The first issue of The Tyro is a short one so must have been read cover to cover when first published. When reading it on a computer, however, the small print causes one to have to magnify to the point of seeing only small sections of each page. I tried browsing through the magazine while looking at it showing the full page and noticed that I paused for the more interesting titles. "The Romantic Englishman, The Comic Spirit and the Function of Critism" by T.S. Eliot caught my eye. The gist of what Eliot is saying in the essay is that the audience of characters in the Romantic Period could not take it seriously or they would realize the performance or piece was actually a critism of themselves. Knowing now that Eliot was not only a writer but also a widely published critic, it is fun to see a piece of his work in this little magazine.
The title that by far is the most eye catching in the whole magazine is "Cafe Cannibale" by John Adams. Wikipedia only lists one poet by the name of John Adams and he was dead almost 200 years before this magazine was published. Both presidents that were named John Adams were dead before this was published as well, but obviously the name of the author struck me or I would not have searched for it. After the title and the author, the poem sucks you in in a similar fashion to the woman that is the subject. The poem seems to be a shorter version of "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by (once again) T.S. Eliot. The man in the poem is drawn to this woman yet completely uncomfortable with her. The pressure to continually keep her entertained seems to be eating him alive. In lines 6-9 the speaker describes the womans laughter as something primitive that she "raptoursly giv[es] herself altogether to" and "becomes an orgiastic figure of abandon." The language of the poem invites it to be read over and over again. The hyperbolic description of the man's discomfort is at first laughable, but becomes more open to empathy with each read. I could be biased because I liked "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" so much and I see a lot of it in this poem, but this poem is my favorite find for the semester.
