To all those who are interested in the “folk” and their poetry—the
contemporary folk of the great cities and their urban muse—I would
recommend a little-known journal called _McGlennon’s Pantomime Annual_.
This periodical makes its appearance at some time in the New Year, when
the pantos are slowly withering away under the influence of approaching
spring. I take this opportunity of warning my readers to keep a sharp
look out for the coming of the next issue; it is sure to be worth the
modest twopence which one is asked to pay for it.
_McGlennon’s Pantomime Annual_ is an anthology of the lyrics of the
panto season’s most popular songs. It is a document of first-class
importance. To the future student of our popular literature _McGlennon_
will be as precious as the Christie-Miller collection of Elizabethan
broadsheets. In the year 2220 a copy of the _Pantomime Annual_ may very
likely sell for hundreds of pounds at the Sotheby’s of the time. With
laudable forethought I am preserving my copy of last year’s _McGlennon_
for the enrichment of my distant posterity.
The Folk Poetry of 1920 may best be classified according to
subject-matter. First, by reason of its tender associations as well as
its mere amount, is the poetry of Passion. Then there is the Poetry of
Filial Devotion. Next, the Poetry of the Home—the dear old earthly Home
in Oregon or Kentucky—and, complementary to it, the Poetry of the
Spiritual Home in other and happier worlds. Here, as well as in the next
section, the popular lyric borrows some of its best effects from
hymnology. There follows the Poetry of Recollection and Regret, and the
Poetry of Nationality, a type devoted almost exclusively to the praises
of Ireland. These types and their variations cover the Folk’s serious
poetry. Their comic vein is less susceptible to analysis. Drink, Wives,
Young Nuts, Honeymoon Couples—these are a few of the stock subjects.
The Amorous Poetry of the Folk, like the love lyrics of more cultured
poets, is divided into two species: the Poetry of Spiritual Amour and
the more direct and concrete expression of Immediate Desire. _McGlennon_
provides plenty of examples of both types: