OXFORD POETRY
1921

The Editors of this year’s Oxford Poetry,the work of undergraduates who have been inresidence since the date of the last collection, haveattempted to make the volume more representativeof Poetry and less representative merely of Oxfordthan its predecessors. There is always at Oxford afashion in verse as much as in dress, and, to judgefrom the bulk of contributions submitted, this fashionhas not changed materially since last noted andrecorded in print. Mr Jones-Smith, of Balliol, stillwrites musically of brimming chalices, vermilionlips, chrysoprase, lotuses, arabesques and darklingspires against glimmering skies; Miss Smith-Jones,of Somerville, is equally faithful to her scarlet sins,beloved hearts, little clutching hands, little patteringfeet, rosaries, eternity, roundabouts, and glimmeringspires against darkling skies. Exclusionof these worn properties has given the fewer writersthan usual represented here, extended elbow room,and a chance of showing some individual capacityfor better or worse.

Most of the pieces have already appeared serially inThe London Mercury, The Spectator, The WestminsterGazette, The New Statesman, The Nation and Athenæum,The Observer, and the other leading literaryreviews.

For permission to use copyright poems, our thanksare due to Messrs Christophers, publishers of MrGolding’s ‘Shepherd Singing Ragtime,’ and toMessrs Sidgwick and Jackson, publishers of MrRickword’s new volume ‘Behind the Eyes.’