And, first, as to Lanier's prose work. He has suffered from the fact
that so many of his unrevised works have been published;
these have their excuse for being in the light they throw on his life;
but otherwise some of them are disappointing. If, instead of
ten volumes of prose, there could be selected his best work
from all of them, there would still be a residue of writing
that would establish Lanier's place among the prose writers of America.
There is no better illustration of his development than that seen
in comparing his early prose -- the war letters and "Tiger Lilies",
for instance, or such essays as "Retrospects and Prospects" --
with that of his maturer years. I doubt if justice has been done
to Lanier's best style, its clearness, fluency, and eloquence.
It may be claimed without dispute that he was a rare good letter-writer;
perhaps only Lowell's letters are more interesting. The faults of his poetry
are not always seen in his best letters. In them there is a playfulness,
a richness of humor, an exuberance of spirits, animated talk
about himself and his work, and withal a distinct style, that ought
to keep them alive. There might be selected, too, a volume of essays,
including "From Bacon to Beethoven", "The Orchestra of To-Day",
"San Antonio de Bexar", "The Confederate Memorial Address",
"The New South", and others.
A volume of American Criticism, edited by Mr. William Morton Payne,
includes Lanier among the dozen best American critics,
giving a selection from the "English Novel" as a typical passage.
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