LIONEL TRILLING
501
"Lovers" "Intermezzo" or "PCP"
13
any more partly because of feeling
that it might shock boys
&
that they did not understand the matters
in works
[sic];
also there was consideration of parents' raised eye–
brows. Said that the cause of the movement to drop me was the gen–
eral policy of the department to "rotate." Insisted he knew nothing of
my teaching.
May 6 (1936)
J.B. reminds me of E. Neff's old sociological complex. In Eng
5M-6 he could think of nothing in a poem save what it reflected–
democracy, the factory system, religious conflict etc. Caring nothing
for the music or mood. Of course he used to preach sociology and
econ. in literature to all of us. But my last conversation with him
about poetry brought out the opinion that ideas do not matter in
poetry-the music was everything. Interpretation obvious: in 1924 it
was OK to write about Carlyle Mill
&
the factory conditions. But
now it is getting near and real and he is running for cover into
"music."
May 7 (1936)
Interview with Everett
11-11:15
Said I wanted to ask him about what he testified in the
meeting. He said I must be sure that I do not believe there was un–
friendliness to me at the meeting. I said cooly I was neither doubtful
nor interested in the matter of friendship. He told me his part: it was
as Mark had described it. I told him so. He said he could not do
otherwise by his conscience than to tell the truth. I said of course but
I said that I could do no otherwise by my pedagogical conscience
than to raise hell to say that the way I taught was the right way. I
asked him how he taught the books we used. He said he had great
difficulty teaching PCP. He said I should not lose my head; that he
had been fired once and that the situation had suddenly broken. I
said I wasn't much interested.
Interview with Neff
May 7 (1936)
12:15-1:30
He very friendly, I cold but amicable. Found it impossible to
be furious with him personally but was inflexible in my positions. I
gave a very clear and well-put summary of my interviews with Steeves
&
Van Doren. Told him what I had been told of his declaration about
my 1) 65 work
&
2) about my thesis.
13
Probably
Sons and Lovers,
by D. H . Lawrence; "Intermezzo," by Arthur Schnitzler;
Point Counter Point,
by Aldous Huxley.
