Active Literary Society

There are four study groups which deal with these topics—the poetry of William Blake, the prose of the last decade, New Zealand poetry, and Elizabethan drama. People interested in these subjects should contact Pat Wilson, Erik Schwimmer, Bill Oliver or Elizabeth Millward (respectively). The Drama Group meets on a Sunday afternoon, beginning at 4.30 p.m. and proceeding with reading and discussion until a conclusion is reached. Ben Jonson's "Bartholomew Fair" will be dealt with next, on Sunday. June 29. At the first meeting of the Blake Group it was decided to deal with his works as philosophy as well as literature. The "Poetical Sketches" has been so dealt with, and the second meeting, the "Songs of Innocence and Experience, the "Miscellaneous Poems" and the "Book of Thiel" were studied. The next meeting will be held on July 10. and will discuss the "Marginalia to Swedenborg" and to Lavater's aphorisms, and the miscellaneous prose. The first meeting of the Prose Group was concerned mainly with definitions and the second with Greene's "The Power and the Glory." as this novel seems to lead up to the current Parisian philosophical distinction—"existentialism," an Illustrative reading of Sartre's play "In Camera" is planned. The N.Z. Poetry Group Is spending every second Monday evening on a specific poet—so far R. A. K. Mason, Ursula Bethell and Allen Curnow have been discussed. In most people tiara study is a revelation, and those it is who have a previous knowledge of the subject have helped greatly. On Monday, June 30, the next meeting will be held, with the works of Robin Hyde for subject matter.

Since the inaugural meeting only one general meeting has been held, when Professor Gordon ably discussed the writings of Katherine Mansfield, the biographies and other sources of knowledge in her life. On Monday, June 30, the second general meeting will be held, when Mr. James Bertram will speak on the poetry of W. H. Auden. Both, the speaker and the subject should be of great interest to students, and a successful meeting is expected.

The less satisfactory side of the Society's activities was revealed by a meeting held for the sole purpose of criticising material in the Broadsheet. The small attendance can be partially accounted for by the failure to circulate the Broadsheet sufficiently, but not entirely. Those present were vigorous enough in their criticism, but three times the attendance would have been desirable. To train the faculty of criticism is an essential part of the Society's business, without which the study groups and talks will be valueless, and if this can be done with locally-produced work, both writer and reader will profit. Another issue of the Broadsheet will be forthcoming in July, and a meeting will follow, in the hope that a more lively response will be the result.

So far things have been going pretty well, but there is room for more people in all activities. The Society alms at reaching as many students as possible.