Modernist Magazines and Digital Humanities

The Irish periodical Dana was produced a total of twelve times in Dublin in the years 1904 and 1905, and was devoted to the discussion of an emerging and evolving Irish consciousness, as well as to relevant literature of the day.  There was no artwork and, although each issue featured the work of poets, the pieces included in Dana were primarily essays.  As is evident from the magazine’s pages, the cause of the Irish people subject to English imperialist power was particularly important and manifested itself often in discussions of national vs. racial identity and language.  Also regularly emphasized was the importance of open debate pertaining to these issues: billing itself as a magazine of independent thought, the authors included in Dana, such as Frederick Ryan, promoted rigorous discussion of various ideas to encourage this mission.  Another recurring theme, especially in Dana’s poetry, was the significance of nature.  While many articles dealt with the friction between the Irish and the English, nature poetry within Dana’s pages was ostensibly included to celebrate and glorify the bucolic lifestyle of the Irish people. 

Questions of national identity, particularly those pertaining to race, nationalism, and the Gaelic language were of great importance to the editors of Dana.  In his article “Mr. Wyndham on Race and Nationality,” which addresses the introductory speech of English political figure, and Chief Secretary for Ireland, George Wyndham upon his installation as Lord Rector of Glasgow University, P. John Boland criticizes the lack of national feeling among his fellow Irish.  While Wyndham encourages fealty to particular races (or "clans" such as it was within Ireland), Boland retorts that such a suggestion is merely the thinly veiled attempt of an English imperialist to weaken the resistance of nations, such as Ireland, against English imperialist rule.  "Pride of race," according to Boland only promotes in-fighting and division among the Irish, "forbid[ding them] to agree" (Dana 270) and this, the author maintains, is exactly what Wyndham wants: to “let [the Irish] forget that [they are] Irish, that such a place as Ireland exists!” and to instead remember that they belonged to the “great British Empire” (270).  Ultimately, Boland views “want of pride of nationality” as “the curse of “Ireland” (269).  He argues that the development of a national spirit as tantamount to the success of the Irish people, while pride of race can only degrade both the Irish cause and the character of the Irish themselves.  Boland concludes with an indictment of the Empire, as it interferes with the liberty of nations and their people.  He states his belief “That one race or nation should control the actions of any other race or nation is incompatible with the fundamental principles of liberty,” and expresses his hope, synchronous no doubt with his wishes for a nationalist pride movement in Ireland, that “the world will one day perceive what the few perceive,” and work to topple such a system (272).

Questions of Irish identity pertaining to language were also raised in the pages of Dana.  While many Irish strove to reinstate Gaelic as the official language spoken in Ireland, as it was symbolic of Irish cultural freedom from oppressive, imperialist England, others such as frequent Dana contributor Frederick Ryan, believed that the widespread usage of English in Ireland was not only inevitable but could be beneficial to its people.  In his article, "On Language and Political Ideals," Ryan references the economic and cultural freedom of the United States, despite the fact that “it has not a separate language” as a positive example for his cause (275).  He suggests that “theorising” about the language question distracts from a more important goal: namely, “the problem of how to create in Ireland a people, healthy, educated, cultured in the best sense, with sufficient material comfort, developing in their minds and their bodies to the end of maximising life, sensitive to intellectual and moral values, and conducting their life on lines of justice, and freedom, and good faith” (275).  While Ryan does not disparage Gaelic “as a proper and honoured study in any Irish university,” he imagines the effort to force its reinstatement as the national spoken language could be more costly than beneficial, as the influence of English in Ireland was already deep and far-reaching.  To attempt to reverse its effects would be unfairly disruptive to the real people of Ireland, whose lives were conducted already in English.  The author ultimately believes that a language which promotes any kind of “nationality” but does not serve the people of Ireland could only serve a symbolic, and not a practical, good.  A nationalist movement, according to Ryan, therefore, should be secondary to creating an Ireland which provides its people with the greatest opportunities for intellectual, cultural, and economic success.

In a time when Irish tempers flared, the editors of Dana strove to not indulge in sectarianism. They were, however, sympathetic to the nature of debate and ardently encouraged the practice. In another essay, “Criticism and Courage,” Frederick Ryan writes of the importance of discussing the political and religious implications of the times constructively and without fear. Tossing aside the idea that everyone is entitled to their own, quiet opinion, he attacks the government and the churches for trying to squash the discussion in public forums. His essay outlines the exact reasons that Dana magazine was important: it was, as their tagline suggests, a magazine of independent thought in a time when independent thought desperately needed examination.

Ryan begins with the discussion of a club meeting he attended, where they talked about the importance of independent thought in Ireland, but came to the conclusion that "one should have as few opinions as possible, and no expression of them at all," (145). Offended by not only the irony of the debate, but by the ridiculous idea that independent thought should mean independent to one’s self, Ryan goes on to criticize the tendency of religion and politics to try to avoid criticism. Believing that this stems from a fear of finding out that their ideas are wrong, he goes on to scrutinize the motives of the churches’ desire to stay within their lines. “The stage when Catholic and Protestant clergymen held public debates in the Rotunda on the merits of their respective creeds has long been passed. Doubtless it was realised that such performances were more likely to make Freethinkers than converts to either Catholicism or Protestantism,” he offers a third option for those struggling with sects in Ireland: Atheism (147). He suggests that Protestants and Catholics would prefer not to interfere with one another’s flock, lest their collective religious ideals be questioned in the same way that an individual would prefer not to discuss his ideas, lest he be questioned. In doing so he changes the nature of the religious dispute in Ireland, and furthermore the dispute of free thought in Ireland: it is not about church, it is about fear, and it is not about respect for opinions, it is about fear. This is about fear of change. He believes that England would prefer as little discussion as possible pertaining to politics in Ireland, hoping that national apathy would quell the desire of the thinking minority, and in essence stop causing so much trouble. It stands in their favor that people would want thought and solutions in theory, but adopt the philosophy that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, because this implies that nothing should change. But the nation of Ireland needed change more than they needed mutual respect at that point because, as Ryan puts it, “political progress must involve change in political ideals and beliefs,” and if historical hindsight has shown us anything it is that Ireland needed political progress at that time or else the issue of Irish unity would go unsolved for centuries (146).  Ryan concludes that we must not fear debate, we must not fear finding out that we are wrong because “never yet was progress possible without intellectual change, never yet did humanity advance a step without the breaking of old traditions and the discarding of old beliefs. (149)” This emphasis on debate and constructive discussion was a recurring theme throughout Dana’s short run in 1904 and 1905.  This is one reason that Dana magazine existed and is still important today: it provided a platform that had been taken away from a people that were on the verge of distinguishing themselves as a nation. It was not about picking a side, it was about arguing each side, and it did so beautifully.

Finally, the topic of nature, always in association with joy and love, is found often in the poetry of Dana, including a poem titled “Two Songs,” a love poem by Seumas O’Sullivan, and “A Sunday in July,” by Edward Dowden, as well as many others which appear throughout the magazine’s issues. The impartiality of nature, which the lover in O’Sullivan’s poem describes, is perhaps part of the subject’s appeal as a means of unification. The idealization of rural life is also evident in the repetition of nature-themed poems. Nature as a theme may appear disjointed from the political articles in the magazine; however, in a publication which strove to find solutions for political troubles, the inclusion of these idyllic poems may have offered a respite for the reader. “Two Songs,” uses images of nature abundantly to praise the addressee of the poem—while both expressing the insufficiency of words and affection, and promising that his adoration will never cease. The structure of the poem includes two parts, three stanzas each, described as per the title of the piece as “songs.” Within each song, the speaker compares his own powers of praise with those of nature; in the first, nature’s affections are described as more appropriate than the lover’s. It is only the sky’s silence and the grass’s rustling or gentleness that is thought by him to adequately resemble the depth of his love. In the second section, however, it is noted by the speaker of the poem that nature is fickle, and that his affection goes even beyond the perfectly appropriate praise given by nature to his lover. It is also in this second song that the phrase “white brow” is introduced, and repeated twice within the few stanzas, as though this pet name were repeated unconsciously as the man’s admiration of the woman is peaking, alongside his declaration that his love—a product of nature itself, one could say—is in fact more true and constant than the natural world. To say such a thing is indeed high praise for a culture in which rural life is of great value and beauty.

Despite its brief run, the twelve issues of Dana comprise a body of work aptly demonstrative of the magazine’s goal toward engendering independent thought.  By featuring the work of a variety of authors on both sides of key debates, especially those pertaining to Irish identity and the future of the Irish people, Dana is an important artifact of cultural and political climates in Ireland at the turn of the twentieth century.  Further, the commitment of the editors’ to promoting Irish literature is also significant, as it affords contemporary audiences a view, not only of specific literature from the era, but also of the effects rendered upon art and literature by those political and cultural debates so carefully considered by the magazine’s essayists, such as the significance of nature in a bucolic nation struggling to preserve its character under imperialist rule.
 

-Elsie Dwyer, Calgary Martin, and Abra Stokowski

The editor of The English Review, Ford Maddox Ford, seemed to always have an agenda on his mind when he published a magazine. For instance, if one would read the titles of the literary works and editorials on the index pages, one would get a sense of what the editor wanted to relate to the general audience. One example is the October issue of 1909 in which Ford tried to emphasize the negativity that was going on in the world around him by publishing works such as “Foreign Affairs,” "The Economic Aspects of Poor Law Reform," "The Policy of the Government,” “The Present Moment in Spain,” and a poem called “Town and Country.” After reading the different works in the magazine one can see how the editor felt about the world during that time period.

Beginning with the editorial portion of the magazine, the following articles discuss the social and/or political state of the world: “Foreign Affairs” by Sir Charles W. Dilke; “The Policy of Government” by M.P.; and “The Present State of Spain” by William T. Goode. The first article discusses the alliances that were made between the different countries before World War I. “It is difficult to defend our expressing for a cynical Europe official horror at the conduct of the Servians in the murder of their king and queen, and equally difficult to justify our joining Russia in a support of Servia, against Austria, too absolute for French concurrence.” (pg 497) The words “Triple Entente” appear in the article as well, signaling to a reader many years later that The Great War was looming. (pg 499) 

The next article speaks about all of the changes that the government is making in order to improve the social well being of the country. "There has been passed this summer, for example, a Bill for the regulation of the wages of labor by the State in certain trades." (pg 517) This article continues to speak about the changes and also possess some questions, "Can the State obtain that severe and arduous service which alone can render possible the continuance of the industrial supremacy of this country? And will it be able to attract, by what recompense it can offer, just those ambitious and alert men without whose guiding and driving force no particular industry can long survive?" (pg 523)

The last article by William T. Goode discusses exactly what the title suggests – the present moment in Spain. Goode traveled to throughout Spain to write this piece and he gives a great description of the physical state of Spain, “Barcelona may be tranquil, but it is the tranquility of a storm just passed, of which one does not feel sure that it will not break out again... Now, the ordinary business life of a great city mingles with the evidences of a desperate struggle, so fresh it might have been yesterday.” (pg 526) He speaks about how the churches were being burned and how nobody was doing anything to stop this:

 

Again and again I have been told that the destruction of church or convent was brought about by a mere handful of men or youths, and the question strange unbidden: “Why did not the inhabitants living near do something to put a stop to it?” For though fire threatened their own dwellings, nothing was done. The reply was characteristic. “If you lived here you would soon learn to avoid anything which would bring you into conflict with the authorities.” Mark that! It was not fear of the rioters, so mush as fear of being mixed up with the authorities that caused people to remain quite while a building was burning next door to them. (pg 534)

Goode continues on and on about how people were left for dead in the streets because they did not want to be held accountable for the deaths of others. Goode later mentions that schools were being closed down left and right throughout the country.

 

Looking through the rest of the magazine one can see the same negativity and gloom that is ever-present throughout the editorial pages. For instance, there are four drawings titled “Four Studies” by Max Beerbohm. All four have a similar common theme throughout them – the subject, a person, is looking down onto someone or something. The first picture is of a woman with her hand on her hips looking down at something towards her left. It seems as though she is telling the reader that he should not even bother her with his nonsense and just move onto the next page. The next picture is the profile of a fairly big man who looks very stern. His face is all crunched up and his eyes are closed, as if he is mad. The third picture is of a smaller looking man dressed in a tuxedo with a top hat in his hand. The mans face is difficult to read, however it seems that he is looking down onto something to the viewers left based on the way that his head is positioned. The last picture is of another man who looks somewhat disheveled in comparison to the other people in the previous pictures. His facial expression looks as though he is annoyed, mad, or incredibly upset. It seems as though Ford told Beerbohm to draw some pictures that portrayed those types of moods and feelings that were in line with the rest of the magazine of with the rest of the world.

There is a short essay that is towards the beginning of the magazine that speaks mainly about funerals and the evolution of the burial process. In “The Church in Lucina’s House,” by Edward Hutton, the word “Death” is mentioned four times in the first paragraph, giving it a very gloomy start. It is interesting to note that this particular piece is written right after the poetry section, since a decent chunk of the poems before this piece talk about god. It is possible that Ford wanted to speak about god first and then talk about the gloom that was going on in the world. It is also possible that Ford wanted to show that god had left the world, which is something that I’m sure a lot of people felt back in 1909.

In closing, throughout the entire magazine one can see evidence of the gloom and sadness that was going on throughout Europe in 1909. Ford achieved his message of gloom, by only publishing works that he felt were relevant. I feel that it is  fairly interesting to learn of the way that people were feeling before The Great War broke out, not only by reading it in a text book or listening to a history teacher speak about it, but also by reading the magazines published during the time. 

Rehana Afzal, Hilda Ronquillo, Eli Shoshani

           

       Tyro (1921-22) was Wyndham Lewis's post-war attempt to reincarnate Blast and reignite conversation about avant-garde ideals for a London audience.  The editor faced a number of obstacles in pulling off this second-act: 1. Ezra Pound, notable contributor to Blast, had become the European Editor of The Little Review 2. There was a declining interest in the avant-garde in London  3. Mainstay contributors to Blast, T.E. Hulme and Gaudier-Brzeska, had died in WWI. (Lewis himself had served in the Great War, and considered it a monumental waste of time, fueling his desire to return to his former productivity.)                                                      

          With its cover page, Tyro positions itself as a Review Of The Arts Of Painting Sculpture And Design (note the caption’s lack of punctuation and the cover's sans serif type of varying sizes, similar to that of Blast's). Launched in conjunction with Wyndham Lewis’s first major solo art exhibit, “Tyros and Portraits,” it was a publication by artists for artists--and not to be understood except by an artist.  Pound (of all people!) chided Lewis for this elitist approach.  Lewis needed to attract readers, not rely on a select coterie.  Otherwise "we may regard our work as a private luxury, having no aims but our own pleasure.  = You can't expect people to pay you for enjoying yourself," Pound wrote in a letter to Lewis.    

            Notable Tyro contributors were T.S. Eliot and Wyndham Lewis whose articles open the magazine prominently.  Other contributors largely consisted of members of the Rebel Arts Center and Group X.   Lewis sent out a rallying call "to those painters for whom 'painting' signifies not a lucrative or sentimental calling, but a constant and perpetually renewed effort” (1:2) (i.e. I can't pay you guys). 

            

    Publisher Information:

THE EGOIST PRESS, *(aptly named) 2, ROBERT STREET, ADELPH1. TO BE PRODUCED AT INTERVALS OF TWO OR THREE MONTHS. *(signalling its tentative nature)

PUBLISHED AT 1s. 6d, subscription for 4 numbers, 6s. 6d, with postage. *(only two issues were actually published in total)

Printed by Bradley & Son, Ltd., Little Crown Yard, Mill Lane,Reading.

 

                Tyro's most immediate problem was financial.  Lewis claimed he would use his inheritance money to split the funding costs with contributing author Sidney Schiff (who agreed to back the paper anonymously so that contributors wouldn't expect to be paid).  However, citing financial difficulties, Lewis reneged on his promise; but Tyro was published regardless.    

            The periodical's financial difficulties are reflected in direct appeals to readers. Originally, Lewis claimed that the periodical would be produced at intervals of two to three months, but in the opening note admitted the appearance of the Tyro will be "spasmodic" (1:2). Since they had expanded the journal (the second issue was 6 times as long as the first--made possible by ads, which were completely absent from Issue #1) but cut down the number of issues, Lewis wrote that in good faith the terms of subscription should be considered fulfilled (2:3) with fewer issues.

            On a basic level, Tyro was a doomed enterprise because the tyros did not connect with their audience.  What is a tyro?  The tyro ('tiro' in Medieval Latin: 'beginning soldier'/'recruit') was a symbol of an uncertain post-war society composed of novices, their teeth jutting out in a barbaric, tentative smile.  They were not only esoteric but off-putting.  Ironically, Pound whose highbrow work had been viciously mocked, attempted to steer Wyndham Lewis in a mainstream direction.  Lewis seemed to grow aware that the tyros were alienating readership. Indeed, Lewis promises the appearance of ten tyros in the following issue, but no tyros appear other than the one on the cover. 

Eventually, Lewis himself admitted that the Tyros "were not easy to like."

            Compare the two tyros on the covers: the Tyro of issue #2 is marginalized, reduced, almost boxed out of existence, where the first issue's Tyro had confrontationally leered out at the title.  The second issue now takes on a more subdued and less polemical tone, but too late to win over the public.

        

            After two issues, Lewis took 600 copies on a trip to Paris and gave an inscribed copy to James Joyce in an effort to to pump life into Tyro but neither tactic helped save the publication.  Lewis acknowledged defeat, admitting in Tyro 2 that the magazine hadn't changed much in the art world.  It had failed to reconstitute a dialogue about art and innovation for the post-war era.  The periodical folded by default, with Lewis never publishing another issue. 

            Even afterwards, Lewis chose to "go down with his ship," stubbornly remaining commited to an elitist view promulgated by Blast.  He further isolated himself and wrote critically of his contributors to Tyro--those authors like Schiff who had written for free, and even provided financing!    

 

 Tyro: Attitudes, Politics, Aesthetics

In examining The Tyro, one can immediately sense the difference between this periodical and that of The New Age. Wyndham Lewis has sought to make a favorable argument towards Abstract Art. The overall manifestos are not that of critical begrudging men seeking to demean anything “modern”. Rather, the articles and reviews (save for a surprisingly cynical T.S Elliot) are positive, and painstakingly try to explain why the new art movement should be valued and acknowledged.                                                                                                           

The name Tyro (a beginner or learner in anything; one who has mastered the rudiments only of any branch or knowledge) may be a play against the way Wyndham approaches his ideals of Art appreciation. He attacks any notion that Abstract art is elementary and without aesthetic, and his contributors sing his praises (and that of fellow artists) as well.

In Issue 1 (there were only two issues), there is a sufficient amount of art supplements which are considered modern. Besides the Tyros, which Wyndham presents with a brief history and a tongue in cheek introduction, there are sketchings and drawings by a variety of artists including Wyndham himself. In fact, as the second issue immerses Wyndham is responsible for the bulk of the artwork, accompanied with a few massive essays as well.

The political climate in this issue is one of aggression, both towards the elitist attitude of the English, and organized religion as well. There is one fascinating manifesto by Raymond Drey who speaks of “Emotional Aesthetics” and its role in the art world.  Drey states, “We must consider how far emotion enters at all into the making of works of art”. (Drey 10)   He infers that art that is seen as elementary is done so because it appears to be created out of an impulsive and irrational moment; free from structure. Nevertheless, he maintains that this method does not render an artist without talent. Drey states: “Work that is done in a very short space of time may be the cumulative result of the experience of years…Every fine work of art pre-supposes a period of contemplation…the slowness or rapidity with which the idea is developed to its ultimate form depends on the temperament of the particular artist.” (10)

Unlike the mixed reviews of multiple patrons in The New Age, Wyndham presents firm supporters who share his vision and ideas.

Issue 2, was a great deal denser and included many more works of art displaying everything from Cubist-like drawings to Dobson’s sculptures. I was concerned more with the massive amount of text explaining the movement of modern art and its colossal relevance to art history.

Wyndham, (who not surprisingly includes many of his own works) defends in great detail the “standards of modern art”. Wyndham says “suppose we say that Vorticism and Cubism is at an end. What do you expect is going to be there in its place?”

In other words, there have been great works before this movement and there will be great works after it, so to state that photographic like paintings are the only way to self expression, would be to place Art in a labeled criteria which is impossible.

Raymond Drey who also writes for the second issue says: “Abstract pictorial art is only the invention of our own time in the sense that never in the past has painting depended solely on the appeal of pure form.”

Wyndham, in yet another lengthy manifesto (this time on plastic art) compares art to philosophy because of all the different degrees of arguments that have arisen because of it. Also because like philosophy, rather than trying to ascertain an answer, philosophers and artists alike are more concerned with the question or piece at hand and the discussions that stem from it. The constant attempts to rate art based on method infuriate Wyndham, he states: “In art there are no laws, as there are in science. There is the general law to sharpen your taste and intelligence in every way you can.” He speaks of the future of art as grim, if society continues to view the art world through traditional lenses.

In conclusion Wyndham’s arrangement, in terms of aesthetics, is far more pleasing than previous periodicals reviewed. His focus and intent to persuade the masses is evident. As the editor, clearly his editorial policies would serve to express and deliver his ideas which would make it somewhat bias, yet less hypocritical (in my opinion) than The New Age, which seemed like closet conservatives wearing progressive masks.

 

Tyro in Context

In understanding the importance of the “The Tyro” it was important to read about the specific time frame. I picked the first issue, which appeared in 1921. In so doing, I was able to analyze the works present within the journal from a perspective very much similar to the analysis of Rayonnism. The journal was very unique as it concerned itself mainly with art and painting. Unlike the “New Age Journal,” which was quite substantial and methodical in its presentation, “The Tyro” was a collective presentation of paintings, poems, and satires although its modalities of expression and it originated in London.

The majority of the journal was written by Wyndham Lewis, a major part of the Vorticist movement, which originated in London after the era of cubism. This new style of art, which lasted relatively short period of time was very much similar to Rayonnism, where it tried to externalize the emotions, feelings, perceptions, and realities of the mechanistic society through painting. The movement had a great influence on the magazine, which appeared years after the movement had ceased to be prominent. The first issue contained a series of poems, and included some great paintings, which upon examination fully reify the stances of the movement in discussion. In addressing the newness or the avant-garde nature of the magazine, the Tyro concerned itself with elemental, the raw essence of art, which shifted after World War I as various paradigms within the artistic world saw a renaissance while others died down. Some of the highlights include Cubism, Rayonnism, and Dadaism.

The magazine came at a time of prosperity in the U.S., as historically the 1920s were referred to as the roaring twenties, it was a period of post- war growth and that greatly impacted how the public perceived the magazine and how the magazine chose to sustain itself. The magazine did not go past two issues as Lewis noted that it would see increases in the number of volumes based directly on the perception and need for more input.

I specifically focused on the painting on page 5, as that concerned itself with the evolution of the industrial man. Somehow, the look of sheer greed on the man’s face personifies the roaring twenties, as many individuals amassed a great deal of profit during that decade. However, the face also goes along with the changes brought forth by the industrial revolution where it represents the rise of the entrepreneur. In a similar vein, the painting on page 7 shows two men meeting one another. In this case also there is a connection between the men. Artistically the style of both men is the same, however, these caricatures of real individuals really offer a new way to see how individuals interacted with one another. These two paintings can be seen as a way to represent the tyros during this great period of change. As the movement concerned itself with gauging the impact of the industrial revolution and the WWI, it focused on the elementals, the avant-garde. The paintings were not subtle, as seen through the aforementioned analysis, but they were very much the product of social, political, and economical forces which exerted a great deal of influence on the artist.

Lewis’s painting of a woman seating at a table (pg. 11) sheds light on another facet of society. Where the woman looks perfectly healthy, here eyes are not there. It seems as if this could be related to the women’s suffrage movement, as even after the historic right to vote, women were still oppressed in society due to the existence and entrenched beliefs in socio-political, religious and economic norms. Also, the woman’s features are greatly exaggerated and thus appear to be animated. The over all effect is that it is very difficult to tell how the women sees herself or society, because she does not have eye sight. Also, the women can be a caricature of lower class immigrant women, but lacked financial means of self-advancement.

The first issue of the magazine did not focus on a great deal of issues; it just addressed the realm of artistic expression as Lewis himself stated in the introduction, “…The object of this paper- to be a rallying point for those painters, or persons interested in this country…” (pg. 2). Currently, the journal can be accessed at the following locations:      

National Library of Australia http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/EAD/htmldocs/RMM04612.html- Cornell Library

Project Muse- http://muse.jhu.edu/

These sources continue to draw the attention of those interested in the growth of modernism and change in the art movement.

 *Note: If you have a hankering to get your hands on a copy of The Tyro in book format, it is available in many libraries such as NYPL, Cornell, Wesleyan, Boston U., Harvard, Suny Buffalo, and Oxford if you are ever in the neighborhood.

 

 

 

 

 

Who were the editors of BLAST and at what times?

    * Wyndham Lewis was the editor of BLAST for both of its issues from 1914 to 1915.
    * Lewis also started magazines Tyro and Enemy, though both publications were as short-lived as BLAST.  Lewis was one of the fathers of the Vorticist movement, which combined the color and geometry of Cubism with the industrialism of Futurism.  The typographical adventurousness of BLAST was cited as a major influence in graphic design of the 1920’s and 1930’s.

 

Above is artist William Robert's rendering of BLAST's intimate circle of Vorticists.  Seated left to right: Cuthbert Hamilton, Ezra Pound, William Roberts, Wyndham Lewis, Frederick Etchells and Edward Wadsworth. Standing in the doorway are Jessica Dismorr, Freda Kahlo, and Helen Saunders.

Where was BLAST printed and by which firm?

    * BLAST was published in New York and in London by John Lane (John Lane Company in New York and Bodley Head in London). 
    * Lane was a self-educated man who was mainly associated with publishing controversial and audacious texts for small sophisticated audiences, including The Yellow Book and Lane’s Keynote Series.  His nephew, Allen, later went on to found P Penguin Books.

The Yellow Book, 1894.

Rhythm: Art Music Literature Quarterly

Eugenia, Noriela, Christina

            Our group analyzed and discussed the journal of Rhythm from the Modernist Journal Project.  This journal ran from the summer of 1911 until 1913.  The main editor was John Middleton Murry and his assistants were Michael T.H. Sadler and John Duncan Ferguson, who was mainly the art editor.  In June of 1912, Katherine Mansfield joined Rhythm as the assistant editor and she became the co-editor in 1913.  She and John Murray started a long tumultuous affair.  They were married years later around 1918.  We focused on Volume One, Issue One, Summer of 1911, Volume Two, Issue Nine, October 1912 and Issue Fourteen, March 1913.  After doing some further research into the lives of Murry and Mansfield we discovered that there were many poems and stories written about their romance such as the poem Torment written by Murray in Issue Nine in Volume Two.  He writes about his torment of being the other man. Murray's writing in this poem shows his lust and desire to be with his mistress forever.  According to the end of the first Volume, Issue One, the Aim and Ideals of Rhythm were to seek out the strong things in art.  " Before art can be human it must learn to be brutal.  Our intention is to provide art, be it drawing, literature, or criticism." 

Rhythm was published in London by The Saint Catherine Press Stephen Swift and Company LTD Martin Secker from 1911-1912.  In 1912 Secker continued on as publisher in 1913 and into The Blue Review Journal which was a follow up to Rhythm.  Through WorldCat we found that the original magazine is in New Zealand.  The journal is at the Alexander Turnbill Library, the National Library of New Zealand.  We corresponded with the library and they have informed us that they indeed do have Rhythm.  They wanted our address to send us relevant information about the journal.  Unfortunately, the New Zealand library said it would take up to three weeks to get more information to us.  Maybe you are wondering why the original Rhythm is in New Zealand? Well Katherine Mansfield was born in the country.  She lived there until she moved to England to pursue her writing dreams.  Mansfield was one of few prominant literary artists from  New Zealand and therefore she was recognized and respected there.  Our theory is that the original is in New Zealand to honor their local writer.

Bibliographic Descriptions:

The cover of each magazine is the same.  It is blue with a picture of a naked woman that seems to represent Eve.  We assume that the lady is a representation o because she is next to a tree holding an apple in her hand.  The print is fairly large and bold.  Most pages have pictures on them with distinct bold lines and harsh colors.  "This is why many artists connected to Rhythm were later considered Vorticists." 

 

The pictures were on pages with stories and poems and some were on a page by themselves.  Noticeably many of the drawings were displayed in a sexual manner.  There were instances where the drawings also directly followed the related poetry, stories or reviews.  The artists who drew the pictures were real artists, fairly well known from different countries such as France, England and Italy. Many of the magazines also had self portraits of the artists and the editors of the journal.  For example, the following sketch is of the co-editor Katherine Mansfield.

 

In the earlier journal their were no advertisements.  It was not until the third journal that "announcements" were installed.  This is the name they used for advertisements.  Jet'Aime is an example of an advertisemnt that followed a poem about love and romance.  Jet'Aime means I love you.  This company still exists today and has evolved into a Bridal Shoppe in New Zealand.  The adverisements in Issue Nine (1912) were primarily ads for Art.  Such as advertisements for museums, galleries, exhibitions and stores selling or showing art.  There were also many ads for theatrical readings, plays and shows around the region.

Political and Social Economic Positioning:

Based on reading and scanning the three issues we have chosen, I have come to the conclusion that Rhythm did have some strong positioning on Art and Philosophy.  Its editors did have opinions as far as social class and gender.  In looking into some of the authors of the stories and poems I read, I found that most of them were well established in areas such as science fiction and fantasy.  My assumption is that writing for Rhythm enabled these writers to express their positioning on Art and voice what they felt  was going on economically and politically within the time period.  For example, to start of with I want to dicuss Volume I, Issue One's article Art and Philosophy written by its main editor John Middleton Murry.  I think this article sums up what Rhythm was continuously trying to accomplish throughout the years.  The article is based on the French Philosopher Bergson's theories.  The belief in free will, real truth and eternality of Art were some of his thoeries that Murry stands behind.  Art should continue from generation to generation.  You only become individualized from the past's inheritance.  "Art doesn't break from the past, but a path to the future."  The present presents a fresh path of progress.  You do not forget the past, you embrace it and move forward with changes of the times and truth within your heart.  Aetheticism is how one should create their art.  False Aetheticism cripples Art. Art has many forms and Murry continues to state that having just the past is one aspect of art.  Using the past to create the future "harmonizes" the two into a beautiful song. 

Later on, however, I believe that some of the magazine issues do delve into the political and veer away from being totally aesthetic.  There is aestheticism in this issue within the poetry. Two poems of Arthur Crossthwaite's convey love and depression.  He uses a lot of imagery and metaphor in Songe D' ete and Ennui.  You get the sense he is writing from the heart and perhaps a loved one.  He uses a flower and color to represent women.  It seems as if the class of women is below a man and a lonely life.  The women depicted in some of these poems and stories is portrayed as a dreamer, dreaming because she is stuck with no place to go and is controlled by society; particularly men.  We see this in Volume Two, Issue Fourteen  in two stories: The Little Town and The Clown.  Both stories depict the women as puppets.  The Little Town shows how society is manipulated by the governing or popular factor.  No matter what the women does she cannot stop the manipulation.  The poem the "Mocking Fairy" is also a representation of a women who is not truly free to express herself within Art.  She is stuck in her home sheltered away from the rest of the world even the mystical one.  It is interesting the poems and stories I have mentioned were written by men.  I think this is because the men writing in Rhythm believed in the same philosophy as Bergson and wanted an aestheticism in art and life for everyone.  It was time to use the past to create a productive future.  Changes were neccesary and needed for the equality of genders and the productiveness of society.

Flipping back to the middle section of journals with Volume Two, Issue Nine, the magazine relates work to its editors Murry and Middleton's love affair. Throughout there are some stories that hindge on religion which as I believe to know it would not be in the aestheticism way.  At first, I thought the journal was harping on religion based on skimming through various articles. From skimming religions seemed present because the use of many theological terms were present.  But it is my inclination now that I was wrong and Rhythm does not overwhelmingly procure specific teachings of one particular religion in the articles I read.  There was a snippet of mention in the story The Little Girl only because they went to church.  But, the main focus was on the little girl's relationship with her father.  Instead this story brings up issues of class and roles of the family.  The stereotype that the father in the household is the boss and that a child should be scared of him.  As opposed to the woman figures in the home such as her mother or grandmother.  The story also implies a certain class status of wealth due to the fact they own a piano, soft silk pillows, extra rooms in the house and servants to help out.  The author Lili Heron shows you a stereotype of the past and then at the end of her story she enables the reader to see how change benefits the role of the family when the father can take his daugher in his arms and be just as maternal as a grandma would be. A different type of story called Fuel written by Dusany links back to the earlier theories of Art and Philosophy.  I sensed as strong tone of sarcasm in his writing.  Dusany whose background is in fantasty uses this genre, he knows so well, and creates a story that mixes fantasy with metaphorical satire.  He associates the coal as the unwanted poets of the time.  He analyses how the poets are neglected and that their ideals are mocked.  "Staying left in the past keeps Art at hold like an anchored ship."  Dusany wants to see the old ways come down.  He declares he'd sit down and listen to a poet any old day or time.  He feels it is important to talk and share dreams and hopes with your friends and loved ones before you die. In another comparison, Dusany uses the magic children feel Christmas Eve night and sacred ritual it is as a way to say that people should feel that mystery and magical spark about Art.

From what I have read and observed Rhythm was an entertaining journal.  It had a mixture of literature for everyone.  It had artwork that was bold, daring and compelling to the eye.  The stories and poems were both enjoyable, and intense.  They inclined you to be socially aware of the present and how to move forward into the future.  Their advertisements were passionate about institutionalizing the arts into every day life.  For the most part the editors of Rhythm sustained their mission to have aesthetic viewpoints on Art and to continue to adhere into the future not negating the past, just changing it.

Now concernning their spiritual beliefs a thought was sparked when I first read their first story in Volume 1 which was called the 'The New Thelema'. At first when I read it, I questioned whether this was a story or was it their philosophy on life.  Therefore I looked up the word Thelema and I found that it was a philosophy which was developed by Francois Rabelais in 1532. Then around 1904 an English poet and author called Alesister Crowley, developed this philosophy even furthur. The main beliefs are "Do what thou wilt, shall be the whole of the law."They believed that every man and woman is a star and that each have a unique path in the universe. Therefore, because of this unique path in the universe they must do what they will in order to obtain their fulfillment and freedom in life. Another main belief is, "Love is the law, love under will". They believe that the entire universe of  humans are united by this power of love.

In conclusion this philosophy focuses on freedom and individuality and love and when you come to think of it, that is what Rhythm is all about.One can see individuality and freedom through their paintings and one can definitely sense the power of love through their poems.