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[Letter] 1910 April 26, Twickenham [to] Mr. Markham

GriersonF14a

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Title	[Letter] 1910 April 26, Twickenham [to] Mr. Markham
Creator	Grierson, Francis, 1848-1927
Subject 1	Herron, George Davis, 1862-1925
Subject 2	Sinclair, Upton, 1878-1968
Subject 3	Poetry Society of America
Subject 4	Culture, politics, and social theory
Description	Grierson writes to Markham about an array of topics including various social issues and the financial independence of writers and poets and how it restrains them from criticizing certain men and writing about certain topics.
Full Text	11 Cambridge Parade Twickenham, April 26th 1910 Dear Mr. Markham, As I am not in the mood for writing my next New Age article, I shall now send you a line, having, this morning received your letter of the 19th night. I am glad you sent me that literary portion of the American containing your most interesting review of Mrs. Cox’s remarkable book which makes one wish to read it and to know the woman. She is even a rarer mortal than some would suppose. A woman who refuses to be humbugged!!! Never did literature need such writers more than at present especially in America, where cheap optimism almost rules in all the camps. I hope her book will have the public it deserves. Were it not that America contains men and women who know the difference between reality and make-believe serious minds would think long before deciding to tackle a landing in New York, even for a brief visit. And yet, when certain things have to be done, one can only do them sur place and in person. Five minutes talk often does more than all the books and letters ever written. Here in London I have held myself almost as a recluse for the past fifteen years, until Mr. Orage and The New Age have, in a measure forced, me to show myself here and there, once a week to his friends and certain contributors; but I am not in love with the cities and the hurrying crowds and the hustling Reportorial news gatherer and would do anything to avoid the interviewer. Properly speaking we do not have them in London, excepting for actors and politicians, and London is a place where one can remain silent and obscure just as long as one pleases and that is a great mercy. I learn with satisfaction the news that you are founding a Poetry Society. It is a happy inspiration. Of course it will flourish so long as the literary snob does not creep in and take control. The highly respectable American with his immoral Puritanism is infinitely worse than our respectable hypocrit. Fear most three things: Puritanism, bohemianism, and snobbery. I succeeded in writing my Santa Croce essay before I left Florence but the weather was both cold and wet beyond anyones belief and I was very glad to get back after a two months visit. Mr. Herron I see has written an article on Roosevelt for the New Age, but it seems to me such an article leaves Roosevelt in the same place where he was before. I do not see any use in attacks on men who occupy a place of power in that sense for they continue to occupy their place just as long as conditions and circumstances favor their personality. And besides this it is useless to attack millionaires and others in a personal way, such attacks always rebounding. And further, poets and thinkers who have their own work to do cannot do that work and engage in personal squabbles, etc., etc. Mr. Herron possesses plenty of financial means to leave him perfectly independent to write what and how he pleases, but hundreds of brilliant and gifted artists and writers are not independent in that sense and these are wise in thinking twice before attacking what they cannot change. For myself I try my best to avoid the futile. I see Mr. Upton Sinclair has got out a printed slip addressed to writers everywhere asking for opinions on a very grave problem. He has sent me a copy but I cannot write on that subject; it would require too much and many details and it is a question which would be likes to offend the dignity of sensitive minds in more ways than one. I am still in some doubt as to my movements next month. With best greetings, Francis Grierson
Date-Original	1910-04-26
Type	Text
Format	image/jpeg
Language	eng
Date-Digital	2009
Identifier	Grierson14
Source	Edwin Markham Archive, Horrmann Library
Rights	Please contact the Horrmann Library at Wagner College for rights to use this digital image.
Contributing Institution	Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
Digitization Specifications	IBM ThinkCentre Intel Pentium 4 3.06GHz running Windows XP Professional Version 2 Service Pack 2; Epson Expression 10000XL scanner; Master Scanner Settings: 24-bit RGB, 400 dpi resolution; File Format: TIFF; Compression: none; Reference Images resized and converted with Adobe Photoshop CS2 version 9.0.2: 8-bit RGB; 400 ppi resolution; Compressed jpeg.

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[Letter] 1910 April 26, Twickenham [to] Mr. Markham

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[Letter] 1910 April 26, Twickenham [to] Mr. Markham

[Letter] 1910 April 26, Twickenham [to] Mr. Markham