Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1891-08-08

sosae Authors Excusabie for Adopting . 4
Pseudonym No Poetry In "Longfei-
iow''--"rhe Macauisy I1uwers of Liter
aturs''-...Carp," "t.ath," "Ilawardi."
Sometimes a writer's name is No uncouth or |
30 commonplace that il scems of itself unfit /
ted for fame, and pseudouym appears 10 be /
his only resource. Ii is hard TO imagine n
girl named jerks making herself famous as
a lyric poet, or a man nanted Meek becoming
a world renowned novelist The difficulty in
such casss, however. are apt 10 he overesti-
mated, and achievement of fame with such
drawbacks, while it may be hard. i by no
means impossible. We are apt TO accept
things as we find them, and 10 think them
fitting because they were always 10 us as
they are. Knowledge of tho work writer
has done has magical effect upon bis name,
and just as the old lady approved Adams
Judgment and discrimination in calling tho
inhabitant of the pen ''pig," .'sinse pig is
such an appropriate name for such dirty,
repulsive, disagreeable animal,n so we are
apt TO approve the names that masters of
the other pen possess, because we have al
ways confused the name with the work il
represents.
WHATS IN A SAaEl
Probably there is not a rcfued person In
America 10 whom the name "Longfellow,"
for instance, does not, without consideration,
suggest poetic idea We think beyond the
name, and of the poetry OF the writer; and
yet. "Longfellow,n when it Is considered by
itself, is not poetic word, while its counter
part, "Shortfellow," Is rather ridiculous
''Macauayr seems, no doubt. TO almost every
one, "a refined and stylish maine, which would
give any writer a long start toward making
for himself a good reputation. The contem-
porares OF the historian, however, did not find
his name impressive, or Punch when he first
began 10 write would never have suggested
that his essays were "the Macaulsy flowers Of
literature "Tennysonn is by no means 50
poetic a name as "Whitticr,r = but the fame Of
his work has made the English laureate seem
the equal, If not the superior, OF the New
England poet in this respect Not To multi
ply instances, such common names as Smith,
Black, Green and Lamb, names so incougru-
Gus as Cable and Motley, and 80 uncouth an
Keats and Piatt, bnve. with hosts of others
equally ineligible, been given "a share of im-
mortality When a man named Stubs can
make his name famous an historian and a
scholar no writer need despair because his
fate did not make him DeQuinccy, AN Aid
rich, or Bryant, instead of Jones or q
JenlIinson.
The man makes the name rather than the
name the man. Still a good name il always
an advantage, and in choosing signature
the young writer must decide whether he
will conquer fate with the name his sponsors
gave him, or whether he will choose q
pseudonym that will put Jenkins at once on
level with Hawthorne or a Carlyle
STICK TO 1T ALWAYS.
When once he has chosen his name, how
ever, he it his own by right Of baptism, or
fictitious choice, he should stick TO ii Away
I and forever Some brains may be weight
enough 10 nuke more than one name i'm
mortal but the trouble is generally of an
other kind Writers who have habtnali,
used more than one name have generally ac
knowlrdged their error after time, am
!. have devoted themselves To one signature
dropping all others. A well known Wash
ington newspaper correspondent a year o
more ago was writing to The Clevelan
Leader a series OF widely quoted letter,
which he was signing Carp another seris
/ of letters he was signing "F. u. G. > and
; series of articles for newspaper syndieni
!. he was signing with his full name, "Fran
g. Carpenter One day it dawned upon hir
:, he was doing the work of three men, maxim
a reputation for three writer's, and gettin
!. the credit for only one-third of the work h
did. From that day ON he has wisely signe
everything he has written with his real naIn
in full.
: Sometimes there is an advantage to nsw
y paper writer in signing his articles simpl
= with his last name. His signature then hi
a to the uninitiated the appearance of goo
!, pseudonym, while to those who are betts
= informed IL recalls the personality Of ii
writer. "Howardn purSues this plai
! "Carletonn and "perley,n two other We
u known newspaper writers, chose their midd
d names. Gath modified his initials into
o signature that his letters have made famou
/. In each case there Is something about q
q signature that suggests the writer himsel
10 and he gets the advantage of psondonyt
a and of his own signature at the same time.
William II. Hills III The Writer