The Egoist, April 15 1914

Leigh Henry begins (I think--I half-remember something like this before) a series called "Liberations: Studies of Individuality in Contemporary Music" with a piece on the music of Francesco Balila Pratella. Henry's essay begins, suitably enough, as a manifesto, delineating the different conditions of life that call for a new kind of artist: "With the discoveries of science and the invention and perfection of new types of mechanism, the external aspect of life has undergone a complete change, and this has naturally caused a corresponding alteration in the mental standpoint of the artist" (147). Perhaps in rebuke to some of the other authors in The Egoist, Henry joins the Futurist camp by also explicitly stating that ancient wisdom no longer applies in this new world. "Liberations" isn't the first time that Futurism has cropped up in my readings in these periodicals, but it is the first time that the genre of Futurist manifesto has been ported so perfectly (though ironically also a review). There's a focus on the value of materials over the human values, of science over emotion, of provisional intellectual constructions over monumental constructions--the last being my favorite characterization of Futurist art from the piece: "not the erection of useless monuments destined to obstruct the progress of the future, but the construction of light and effective edifices which, serving a material purpose, shall remain standing only until some superior form be discovered." Henry praises Pratella for his virile exuberance, unflinching individualism, etc. etc., and it all fits as a nice parallel theme to the general arc of The Egoist. 

From the correspondence pages:

The feud with Stephen Byington continues, as the former contributor keeps talking past-and-through his former editors. There's a neat formulation of anti-Platonic egoism in the editors' response: "The influence of the Platonic Idea has increased and is increasing : and we consider it our business and pleasure as far as we are able to resist it" (157). This in the context of The Egoist's dislike of abstract terms that define reality, and as counter to Byington's point that Descartes' idea of "idea" has supplanted Plato's in modern usage.

Aldington gets called out by Amliea Dorothy Defries, who seems to be quite formidable. You may recall that she wrote to him about the "Divine Origin" of art three issues ago. Aldington was nasty and imagist in his response. While her efforts to cut him down to size have mixed, though eloquent, results, I will include her analysis of imagism for its value as a contemporary critique:

He must know, too, that great poets are not the only people who are exact. Every scientist, great and small ; all architects, even builders ; and all engineers—even plumbers, are exact. Every mathematician, all financiers, every decently successful man of business, even shopkeepers are exact... These may all be great poets, but if they are it is not because of their exactness. Nor can the giving of " emotions, experiences, observations in exact phraseology " make them into artists: Technique ALONE is not art, an obvious truth that our eager people of the younger generation so nearly forget: and Mr. Aldington too truly bares their thin soul for us when he gives them, and himself, away, saying " The difficulty—the real problem for the artist—is to present the exact emotion, the exact vision, the exact Image." This is all very well, if I may take it for granted that he is allowing for the emotion, the vision, the image being greatly conceived, in the first place.

You may, reader, see where she's going to take this: the greatly conceived art work must come from somewhere, something she considers divine and Mother Natural. She defends the Victorians scorned by Aldington, pointing out (correctly) that both she and Aldington are in part Victorian. I found it difficult to learn anything about her, but Devries went on to write some kind of biography of Patrick Geddes, and Tagore wrote the preface. Further, she became an art historian, traveler, architectural critic, and, intriguingly, author of a handbook on the cultivation of mushrooms. I'll look forward to Aldington's reply, if he deigns to do so. The knot of Pratella, Aldington, and Defries is just beautiful.

Quick Notes:

The weekly "Views and Comments" is all about politics today. Perhaps most interestingly, the author (Marsden or Weaver, I assume) predicts, though satirically, that politics as creative entertainment will become increasingly important.

Portrait of the Artist continues with the passage in which Stephen tells on the vicious prefect.

I didn't comment on the first installment of "Memoirs of a Charming Person" by one "M. de V-M" from the last issue, but this was too cool to miss. A mysterious count, an occult sage, explains that each of the four elements has its corresponding kind of spirit. With natural processes (nothing satanic), one can come to know these creatures, the gnomes, sylphs, nymphs, and salamanders. Once you can see them and talk to them, you'll be mobbed by potential suitors from the spirit world because they attain immortality by mating with a human.