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Canby, Henry Seidel, 1878-1961

"Definitions: Essays in Contemporary Criticism"


It was in 1914 that _The New Republic_ applied a new solution to the
problem, and from its pages and from the other "intellectual weeklies"
which have joined it, has come not merely some of the best reviewing
that we have had, but also a distinct lift upwards in the standard of
our discussion of contemporary books of general interest. After 1914
one could expect to find American reviews of certain kinds of books
which were as excellent as any criticisms from England or from France.
But the solution applied was of such a character as to limit
definitely its application. _The New Republic_, the present _Nation_,
_The Freeman_, _The Weekly Review_, and, in a little different sense,
_The Dial_, were founded by groups held together, with the exception
of _The Dial_ coterie, not by any common attitude towards literature,
or by any specific interest in literature itself, but rather by a
common social philosophy. These journals, again with the one
exception, were devoted primarily to the application of their
respective social philosophies. Even when in reviews or articles there
was no direct social application, there was a clear irradiation from
within.


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