SOURCE: "Fiery Essences," in The Saturday Review of Literature, Vol. V, No. 13, October 20, 1928, p. 267.

In the following excerpt, Branch offers a complimentary review of Trivial Breath, emphasizing Wylie's intellect and the vivacity of her poems.

It is a very great pleasure indeed, to be able to record in this review a sincere admiration of Elinor Wylie's new book, Trivial Breath. Her music, practically unfailing, ranges from the gossamer delicacy of "Desolation is a Delicate Thing" to the hard athletic vigor of "The Innocents" and "Minotaur." With all her lightness, gaiety, and elegance of diction, her often worldly, and often-sophisticated accent, such as we find in a wholly delightful poem "Miranda's Supper," she is also capable of rugged energy and the abrupt vigorous intonation of an old Puritan hymn.

Her thought runs rather apart from the current mood of the day. She gives us, from her heart, sensitive and...