The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-09-14
I'M THE LITERARY WORLD.

the lie to the man who said no one could
ever get used to the typewriter The
afternoons l give over to elegant leisure,
and to thinking what I will do with the
money If | sell what / have written in
the morning. Once a week / go out. or
rather in, for l live out, to battle with
stern editors, and return at night weak
from the conflict, and laden with the
spoils of war. If they are too spoilt
destroy them; otherwise l send them out
again. Those editors run the best maya
zines who print most of my stuff; but in
that opinion l do not differ from other
writer's except that l am more frank The
reason l began writing was because 1
wanted to and / will continue as long as
editors want me to"
Dorothy Dix, known best perhaps
through her Fables for the Elite, says
that cooking is the source of her in
spiration. Those who have wondered
how w. J. Hampton turns out the curious
things which he has labeled 'Yawps
learn that he sits down at the type
writer, says in a firm tone: Gee Whit"
and then, "See!" and then fills up what
ever white space may happen to lie be-
tween the termini of this effort. Kate
Masterson takes her work very seriously
and labors five hours day at it. Edwin
Sabin, the Iowa humorist, gets his in
spiraton from a cat He has been try
ing for years to write something which
will make the cat smile. SO far he has
not succeeded, but he is hopeful. Minna
Irving writes that she is saddest when
she is gladdest Ambrose Bierce says he
does most of his work with his legs inter
plnhpC
spration and achieving copious protru-
sons of tongue Tom P. Morgan insists
that the average humorist doesn't have
any inspiration. George Hobart, better
known as Dinkelspiel, says that he spends
an hour every morning thinking and get
ting up courage to go after the English
language.
'Bedween 10 and II kick offer my
desk" he writes, "And nit der left hant
l crap der Enkilsh langvich Ply der throt-
tie und begin to shake it," The effect is
ito render id unspeakable." "Und so id
goes all across der lift -long day, und ven
der night dime puds der shudders ub
find myself SLIDING dere surrounded Ply
poor, squvering words, all proken und
bruised und banting for ice water Dis
is der blood thirsty story uf my life.
The practice of getting out complete
editions is not at all a new one, but the
practice has added to it the idea of get
ting these editions out in such an at
tractive form that it has become note
worthy department of the publishing bust
ness. The most careful and painstak-
ing efforts are bestowed upon the book
making of many of these editions and
the coming fall season will be distin-
guished by a large increase in these fine
examples of the bookmakers' art The
Dent edition of Hazlitt stands, perhaps,
first 1t is, strange to say, the only COM
plete edition of this great critics writ
ings ever gotten out, and the edition of
this special issue is limited to $50 copies
for this country.
An American work, of vastly more
popular Importance, is a forthcoming
edition of Edgar Allan Poe, which as in
the case of Hazlitt, is also claimed to be
the first complete and accurate edition
of the author. The publishers of the new
Poe edition say that the editors have en-
deavored to reproduce the work of Poe
just as it came from his pen and not with
the emendations and many changes which
have been made in previous editions, 1t
is unfortunate that the authors most con-
cerned with posterity cannot themselves
arrange their work just as they would
have it appear after their death. 1t is
possible. of course, that the future editor
of Poe may find no further changes to
make in his writings; it is possible also
that many changes may be made which
the author himself would not have
dreamed of having had made. Perhaps
the authors themselves do not care very
much how their work appears after they
have gone. Someone once called Rudyard
Kipling's attention to the vast amount
of talk his illness had caused and what
had been said as to what posterity would
think of him.
what do l care for posterity," Kip
ling replied "Posterity will take care
of itself l will not be alive then to see
what it cares for me-" Yet it must be re-
membered that among all authors Kipling
is the terror among editors who dare to
suggest any changes in his work What
he has written thus far has been gone
over most carefully by the author, and
it is well known that he desires it to
stand as he has thus left it.