Books: Divine Comedian

DANTE VIVO—Giovanni Papini—Macmillan ($3.50).

If a jury of competent literati could be panelled and polled on the question "What is the world's No. 1 Poem?" they might have some difficulty in arriving at a verdict. But certainly many a vote would be cast for the Divina Commedia of Dante. Unread in these days except by amateurs of literature or professional students, this Catholic epic is one of the boasted glories of Italy. Many a schoolboy has heard of Dante and his Beatrice, could even recognize a picture of the poet, but no one knows...