The Master's Reply

IN MY DAY all seniors were required to take Great Issues, a course created by President John Sloan Dickey '29. Classes consisted of periodic lectures held at 105 Dartmouth by well-known leaders from all fields of endeavor.

At one such class Robert Frost 1896 was the lecturer. His talk consisted of monotone readings of a number of his favorite poems. I dozed and mv mind wandered. When his reading was finished, he asked for questions.

A classmate from the rear was recognized. "It would be most interesting to observe the poetic creative process in action," the student said. "Could or would you show or explain how you create poetry, or better yet, create some poetry right now?"

I squirmed in anticipation of the master's reply. Would he be rattled? Would be show too obviously that he did not suffer fools gladly? Or would we be witness to a new Robert Frost poem?

Without any hesitation, Frost spoke in the same monotone as he had used in reading "The Mending Wall": "No. Next question."

Which was, when I thought about it over the years, a kind of poetry.

Frost:justsay no.