The sun., 1910-05-07
SHORT STORIES IN DEMAND
A CHANCE ron EVERY ONE TO
WRITE, SAYS y. q. PHILLIPS.
Only DEaWbAsk n That ths FIeld d Ss
Open That IN lnfeFioP auAllly - stun
AaJ Ne DovelOped-NhAt They'd D0.
prubably. Win PEGS Work Ts-aAy.

With the increase in the aumbuq Of
magazines and the oonssquont growth
Of the demand Tor short stories there IL
small chance nowadays for literary talent
70 languiah uarecogninsd. in tho opinion
Of John 3. Phillips. editor Of the AmsrioaA
Magazine.
Tbs short story Of to-day 10 really
an evolution from the short story Of the
days Oi the old weekly story paper
said Mr.. Phillips yesterday. sSuch publl-
cations have been replaced by the maga-
Sines. which print fiction Of a much better
grade and which are more widely read.
The demand FOR the short story has been
gradually increasing ever since ! have
known anything about the publishing
business. a matter Of tWenty-Odd years.
There used 10 hs a demand for short
stories in the newspapers Of twenty
years ago and a considerable number Oi
them used to be printed. but they were
mainly like those that used 10 appear in
the old Nss YOrk Weekly aud the Firssids
Com paAiOR.'
do you think that the short stories
Of to-day are better than thoss of a few
years ago. Mr. Phillips was asked.
We'll. Il is dificult to Judge the product
nf our own day and generation. There
Is tendency TO say. Look hack at thOse
times and So what was being done then.
and We have no Byron 90 day and no
Pope. aud 80 on. That IL the natural
fallibility Of our own generation.
Things that ars present do not asem
~ remarkable an those Of other days.
Il IL the same way with things that are
near ~ compared with thoss that ara
distant. For example. Colorado In Us
natural aoenerv has A. great an asset AZ
Switzerland But Switzerland makes ita
asset valuable and lives upon t. Colo
RADIO u near. Just across the river We
might say. while yOu have 10 0ross the
OCEAN to get To Switzerland
'if Poe were living to-day do you
think tho magazines would print his short
storiesg'
IL u the business Of a magazine or
periodical 10 publish the best things OF
its own day Mr.. Phillips replied. We
prefer things of the present because they
ars ours They may not he a. beautiful
or as smart an somebody elsss but We
would not stand for the fashion Of another
day II IL hardly fair. however. to ask
whether We would publish Poe at the pre-
sent day
But. ! should sAy. yes. ws wouId pub
lish POe's talent bat IL would not wear
the clothes Of the early half OS last cen
tury. A man going down Broadway ia a
stock a swallow tail coat and buckles
NAV look very brave and handsome in bis
way hat he would bs Out Of date
I recall that persons have sent dis
guised stories " Pos and Irving 70 the
ma gazines and have had them refused
They 10 not belong % this generation:
il was not question of talent Of course
Ne know that with the change In the
modern mind with regard 10 the stage
Shakespeare l. becoming lees and les
interesting 20 audiences and you have %
ct a -alect number 81 people together
IN order % have ODs u his plays Appre-
clatsd
Yet shaksspsars is being read more
and more all the time. Let W s,s uhAt %
the real kernel of that riddle think it
j. thai the public wants the talent Of the
author. bet in the wav- and fashions %
nov ! do not think there i any talent
expressing itself In the natural language uf
to-day that fails of recognition. not it,
fll need II recognition psrhAp- In some
cases. for u take time ~ buld up a rs-
putatiOn
Besides. 20 pierce disgui-es j. diflcuh
New talent alwAvs comes In q new aspect
While Il it- l9perhaT~. IL l. not like the last
talent that came up.
NO. cannot sAy that there y a dearth
Of talent. Tn the contrary think there
i getting % bs more aud more q it all
the time don't knOW thar Ia the last
Two years any writer % Action has i'm
pressed himself upon people ~ an in
svitabls genius. but hs may bs making a
start. The writer who develops genius
often starts out without diHerentiAiinE
himself or by initiating some one else
and doesn't make himself felt until be
has 20 grown that be can strike out freely
IN his own way. ! think BArries early
sketches In the 80 Jamss's Gdssiie while
they were nOtsWOrthy were not dis
IL was only after trying his
wings for some time that he "a. able
20 give ~ Sentimental Tommy The
Admirable CrichtOR' and Peter Pan
There 10 a great fieLi for the short story
writer to-day. II 10 far leas oiFoum-
scribed than ussi 10 bs the case. aud ~
tho years 60 by there is more libsrality a.
10 material aud manner Of handling a
theme. Nowadays any field 10 worth
justi ihcation Il you can do Il veil. that IL
Il you can make an IDEAL expression Of The
life Of that field which ls 80 generalizs-t
that IN a little piece Of Il your reader gets
a good picture Of ths whole. Any prob
lem. any question Of life you may attempt
Il you can treat Il With a master touch.
The short story TO a certain extent
follows the tendency Of the age. We are
much more intent upon politics and upon
sociological problems In this day, our
lttsntion being focused upon them by
the newspapers. We are coming more !
aud more 70 know the physical world. and !
Ihe field Of romance aud adventure IL !
In my youth the Indian. the !
border rufiian. the plains. mining pioneer |
ing. tho early railroad building. Afforded |
rich raw material for stories Of adventure |
and romance. But the spread Of civiliga- |
lion through the West has robbed fiction |
Df snch a Reid fortunately in q waV be- !
ratiaa there was getting 20 b. 70 much imi- |
IatiOn in place Of the real stun Of Bret |
Harte aud Mark IVAN aud even Mayns /
Reid. whose works hung On % popularity /
W long because they had authentic /
sources
-Since romance has mainly dealt with |
v ider reaches Of life aud adventure one /