Robert Frost Gives Poetry Discussion

Robert Frost last night treated his hearers in the Adams House Common Room to whimsical discourse on what should be expected from poetry, and read several of his poems.

He remarked that poetry had made a circuit, from sensitivity to sensibility, to tenderness, and finally to humaneness. Here poets differ: some style themselves humanitarians, other anti-humanitarians. He described himself as a "case sympathizer."

Radical or Conservative

A question often raised by friends and antagonists is whether he is radical or conservative. Last night Mr. Frost with gentle satire hinted at the answer. For him, he explained, the question is not one of revolutions, but rather of deciding how wide one's sympathies should extend. Sympathy can be too sweeping, he affirmed, and warned that "perfection of anything breaks through to its opposite--what we have in Russia today."

The poet presented some of his less frequently delivered pieces, as well as such old favorites as "The Witch of Coos." A special selection was "The Death of the Hired Man," which he said had been inspired by "Piers Plowman." Also included were "Provide, Provide," "Spring Pools," "I Have Been Well Acquainted With The Night," "Paul's Wife," and several others.