No. 1—How to Write a Christmas Poem many seeders cing of correspond: ence about the jolly cld Navy the errant golf ball, might like to; tht fon he commotion of entre foci thane terete fen cocmsitioned, at grant erases (of admonitory persuasion) to de:
ibe how the thing is done, and thi exclusively for the benefit of those Sere tao, Tims Know wil slcody have bad tha Cheitmes poem' "returned with one Wow putin a nutshell the mat ten ae ump aT foclna uty can etuanecinarty api" alt onnoede Wan edt kmh of "expressing the rec soechatte Taeruenes, The] more seislen tke "nnguage the Bae the bonn then, by coneiving an idea, something appropriate and sectenais Ie an sag you dene be excessively daring, the select-onan aeat of "Chetmas nol, of course One recalls that Dickens ing of Chimes will be to cal jupon the auditor to listen). Hence, you soundly begi "Hark! Listen! List!...
'This, you may say, is tautological repetition. Even so, it serves to Jarrest the reader's' attention and judiciously prepares him for what is about to follow (which is the office of all preparatory effort), and you proceed. Completion of the stanza, a8 will immediately be shown, is, quite simply achieved; for, having headed your poem "The Chimes, and having called upon your reader to hearken, it would be the very soul of bungling to suggest, he should listen to, say, a shroff cline ing a doubtful dollar against a bad" tone, So here's your first line, com= plete in the pristine splendour of your poetic novitiate:
"Hark! Listen! List! The Christmas Chimes...
"Well," the Student will mext me fquire, What about it? What next A most pertinent question, for your next line conceivably might, be tone of those breath-taking, mortal things poets sometimes off, But this being your maiden effort, Pegasus must be reined in ttle." Let Shakespeare stand where he did and content yourself with musically informing the reader that the Christmas Chimes.
"Pall softly on the ear."
The announcement may not, per= haps appeal with irresistible charm to an occupant of the K."** EH H.t*# who finds himself incontinently roused by the neighbouring steeple music after a hectic Christmas Eve, But Jet it stand. Tt is a "line," and in achieving it you have complied with one of the frst principles of verse making.
And #0 you so on.
And on Remembering:
it's the fivat stop that counts, This you have been shown how to take with coco, with elegance, if not with positive clan.
But, for the love of Mike and the largest circulation, do not step too far. We are not giving away a motor-car for the first 100 Votes, or rather, Verses, sent in, (Note: Delivery of the second eeture has been adjourned sine dia
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.