John Marr and Other Poems

Melville's verse printed for the most part privately in small editions from middle life onward after his great prose work had been written, taken as a whole, is of an amateurish and uneven quality. In it, however, that love able freshness of personality, which his philo sophical dej eetion never quenched, is every where in evidence. It is clear that he did not set himself to master the poet's art, yet through the mask of conventional verse which often falls into doggerel, the voice of a true poet is heard. In selecting the pieces for this volume I have put in the vigorous sea verses of John M arr in their entirety and added those others from his Battle Pieces, Timoleon, etc., that best indicate the quality of their author's per sonality. The prose Supplement to Battle Pieces has been included because it does so much to explain the feeling of his war verse and further because it is such a remarkably wise and clear commentary upon those con fused and troublous days of post-war recon struction. H. C.

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