The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1913-04-20
YOUNG WRITER'S
SHOULD Plug ON.
Advice to the Wouid-be Author From
Jerome K. Jerome
Who Had His
Troubles
THE POPULAR WAsTER
Hunger Strikes Are Nothing New for
the Game Was played Six.
teen Hundred Years
Ago.
[By Ed. L. Keen, London correspon-
1ant nf fLn Initial prncn

Thy Ed. L. Keen, London correspon-
dent Of the United Press.J
LONDON, April 19.-"If you really
feel you've got it in you, go ahead and
write plays, and keep it up despite
disappointments," is the advice of
Jerome K. Jerome to the ambitious
young writer.
Jerome, who celebrates his 54th
birthday next week (May p, has prob
ably suffered as many disappoint-
ments as any modern author, but he
bears no crouch against publishers or
public because, as he says, 1t Is the
work itself in which he has always
been most interested. AS Forbes-Rob-
ertson has just been giving farewell
| performances of Jerome's most sue
cessful play "The Passing of the Third
| Floor Back" England's famous hun.
orist and playwright has been much
. in the public eye of late. In addition,
another of his plays, Esther Cast
| ways has been running at a west
| end theatre, though much to his cha.
| grin it was suddenly withdrawn the
. other day, despite the fact that the
receipts were averaging we'll over
| $4,000 week.
1T just shows that disappointments
are not limited to the early career of
| the author" he remarked. 81 have
had lots of them. In my opinion play
writing is the most interesting depart
ment of literary work-as well as the
most dificult-but the dramatist must
learn to put up with humiliations and
rebuffs. After the weary search for
manager to produce, and the hard
work of rehearsals, in which ones
cherished child il apt to be hacked
and mutilated beyond recognition, it
is not at all agreeable to hear the
| product of six months labor ruthless
. y 'booed,' or to find oneself held up
to obloquy by the critics next morn
| ing.
As to whether young man should
80 mo authorship at all, the only
way to find out is for him to try it.
Vi course, if one did not really like
II the profession would be quite I'M
satisfactory, for there is nothing more
distressing than cudeeling ones
brains for ideas which will not come.
BESIDES being he most enjoyable,
pay-writing is the most renumerative
branch of the writer's art. but books
olfer wider field and one easier to
work. In book you can follow out
Your own ideas. and if there is any
merit at all in it there is not much
dlfhcul- in finding publisher. BY
oook-writing steady income may be
earned. but I've learned by expert
ence that there is no certainty about
plays"
Jerome started life as a clerk, and
later tried his hand at teaching school
Ihen he turned 70 the stage and from
mat to journalism. He was ioint-edi
Tor OF the Tdler magazine, and editor
OF Today. His first book was idle
thoughts of an Idle Fellow which
with Three Men in a Boat was his
most successful work Naturally a
hamorist. Jerome declares that tbs
writing of Paul Kelver, his only
serious book, gave him the greatest
satisfaction.
he likes American appreciation Of
ms works. Perhaps that's because
,hfee-fourths of his income is derived
rom America. where THE Passing ~
The Third Floor Back" had an even
greater success than in this country
his first dramatic work was Bar
para which has had phenomena
run for one act play. "Fennel," an
other one act play, gave Allan Aynes
worth, the popular actor manager, the
Vnnance of making his first appearance
IN the stage. Jerome laughingly com
plains that the actor, being somewha
nervous at the first performance, en-
urely forgot what Jerome considered
an exceedingly choice bit of poetry
ana improvised lines of his own.
Jerome is an enthusiastic tennis
payer, skater and ski-runner.
LONDON. April 19.-The "waster,
u scapegrace, is the moss popula
Nnaracter in drama, fiction and rea
me. according to Sir Herbert Tree
pritaln,s leading actor-manager, VIII
mas again found congenial part i
US new success The Happy Island.