Autumn’s gold and Spring’s green!
It is evident in this poem that Mr. Fletcher has been much influenced by the Japanese.
And now the lowest pine-branch
Is drawn across the disk of the sun.
is absolutely Japanese. But strangely enough it is a technique got from a study of Japanese painting rather than from Japanese poetry.
Mr. Fletcher’s versatility is shown by turning from The Blue Symphony, to his other poem, London Excursion. Here the note of mysticism of The Blue Symphony is entirely abandoned, and there is no hint of Japanese influence. If London Excursion follows any lead, it is the lead of the new schools of poetry and painting in France. But I will not insult Mr. Fletcher by suggesting that he is, in any way, a disciple of Marinetti and the Futurists. It is nearer the truth to say that he has realized the vividness of some of their methods, and modified them to his own use.
London Excursion is one of the most interesting poems in this volume. It is a poem of a man going into London in the morning by ’bus, spending the day walking about the streets and going into shops, and coming home at night by train. It sounds simple, but it is really the most amazing expression of light, color, and unrelated impressions that one can conceive. This is his impression of a street from his ’bus-top:
Black shapes bending,
Taxicabs crush in the crowd.
The tops are each a shining square