LITERATURE, ART AND MUSIC, Influence of the World War On. All wars have a profound influence on the life and thought of the nations — they either sterilize when disasters are overwhelming or awaken to new energy when conditions are more favorable. The inspiration of any momentous and long continued struggle is contagious — it spreads from camp to city and enters every sphere of activity, molding a nation's literature, art and music, spheres that are so readily affected. Naturally the full force of that influence may not be felt immediately, but it cannot long be deferred nor its importance underestimated. For war in intensifying the sense of national ity arouses attention to those lines of activity in which nations take special pride — arts and letters.
The war of 1914 had at first an unfavorable effect on literature, with the whole bent of the nations turning in other directions. The old Latin proverb that amid arms the laws are silent has a much wider application. A shrink age followed in the output of books; and literary plans, including notable translations, had to be changed or deferred in the severance of relations with the Central Powers and the added difficulty of research work in certain lines. It did not take long, however, before compensation followed in the rapid output of war literature. It was found necessary after October 1918, owing to the shortage of paper, for American publishers in the interest of economy to cut down the number and titles of books for general readers as well as in some lines of textbooks. The total number of books. inclusive of pamphlets, issued in the United States in 1914 was 8563; in 1915,6.932; in 1916, 8,430; in 1917, 8,107; in 1918, 7,686. The de crease in fiction and in general literature for 1918 was more than counterbalanced by war books in different lines.
The various departments of war literature included diplomacy of war, diaries of diploma tists, international relations between United States and Germany, documentary histories of diplomatists. Then comes newspaper corre spondence, usually reprinted in book form, the causes of war, military history, war poetry, soldiers' letters, fiction in the style of Wells, Sinclair and Barbusse, personal sketches, novels, camp journalism, — wide in range and variety of subject. Happily the tension of war has not
been allowed to interfere with the average reader's enjoyment of books. The work of the American Library Association in providing a million and more books for various camps, the result of a public appeal, was of marked value.
It is difficult to be specific in examples of war literature that have merit enough to be given mention here. Many books of the day are written only for the day, and quickly pass into forgetfulness. In the haste of composi tion and lack of literary qualities, the majority of war books belong to that category. Some will be treasured as keepsakes or considered as curiosities of a notable epoch, and be con signed to the vault with curios, antiques, etc. A few works, however, have done their share in forming public opinion. Schreiner's (From Berlin to Bagdad' ; Wood's (The Cradle of the War' ; Jastrow's War and the Bag dad Railway,' have undoubted excellence and historic value. Dr. Miihler's (The Vandal of Europe,' his diary in the early days of the war, has its place next to Prince Lichnowsky's famous as the most-talked-of books of the era. In fiction Four Horse men of the Apocalypse> by the Spanish novel ist Ibanez is a war story vibrant with Spanish feeling, while Malherbe's Flame that Won) gives the emotional French, point of view. In poetry, which is never ceasing, as Leigh Hunt puts it in an oft-quoted sonnet, Frank Fox croft's Verse' will be found fairly repre sentative. Those who like to read soldiers' letters, many of which are written with much simplicity of diction and beauty of thought, may turn to the (The Good Soldier,' by N. P. Dawson. Villiers' after the Peace> opens up the question of revolution or recon struction for Great Britain after the war.