The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-08-20

use in schools. That it should be adopt ed In schools would be an excellent anu forward move. It is remarkable when one considers the progressiveness of our schools and school men that there are not in our universities and high schools chairs of journalism Writing Is no longer regarded as the work or genius burning at it's own sweet Will. It Is a business, a profession, trade. There are doubtless in the schools Of Birmingham many an embryo novelist, essayist, poet, whose way would be made far easier and shorter to the fields of fame, to the pinacle of success by little of the right sort of schooling, the sort of schooling that only the active worker in the field of letters could give. Since composition writing IS taught in every school and in almost every grade 1t seems but natural in this day of specializing that an experienced writer should have charge of th1s de- partment of learning. No better DOCK for use in such work could be found | than this able book from the pen Of an experienced editor 1t Is treatise pe- | culiarly adapted to the needs of col lege and senior secondary school classes, at the same time 1t will be | found a valuable guide to the individ- | ual writer, amateur or professional, who wishes to improve his art | The book covers the whole field. from the rise of the story writer, child or the story teller, the worlds entertainer ere the art of printing was invented. | The author glances at the make up or the ancient and the medieval tale, the sacred books of the east, stiil the worlds greatest stories, the rise or ehe drama, the enacted story, the hoVel- | the life story. The author contracts the short story and the mover, revle"s .n reasons for the popularity or the snort story. the influence of the short story :, He defined what the short story Is and what 1t is not. He describes the olI- | ferent sorts of short stores, the story based on types of humanity, on moral
 nature, on occupations (by the way, very popular style of today), based on 1 locality, on wonder, on soclal ciasses,
 on emotion.
 Part second treats of the structure of
 the short story, of choosing theme, of sources from which themes may be
 drawn, of the gathering of material, or l the use of fact in fiction. of the plot or
 the short story; and of the kinds of plot, surprise, problem, mystery. emotion, con l trast He gives a list of the elements that
 go to the making of a good plot-simpliei- 1 ty plausibility, originality. climax, in-
 terest He discusses the opening of the | story the settling of a story, the body
 of a story, the characters, the dialogue,
 the style, the title of the story.
 Part third deals with the preparation for
 authorship Here some very wise words
 upon originality are given: What Is orig
 inality? Whence is originality? Who can
 reply? A chapter upon talent and train- | ing follows. Then a chapter which Will
 bear much reading and rereading up n l acquiring vocabulary and a fitting vocab-
 ulary. Here again memory recalls tnat
 writer of pleasing letters so fond Of outre and misfit words, that they be l Mir. Esenwein quotes Sentimental Tom
 my's" search for the right word, that
 memorable search /that marks the high
 water reach of My Barries genius. Peter Pan has not line to reach the description
 of that search that lost Tommy the prize .
 but marked him genius to the discern ing.
 The fourth part treats of the marketing of the manuscript Here are the methods set forth Sending by mall, calling upon the editor employing the literary agent.
 The book is one that would be fonn1 helpful in every high school in our coun- l try.
 It is possibly because the union of men of letters and school men is closer at the | north than at the south that our current | ma gazines are found to bear in the tahle l of contents names of northerners in pro- l portion to southerners in ratio of hundred to one. score or more names of men great in letters come to mind as
 those called to fill chairs at great north ern universities: frequently at the south a professor writes a book, but what man
 of letters is called to a chair in a uni
 versty of the south?
 The northern publishing houses are 1 full of young men fresh from college and especially fit for the work of weed ling out the unique and the original
 from the flood of manuscripts because
 they are taught in the fashion of the 1 time by preceptors who are themselves
 in the thick of success for, often it is
 better to be to the manner bred than to
 the manor born Anyhow genius. even 1 to the manor born, can do little toward winning success unless to the manner
 bred and it is books like this that teach and teach well, lessons that must be learned.
 Practical Authorship, by James Knapp
 Reeve (The Editor company. Ridge
 wood, N J.)
 | This book of MT. Reeves is too well
 known to need further recommenda- tion, and 1t Is good enough for all the 1 good that is said of 1t not to be too
 much. There are some wise words in l this book from different writers; from Jack London, from Professor Will Ear
 hart Here is a little incident quoted from Albert Bigelow Paine's contribu | ton to the volume: " You have an easy time. Munk said an editor one day to R. K Munkittrick. You write half