FLASHING WINGS

by William Plumer Fowler '21, Bruce Humphries, Inc. 1941, 94 pp.$1.50.

IN THE THREE-LINE poem introductory to this little volume, Mr. Fowler states his belief that poetic effectiveness depends upon simplicity and brevity, and these are indeed the qualities that characterize all his lyrics. Of the seventy-five poems the volume contains, over two-thirds are sonnets. The author has mastered well the difficulties of this restricting form, avoiding the pitfalls both of involved constructions and of trivial rhymes, and presenting his thoughts and feelings simply and luminously.

The majority of his themes deal with nature in one form or another. His accurate observation of its simpler aspects—bird and fish, marsh and river, the changing seasons—results in clear, concise pictures that bespeak his genuine understanding of the New Hampshire locale and his deep affection for it. Mr. Fowler resides in North Hampton, and he has drawn his inspiration almost entirely from his immediate environment, especially from the short but varied seacoast of our state. When he departs from these subjects and indulges in philosophic reflection, religious moralizing, or comment on contemporary world conditions, he is less successful.

Of particular interest to Dartmouth men will be no doubt the half-dozen sonnets that reflect our northern setting. These poems celebrate the joys of skiing and mountain-climbing, and recall to memory specific pictures of the slopes of Moosilauke and Washington, of Cardigan and Ascutney.