Never Fear

The Editorial is devoted solely to the Conscription issue. It is a statement of attitude rather than a reasoned case, and while no doubt many "Hilltop" readers will agree with it, few others, I imagine, will be convinced unless their sympathy already lies with "peace-at-all-cost-makers. It is as well that the initial nervousness felt by the Editorial committee in writing "an apparently political editorial" was overcome. No contemporary literary paper can hope to survive unless it is prepared to recognise that virtually every significant human problem is either manifest in politics, or has some political implication.

"Hilltop" has printed a talk by Peter Munz previously given at VUC on "An Idea of History." This is a well-argued case for a positive suplicism with the concomitant values said to arise oue of such a faith. Two other talks are also printed. James K. Baxter's article on "Why Writers Stop Writing," good as far as it goes, is brief and fragmentary; the same may be said to a less extent for the extracts from Professor Miles' talk on Hopkins. Either article could have been elaborated so as to preserve something more than a mere outline. Space, of course, sets definite limitations, but as a matter of policy it would seem preferable for the editor to print longer articles in full, and less of them if need be.

Glow and Glitter

The real life and soul of this number of "Hilltop" lies with the work of the poets. Of it all I find the poem "Seagulls among the Mountains" by Charles Brasch the most attractive, though Baxter's sonnets, particularly "Sea-Change," are remarkably good. Their underlying technical excellence gives them a sense of ease which greatly enhances their intrinsic worth. In each of Campbell's three poems one finds that individual words seem to assume an especially sense. There is a gemlike quality about much of his poetry which marks him off from any other New Zealand poet whose work I know; some others glitter but few glow with the peculiar beauty which makes this distinctive.

Pat Wilson's long "Views of History" occupies seven pages and for the most part is sustained fairly well. His frequent naive style is suspended here chiefly on pure whims.

The poem's justification lies mostly with the fertility of the poet's imagination. Hubert Witheford's' poems I found at times rather diffuse—perhaps because of much of his imagery is rather more subtle than the others. Arthur Barker's translations of Ronsard, while suffering from the dehydrated symptoms common to almost all English translators of alien verse, are nevertheless very pleasant.

Lively and Virile

The short short-story is perhaps one of the most difficult literary forms. Brian Sutton-Smith's "Before the Jubilee" is convincingly written, but relies for its point on the all-too-common "kick" ending. Such stories delegate greatest significance to the particular "situation" rather than the people who comprise it. To the extent that this is so I find the story lacking. Barbara Thompson's note on the marionette theatre is refreshing.

The overall impression that this number of "Hilltop" gives is one of liveliness and virility. Scruplous editing is essential if a young paper of this nature is to survive and take shape. One would like to think that here is something more than a momentary flash in the literary pan, to be extinguished when the present burst of enthusiasm dies. Is there something more enduring at the source than just enthusiasm? This number would lead one to suspect that conceivably there is.

In conclusion, a word for the printers. Little fault could be found with the type and setting, indeed, compared with the first number it is a transformation.