The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-07-05
HARRINGTON in new YORK
ak ABOUT HIS WORK TO A
NEWSPAPER FRIEND.
Agrees with Mr.. Riley that Payment
Is a Delightful cident of
Literary Work.

Among literary men there is none more
in love with his work than Booth Tark-
ington, the author of 1.-THE Gentleman from
Indiana" and Monsieur Beaucaire," who is
spending part of his honeymoon in New
Advertiser.
They say that an author puts a great
deal of himself in his first book" said
the novelist at the Holland House, in one
of his conversations, which are always de-
lightful blendings of Southern warmth and
color, Western breeziness and Eastern col
lege slang, but it certainly isn't the case
with me, at least in this. I've never had "A
journalistic experience. All L know about
newspaper work practically is some of the
stories friends tell. That reminds me of
one that Jesse Lynch Williams, whom 1
knew at Princeton, tells on himself. 1t
was when he was on the staff of the Com
mercial Advertiser. He had just published
a volume of short stories. He walked up TO
the literary editor one a. m. and, picking
up a book, asked If he couldn't review it.
The editor said yes, not noticing it was
one of Williams's own books, and Williams
wrote a sort of s~atirical c~ritique on it.
~ ian - Oil
now. but there is one thing I've sworn
continued Mr.. Harrington; that is that
Ill never again engage to write stories
ahead. It's a horribly bad practice. L
really think that a man should never do
that. Why? Well. L don't mean that a
person should never work under stress.
for some of the best and most beautiful
work has been done that way, but pot
boilers as potboilers-and that means
something that is very Observation-Disclosures
always be avoided. A literary man should
never write anything but what he really
enjoys; that is, although he may write 1t
to pay his washwoman's bills, he shouldn't
write ii unless he would have written il,
anyway, whether he had 10 or not.
Creation is a real joy to the literary man.
and the pay, as Whitcomb Riley says, is
only a delightful incident 1t seems so
funny that when writing is such fun you
get paid for it, too. When you open your
envelope at breakfast and out drops a
check, / tell you it's very satisfactory. but
you never get over the wonder of it. 1
said writing was a joy. didn't l? Well, III
delight Sometimes | think it is hell.
Why? Well, there are so many keen dis
appointments. Satisfaction and disgust
are not so very far apart, and, strive as
you may, it is so hard to reach your ideal.
When L look at my past work. which at the
time 1t was written seemed so satisfactory,
I'm really and honestly filed with disgust.
Great Scott what bosh!' j often exclaim,
and it isn't affectation, either. Any one
who has written will tell you he feels the
same way.
You see. when the mood is on a man
n ne sits down TO write, his mind all
alert. his imagination all aglow, every
word, as it falls from his pen, seems alive
with bloom and beauty. 1t means so much
10 him-every little phrase, every little
word which, detached from the rest. is
lifeless, has its relation to the whole, which
he understands, but, perhaps, next day,
the mood gone, he %forgets. and the work
seems dull and ragged and so distasteful.
The bloom has all turned TO ashes. Do |
make it clear? 1t is just like a cartoonist
Who works hour after hour at a picture.
He is enthusiastic. and in the Inspiration
of the moment every little line, every wrin-
kle he works in, has its reason for exist
ence, its plan. Next morning he is tired,
and forgets and tears up the picture in
disgust. Literary work is so delicate that
the least little faulty touch may spoil ev-
erything. There is no craft in which sue
cess and failure lie so near. Only a hairs
breadth divides the two extremes. / have
so often tried TO describe a song. That is
the l~oveliest task l ever try, and yet the
hardest. do so try to make the song
sing itself to the reader, to make the words
ring with the refrain itself, and when I
read what l have written l say, Can you
hear that ~song-no-it's all a failure And
yet / have read other writer's descriptions.
and it seems to me hey fail. too. 1 sup
pose ii is absolutely impossible. Some
times l think descriptions of music in
novels should be accompanied by a fine
orchestra.
REALISM AND Mr.. HOWELLS.
There is so much talk of realism and
symbolism and this and that kind of fc-
ton to-day, and yet it is almost always
absurd juggling of terms. Each in its
way is excellent. 1 like realism myself
and 1 think every writer should try his
hand at everything. The character of the
man will shine through all he writes. but
it is a most excellent training. There are
-+~,~, -. ia a. =.
all the term is but comparative. Some
writer's Will describe minutely a mans
breathing. the dimness made by his breath
on the window pane, the buzzing of the
saw up stairs, etc. Yet that is not more
faithful than the writer who accurately
describes the striking traits and leaves
the readers 10 do some little work for him
self. IL you are going to split hairs so
much why not, when you are describing
a mans coat, stitch a piece of cloth on the
page. That would be realism certainly
William Dean Howells. and quite naturally
everything gravitates to him, when real
ism Is thought of, never half realizes how
wonderfully dramatic he is. He has said
in a lecture somewhere that he thought
the most perfect piece of writing would be
just an accurate description of the lives
of two or three people-just the singing
out OF say a year OF their existence and
treating the characters and the events of
each day absolutely accurately, and vet
with no thread of a plot about which 10
WEAVE III lilNlutIlS. ana Yet with all his
realistic theories, Howells is a most perfect
dramatist. There is scarcely an incident
In any novel of his that does not heighten
the effect. that has not a bearing on the
climax. Realism and idealism both should
go hand in hand, never separate.
You newspaper men," laughed Mr.. Tark-
ington, have a good deal 10 answer for.
Don't you think that all this talk of the
great American novel. for instance, orig
mated in some of your sheets? When any-
body wants an extra paragraph or so in his
literary column he fills in with that.
never really understood just what was
meant by the great American novel or
course there Will be great American novels
some day-there are already, but does this
term mean the great novel by the Amer
lean, the great novel about America. or
are both conditions implied? There seems
10 be really no salient feature about Amer
lean writers upon which you can lay your
finger. and say, Here is what distinguishes
the American from the English writer
Style * style erywh the artist the
artist everywhere; the matter may not be
the same, but in the main the manner is.
Still as time goes on and the two languages.
for American and English are rapidly be-
coming almost two distinct tongues. the
reverse of that statement may be true.
But what Is the use of all this defining
and distinguishing anyway said the novel
ist as he walked TO the window and pazed