The author of these poems is a native of Jamaica, where he was born in 1889, and where he lived till 1911, publishing a book of dialect verse already referred to in our columns. After reaching the United States he worked his way through Kansas to the West in various capacities, and gained experience which has not been without effect on the subject matter of his poetry. For a while he stayed at the Kansas Agricultural College, where the opportunity presented itself of studying 'literary English.' The fact that this is for Mr. McKay partly an acquired language adds considerably to the interest of his work. Here can be found some of those peculiar qualities which rendered the visit of the Southern Syncopated Orchestra so memorable last autumn, and for which we are becoming accustomed to look as the distinctive contribution of African Art in general.