Page:Poetry, a magazine of verse, Volume 7 (October 1915-March 1916).djvu/392

POETRY: A Magazine of Verse

America, the most opulent of nations, the most interested in the arts, the most anxious to excel, the most liberal, the most gracious!

This reflection is given off from my mind by two announcements which reach me this morning.

One of the DeGoncourt prizes has been awarded to M. Rene Benjamin, and the Prix Lasserre has been given to Charles le Goffic.

I need scarcely remind the reader that for some centuries Paris and London have been the centers of the world's literature. I believe I have pointed out as contributory causes to this effect the treatment accorded to writers in both cities. In England almost any writer of unusual talent who has not systematized and commercialized his production, can get support from the state: first, by pension for life; second, by temporary relief from a royal fund for that purpose. The pensions are announced publicly. The special donations from the royal fund are never published; they are known only to the recipient, to such people at he chooses to tell, and to the two literati of good standing who vouch for his desserts. Not only many of the best writers, but many of the of writers who later in life have made very great commercial successes, have enjoyed this bounty in bad seasons and times of stress (late and early).

For this reason it is more likely that a man will turn his thought toward permanent writing in England than in