Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from The Guild of Play Book of Festival and Dance, Vol. 1
IT is a. Great pleasure to me to say a few words in introducing this book to the public.
It embodies the results of a delightful experiment which has been carried out by Mrs. Kimmins and her helpers in connection with the Bermondsey University Settle ment for some years past, and is intended to help those who are endeavouring to do similar work elsewhere.
The Guild of Play appeals on many grounds to those who are interested in the welfare of children, and especially of those who are compelled to find their playground in the streets of our crowded cities. In addition to the physical evil wrought by their surroundings, there is too often a coarsening of manners and therefore of the moral disposition which is so closely bound up with manners. The art of wholesome play is lost, and life alternates between joyless apathy and boisterous excitement. The worst sufferers from these evils are the girls. Hence, ultimately true womanliness is injured, with evil results that are far-reaching. The remedy for this state of things is not to be found in drill, but in restoring the gift of play and play must be regarded as a fine art, the resources of which are almost illimitable if educationists have suf ficient wisdom and sympathy to discover them. Dignity and modesty of bearing, beauty of movement, and healthful exercise may all be cultivated by play, and with them the sense of comradeship which well-organized games produce. And all this without lessening the joyous sense of freedom and spontaneity which is essential to play. Moreover, that taste for the truly beautiful may be developed which is threatened with destruction by the sordid environment and the bad taste which are so sadly prevalent. Another evil to be combated is the degradation of our popular songs. Those who listen to them are sometimes inclined to despair of the results of our national education. And the evil will last while wholesome songs are simply taught as lessons in school. The children must learn also to associate beautiful songs with their play.
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