Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-07-25
MARK TWAIN ON INTERVIEWING.
He Thinks Talk Loses its Charm When
1t Gets Into Print.
From the Boston Journal.

From the Boston Journal
For several quite plain and simple reasons
an interview" must, as a rule, be an absurdity.
And chiefly for this reason: 1t is an attempt to
use a boat on land, or a wagon on water, to
speak fguratively. Spoken speech is one
thing, written speech is quite another. Print
is proper vehicle for the latter. but it isn't
for the former. The moment "talk' Is put into
print you recognize that it is not what it was
when you heard it; you perceive that an i'm
mense something has disappeared from it.
That is its soul. You have nothing but a dead
carcass left on your hands. Color, play of
feature, the varying modulations Of voice, the
laugh, the smile. the informing infections,
everything that gave that body warmth grace,
friendliness and charm and commended it to
your affection, or at least to your tolerance, is
gone and nothing is left but a pallid stiff and
repulsive cadaver.
Such is talk" almost invariably, as you see
it lying in state in an interview" The inter-
viewer seldom tries to tell one how thing was
said; he merely puts in the naked remark, and
stops there. When one writes for print his
methods are very different. He follows forms
which have but little resemblance to converse
ton, but they make the reader understand
what the writer is trying to convey. And when
the writer is making story, and finds it neces-
sary to report some of the talk of his charac-
goes at that risky and difficult thing:
IF he had dared to say that thing in nv
presence" said Alfred. taking a mock heroic
attitude, and casting an arch glance upon the
company, .blood would have flowed"
IF he had dared to say that thing in my
presence" said Hardwood, with that in his eye
which caused more than one heart to quake,
''blood would have flowed"
"If he had dared to say that thing in my
presence" said the paltry blusterer, with valor
would have flowed"
So painfully aware is the novelist that naked
talk In print conveys no meaning that he loads,
and often overloads, almost every utterance of
his characters with explanations and interpre-
tations. 1t is a loud confession that print is a
poor vehicle for talk" it is recognition that
uninterrupted talk in print would result in con-
fusion to the reader, not instruction.
Now in your interview you have certainly
been most accurate. You have set down the
sentences uttered as 1 said them. But you
have not q word of explanation; what my man.
ner was at several points is not indicated.
Therefore no reader can possibly know where
l was in earnest and where 1 was joking, or
whether was joking altogether or in earnest
altogether. Such report of conversation
has no value. 1t can convey many meanings
to the reader, but never the right one. To add
interpretations which would convey the right
meaning is a something which would require
what? An art SO high and fine and difficult
that no possessor of it would ever be allowed to
waste it on interviews.
No; spare the reader; leave the whole int err
view out it is rubbish. wouldn't talk in my
sleep if l couldn't talk better than that.
Ii you wish to print anything, print this let
ter; it may have some value, for it NAV explain
to a reader here and there why it Is that in in
terviews. as rule, men seem to talk like any,
body but themselves.