Writings in the Baltimore Evening Sun, January-March 1911

In this volume of his writings in the Baltimore Sun, H. L. Mencken devotes three separate articles to the Baltimore poet Lizette Woodworth Reese, whose work he admired. Several essays on the drama, ranging from Shakespeare to such contemporary playwrights as Edmond Rostand, Arthur Wing Pinero, and James Forbes, exhibit Mencken's continuing fascination with the stage. His devotion to music is displayed in articles on Richard Strauss and on the balalaika. In the realm of politics, Mencken spends considerable time on the proposed 16th Amendment (the direct election of senators), as well as on the "Oregon plan"-a proposal for "direct election of all officers who have to do with framing and execution of the laws." An article on the follies of the anti-vaccination movement proves to be very timely today. In an array of unsigned editorials, Mencken ranges widely from lampooning local politicians to the Mexican civil war to home rule for Ireland. In all, another rich feast of criticism, humor, and satire from America's leading journalist.