This is a book which probably should be on every Advocate editor's shelf. According to its preface: "The Harvard Advocate has published selections from its past volumes before, but the attitude of the anthologist has in each case differed from ours . . . principal attention seems to have been paid to selecting the best material which had been published, irrespective of the later careers of the authors." This would seem a reasonable principle by which to select material for an anthology.

However, "our primary aim in selecting material for this anthology has been to form a collection of the juvenilia of outstanding men. Within this limit, we have generally tried to choose the best material available." But, the preface continues, "in some cases, it should be stated, the editor has chosen not to print the best of a particular author's Advocate work, printing instead work of his which has not been republished in book form."

This collecting of juvenilia could cause a revolution in the arts. We can imagine a concert of those pieces composed by Mozart before he reached the age of three--not his best, of course, only those not previously heard. Or a hanging of sketches done by Pieasse while attending grammar school in Spain. Since some of the pieces in this anthology were written by men who later became well known in fields quite removed from the world of letters (a selection by Theodore Roosevelt concerns various football teams of 1879), it may be possible to uncover some clay figurines sculptured by Harry Truman while playing in the clay pits around Independence, Missouri.

From this new enthusiasm for juvenilia, a greater appreciation for primitive art might arise, and eventually the efforts of those who have absolutely no talent at all could finally achieve recognition.

There are a few interesting selections in this Advocate anthology. A story by Howard Nemerov, some of the poems by Conrad Aiken and others, and the introduction by editor Hall are worth reading. But for the most part there seems to have been little reason for collecting the effluvia of adolescence even if it did forerun greatness.