Los Angeles herald., 1892-12-30
Mr. GARLAND'S LECTURE.
The American Novelist at Unity
Church Last Night.
He Speaks of Americanism in Fic-
tiOn and the Drama.
A Clear and Striking Exposition of His
views-A Large Audience Turns
Out to Hear tho
Noted Author.

There was large audience at the
Church of the Unity last evening to hear
Mr.. Hamlin Garland lecture on Ameri-
canism in Fiction and the Drama. He
said:
From the earliest times our writer's
have been provincial. The expressions
each gave are becoming truer. In the
early part of the century we had anovel-
iet, Charles Brocklin Brown, who wrote
from the most gloomy characters. Then
we had poems written upon bombastic
themes, and all along in that age we had
writer's whose works seemed duplicates
Of what was going on in England. You
will find our writers of today giving
the repetitions of foreign literature. No
man has applied himself more closely to
getting at American literature than Ma
thaniel Hawthorne. Though he had
the misfortune in early life of living 13
years in email town, and as he him
self stated, he got 60 far out of the
world that he had some difficulty in
getting himself back Into it. Then he
began studying American life and wrote
American literature.
Americanism in the novel is the truth
full treatment OF American life. If the
writer states those things which he
knows and feels the most he gives q
faithful picture. The old-tlme novel be-
gan with 10 or 15 characters. After the
first few chapters the characters were
left idle, with an explanatory note that
they would be taken up. They were
carried along through the novel, and
finally all were murdered, hung or mar
ried. The people demanded an account
ing of all those characters. The modern
novel does not deal in such characters.
It deals lightly with murders, abduc-
tions, etc. It takes in the studies of
life, not "bird's-eye view" There is
nothing more unsatisfactory to the
reader than the "bird's.eye view." 1t
is not the vast sweep that is wanted,
but the impreseionisms and details.
Some one asked Monet, the celebrated
French painter: "Can you give me
some lessons?" Monet pointed to the
brook, the meadow and the stream and
said: "There is. your lesson; paint
from nature"
The modern novel deals with old men
and old women. 1t is cogitational; it
has its intellectual emotione, and not
the organic. The so-called erotic novel
is easy to write, il people will 30 debase
themselves. William d. Howells and
Henry James are the artists who write
novels from nature, dealing with Amer
ican literature truthfully. The objection
against Mr.. Eowells is that he does not
deal with the emotional. He deals
with individuals. He does not
explain for you, he does not put up the
guide board and say. "Here be deeply
moved" He does not furnish the story,
and the reader with brains also.
Henry James is more boldly intel
lectual than Mr.. Howells. He floats in
an intellectual world; he has not the
sunshine nor humor of Mr.. Howells,
but his short stories have never been
surpassed. His people are people. He
is one of the finest artists extant. The
novels OF Mr.. Howells furnish the most
important study Of American life ex-
tant. Suppose faithful novel Of the
times of Shakespeare were written then
1t would be worth ite weight in dia-
monds. OF the Is authors of that age,
they gave nothing but conspiracies, in
trigues, balls, etc.; but nothing OF the
simplicity OF life.
MR. 0hIlhuu CCuCi uueu Ills UiyuIy III
teresting lecture with few remarks on
the modern drama. which he said should
be the exponent of the modern novel,
but it is all mechanical. There is moth
ing more unreal than what is called the
realistic drama. The characters do not
talk as men and women, and do not act
as human beings. We have the painted
and waxed-mustached hero, the hyster-
ical heroine who is always fainting, al
ways in trouble, yet always saved by the
hero, who is always within reach. The
hero is thrown down 1O0O-foot chasm,
and the heroine. with her hair streaming
over her shoulders, rushes back OF the
stage and pulls him out. Why
do they have footlights to throw un-
natural shadows upon the men and
women. The lights should be over the
stage. Nothing but literary plays, des-
criptive of American life, should be pro-
duced. But the tendency of the day is
toward sensationalism and mechanical
effects. You have an element in Los
Angeles, though in the minority, which
would sustain purely literary plays, and
thus encourage American artists.
He urged the organization OF dis
tinctive theater for the production of
literary plays, devoid Of mechanical
effects and sensationalism.