It has been said that of all the writers of today Booth Tarkington and George Kelly, each in his clinical little way, are the most daring investigators into that terra incognita the feminine heart. But while the best women of the older writer are young things, the best women of George Kelly are unmarried (even Craig's wife was not mentally married) and are yet at that fascinating turn in the road known as la femme de trente ans. Tony, heroine of "Behold, the Bridegroom", is twenty-seven, and the jacket calls her "a burnt candle".

George Kelly is not the kind of dramatist one reads, except as a way to remember Judith Anderson in the part of Tony. But only when one reads him does realization come of the tremendous dependence that Kelly places on his leading ladies to make the feminine small talk "go". The small talk of George Kelly is more real than it has a right to be, and therefore more footling than ever the wasted words of life when entrusted to the hands of poor actors.

If you would like to know the street and number of the most famous cafes, the correct hour to appear at the Lido, the sophisticated approach to the inside of Blarritz, San Sebastian, St. Moritz, Marienbad, or Monte Carlo--in short, if you would acquire a large slice of that savoir faire which marks the experienced traveler, try PLEASURE IF POSSIBLE, by Karl K. Kitchen (Rae D. Henkle Co., New York. 1928, $2.50.) With an introduction by Will Rogers, it provides for every necessity, and supplies a passport for the gay life abroad.

A recent volume of poetry by a Harvard graduate of the class of 1925 has been published by Howard Vinal Ltd. It is M. I. Goell's "TO ALL YOU LADIES" (New York $1.50). Although it is Mr. Goell's first poetry, his first published work was "Tramping Through Palestine". The jacket on the slim volume calls it a "gaily whimsical collection of lyrics" by a poet "unaffected by the vagaries of modern verse". To which we might add that the work does not, on the other hand, reflect the best traditions of the past. To be good, verse has to be very good, and "To All You Ladies" is certainly not over excellent poetry.

Among the awards of the Guggenheim Fellowships, announced early in the week, was one to Countee Cullen, the Negro poet. Cullen who received an A.M. degree at Harvard two years ago, will use the fellowship to go to Paris to complete a series of narrative poems and the libretto for an opera. He is looked upon as one of the best modern poets to maintain the classical tradition. He is a contributor to Harper's and the Herald-Tribune "Books".