The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-09-14
SIN ROASTED
HER NOVEL
Zoe Anderson Norris Indig-
nant Over Newspaper
Criticism.
"QUEST OF POLLY LOCKE"
1t Has Been Praised Also
Authors Letter.
"QUEST OF POLLY LOCKE"

zoe Anderson Norris. formerly Of witch
tia, has written another book and it has
been numerically roasted by the New
York Sun.
The author is indignant over the Suns
criticism, which IS given below. IN a let
ter 10 the Eagle she says:
What did you think Of my Polly
Lockess It has been praised and roasted.
You see. 1 hate these stereotyped notices
the publishers send out with books Half
the critics don't read them at all; so l
wanted real criticism I am getting it.
I wish. for example, you could see the
column Of roast the sun gave me. The
London correspondent of the Journal.
whom happen 20 know, wanted to know
! Il column wasn't enough? If I wanted
the earth in the way OF advertisement
| The Sun had roasted Henry James first
and me second L--1Ore could I want?
He said it at Martins. at night, with
the music going and all the lights on. So
I laughed and began 10 think it was all
right; but at home in the dark It was
different I began 10 think how long
/ had written for the Sun. How they had
( been my friends when I came here from
/ Wichita, penniless. as you know. How,
+ il It hadn't been for the sun and maya
/ zine or TWO l might have starved. Then
to roast me so, 70 say they didn't believe
there was such q person as Zoe Anderson
Norris. That was what they said. And
If they have one receipt for money paid
me from Zoe Anderson Norris, they have
q hundred.
Moreover, they declared I wrote poor
English. Isn't that a criticism of them
selves2 Why should they have accepted
my cyclone stories and bear stories-I
never saw bear, but that didn't matter
and New Yorg boarding house stories. If
I couldnt write English
This is a cruel world and unjust Ny
parent in a literary way. so to speak, go
ing back on me. Why. once I wrote 70
the Sunday editor, asking him why he
had rejected a certain story. I asked if
wrote less well since came from Europe;
for we never can tell, We writer's. wheth-
er We write well or III. ana I was afraid.
Even II I did get twice the prices I got
before, perhaps I had refrigerated. After
all it is often so much matter of being
known, isn't it's
''Weil. this was the answer he gave ne.
have the slip Of paper yet 1 treasure il.
So far as the writing goes. he wrote,
your work is good enough Tor anything
or anybody; but you happen this time not
TO have nit upon a subject We like.
And these are the people who, six
months later, disown ne,
They are Ike that though, those sun
people once their writer's rise above the
prices they pay and still persist in man
aging TO live. there is nothing cruel
enough for them to say about them. If
you crawl on all tours before the sun. in
sisting that without them you would
starve to death or land in the poor house, +
they are magnihcently benign. You set
them on a pedestal then: and first, last
and always the sun must be set on a
pedestal once topple the pedestal the
fraction OF an inch and behold, you are
scorched.
Il am rot the first TO suffer thus from
their disapprobation. There is Richard
Harding Davis. There are others and
others and others who came to the sun I
6rst. worked for them. grew out of their (
rates and SO dared to offend.
Besides. my friend, I know men SO /
weu have had occasion to know them. /
I write of them as they are. They dislike |
it, They see themselves reflected in too I
lifelike a manner in my mirrors. So they /
thy TO break them.
1T was SO with The Color Of HIS soul 7
which by the way VIII be out soon I /
suffered from the men critics. The women 4
critics were kind.
SO it must have been that some man +
critic saw himself reflected TOO strongly /
in my Polly Locke and 50 roasted it,
The Courier-Jourual said OF my Color /
OF his Soul that I wrote Of life af II
was. I shan continue 70 do. criticism or
no criticism. They may suppress my
books for while bet they VIII find that
the author is unsuppressible, II / may
coin a word.
However. I am not without luck Major
Orlando Smith % the American Press As
socistiou. who has published my stories
since left Wichita. has started a new
the Brander Magazine. IL which
he wiz star me. Not only thar but my
prices are doubled
ZOE ANDERSON NORRIS RYANS-
The suns roast Of which the author
speaks. is as follows being headed. a
Senseless Novel,
The frontispiece IS more interesting
than anything else in The Quest az Polly
Locke. (Ogilvie Publishing Co9. The color
of the field IS obscure. but for the rest.
Issuant out Of cloud in base, woman
head. proper. bapded about The neck with
a ribbon. sable mctto-Zoe anderson
norris. Ostensibly the head represents
the author OF the book. and the motto Is
repeated or the title Page IS Il i were
her name. but we utterly refuse 70 believe
h the existence OF any such person as
zoe Andersen Norris The Use CT a. &C
cent in the first word explains the mat
ter fn5iferently- We have &c &c with
Frsnch sentence. and Il It is obscure II IS
10. more 50 than several other examples
n rhs same language lu the body Of the
,ook The quest Of Polly Locke is. in
seeH. pulling enough from every stand
,eint. According 80 our own theory. i Is
-a.rt 70 De a skit on the current novel
r the feminine variety. 7 Il be 50. i IS
successful. fer IL presents most
.reu-stelv all the absur5tties of the type
-suu-ess. afrectation. false huu'or, sham
continent and ignorance 70 the last de-
-ree Il is only 70 b feared that The 81
ire IS somewhat TOO subtle; for with such
skin has the author employed each ali
suraity that We would hesitate % deny