The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-07-20
The Literary Outlook.

Need of Reliable Critic-Hamlin Gar
land Lecturing About Himself
The American Churchilrs Great
Historical Series Which Shall Teach
Us Patriotism-POe and Doyle Write
Alike-Novels of Reconstruction-Wes
Point in Literature.
(By Herbert Brewster)
1t is with a certain sense of disap-
pOintment that one picks up the current
number of a leading New York literary
monthly and reads, BLANK and Blank
the publishers, are nothing If not
thrifty" when he recalls that this par
ticular publishing firm failed last spring.
The reference was made to their very
unique manner of advertising one of their
books and the judgment which the liter
airy magazine had to make upon the
matter illustrates the tendency of most
critics to loose statements and incon-
sequential utterances upon the literary
topics of the time. The observation has
been made many times before but it is
so important that the present state of
criticism in this country be changed
that it is well to repeat that we are
sadly in need of real, impartial critics
who may perform a great service for
the reading public if they will but essay
the task. Some one who call himself
Brooks Fishery published in the June
Atlantic Monthly an attack on present
day journalism, in which he went on to
deplore the passing of the old time
editor and the present reign of the bust
ness offices of newspapers over their
editorial departments. Mr. Fisher seems
to have carried his vehemence a little
too far. but there are few who will not
grant that there is much truth in his
arraignment. In certain sense, the
same sort of criticism might be applied
to the literary magazines. These pub
locations pretend to be above newspaper
journalism or the ordinary journalistic
methods. but that they are ruled by the
business Offices is scarcely to be
doubted. With few exceptions, the liter
airy journals of this country are little
more than mouthpieces for their pub
fishers, who, at the same time, are in
tereSted in the manufacture and sale of
certain miscellaneous books, novels, etc.
If other publishers wish to have reviews
of their books in one of these, the first
step in the process is to include that
medium on the list for his advertising
appropriation. There are, of course,
honest literary periodicals, but the ten
dency to hold up" the publishers of
books has become so strong that there
are many so-called CRITICAL journals
published for no other purpose than
polite blackmail. In one or two in
stances within the writer's knowledge
every bit of reading matter is paid for
at regular advertising rates. The evil
of this thing is that the unsuspecting
public does not take the trouble to dis
tinguish between the true and the false.
***
Mr.. Hamlin Garland has laid himself
open to severe complaint in his lectures
before the summer school of the Chicago
University by saying that Shakespeare
and Dante are each an incubus on the
work of the writer's of today that Whit
tier was local in his poetry, and that
Hamlin Garland is one of the five great
est writer's of the West. Most of these
statements would have sounded better
had they come from some other source.
but few, aside from Professor Triggs and
Hamlin Garland, would dare to say them.
Something is radically wrong when
writer of as little reputation as Mr..
Garland possesses takes it into his head
to lecture upon his place in literature.
There are not many of Mr.. Garlands
most ardent admirers who would rank
him as one of the five writer's who had
done most to express the mind of the
middle West. Possibly Mr.. Edwin Mark
ham would be one of these, provided
Mr.. Garland returned the compliment
and insisted that Markham was the
greatest poet that ever came out of the
West. OF all American writer's whose
egotism becomes positively disgusting
at close range, Mr.. Garland and Mr..
Markham take the lead
*.*
The American Winston Churchill is now
in England on vacation from his la
bors of writing and historical study
Not long ago Mr.. Churchill confided in
the public his plans to write series of
historical novels, in which Richard
Carvel" and THE Crisis" shall be the
first two. Evidently Mr.. ChurchilPs
publishers do not believe the historical
romance will be superseded in popularity
by something else for some time yet,
since Mr.. Churchill is to keep at this
line of work for at least three years. |
The plan which the author has outlined,
however, seems worthy. He hopes to
cover the whole range of American his
tory, and at the same time to teach his
countrymen genuine patriotism. Ac-
cording to Mr.. Churchill. patriotism
meant hatred of the English when he
went to school in ST. Louis less than
twenty years ago. Naturally, speaking |
to an English audience for Mr.. Churchill |