view." He says in effect, "Sure, Crane was a rebel, but he was also religiously-oriented, an American, and a man of his time."
IN "AN IDEA of Female Superiority," Norton Mezvinsky of the University of Michigan discusses the history of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. He points out that from the inception of the organization in 1874 it was more than a temperance league. It supported other reforms as well, and its members believed quite literally that women were innately superior to men. When it dropped its other goals in the 1920's, and became simply a prohibition organization, it was already in decline.
The issue also contains a survey of "Naturalism in Farm Fiction" by Roy W. Meyer of Mankato State College, and a philosophical discussion of the rights and limitations of the
artist, the scientist and the historian, by C. Stanley Urban of Park College.
From Robert Partin of Auburn University comes a paper on trends in twentieth century biography, and from Harold Orel, an assistant professor in the KU English department, an article on "Raymond Chandler's Last Novel: Some Observations on the 'Private Eye' Tradition." Henry Bertram Hill of the University of Wisconsin and Larry Gara of Grove City College have translated comments on musical life in nineteenth century America written by the French composer and pianist Henri Herz.
Finally, there is an essay on how pressure from the Italian Government contributed to making "A Farewell to Arms" such a poor motion picture. This is by Mordeckai Marcus of Purdue, formerly of KU.
ASKED ABOUT plans for the "cumvasa" Journal, Mr. Levine said that the "glorious" title would have to go, because the group which sponsors the magazine has changed its name to "Midcontinent American Studies Association." So, starting with the Spring, 1962 issue, the name will be Midcontinent American Studies Journal.
(Continued on page 3)