The Alaska daily empire., 1914-12-21
ALASKAN W0aEANaS
 WRITINGS PoPULAL.


 Mrs. Helen Yam campeul 2 magaaine writer, who makes her homo in La Pouche. gas in Juneau satmdsy 2 { passenger on the s.oamahip Aiamlaa, returning to hor home,
 While in Seattle recently, nfa. Fan campen Waa made the subieet oi numerous pewapaper nrticlo9. aereert Evison. in the Post-ntelllgcneer aaid;
 Heading tho Sunday morning pses of tho registor ol the RainiorGrand is tho name or Mrs. Helen Van Campen, Of LaTouche. Alaska. Mrs. Van Cam pen writes stories, stories that the publishers Of @best sellers" among periodicals are glad to buy, and that readers Of tho magazine seom to be glad to read judging from the number who remember her name and what She writes about She is ono of the most successful writers ol ahort stories about the stage or the race track In tho United States.
 Mrs. Van Campen is woman of medium height and rather slender Her hair, great masset of t. is coiled in gray braids. Her chief faclai char acteristlcs arc clear, light complex ion. black eyes and eyebrows, and g mouth which insists in breaking into most pleasant smile. And she talks with q drawl that any Eng Englander might claim for his own-
 Loaflns for Eight Montha.
 q have been loafing for eight months, she said in introduction yes terday. And ] h2yo been in New York and Philadelphia, and Chicago and Denver. and San Francisco. and I've been homesick for LaTouche a good deal Of Che time. Because that's the only home ] ever had.
 q went to New York because ] hadn't been there for five years, and l was afraid I was getting rusty on It. But ! wasn't. It is just tho same, Just as stupid as ever. write about New York. but I'm not in love with it. It's too dirty and noisy, and close. They don't have air in New York. They just have draftb And they don't even have that in their art gal lerles and museums. l kind of skdded around tho edges while l was there, though.
 l asked her how long she had been In LaTouche, and # she was writing any stories Of the North.
 Eve been there three years," she answered "but ] haven't written any- thing about the North yet. There isn't much Of a market for Alaska stories, and there is a good market for stories of New York And write Che kind that there is Q demand for. I gueas I'm not Q genius. A great comedian usually wants to play Hamlet, and Q humorlst would rather write serious book; they all want-to do something else. But l don't It all amounts toI the same thing in the end, though. They all do what they set the money for, after 9 struggle. ] gave up with- out a1y struggle, she added with Q be- witching smile.
 Saturday Posts Policy. >>"The Saturday Evening Post put itI up to me In just the usual way" she went on. .They were kind enough tol say that they would be glad to takeI anything that ] wrote-that is, any thing they could uGe."
 Mrs. Van Campen gets her know ledge Of the theatre and the race track, ! which she uses 80 successfully in her stories. from an experience of six years on the New York Telegraph, @ ! paper largely devoted to these two things. for which she wrote theatrical fiction during her whole connection with it. She was brought ID in Eng land and Algiers and Australia, in ad- ! dition to America.
 But I don't use them iu my stories" ! she said. q have only Q child lnowl-l ! edge of them. and that isn't nearly intimate enough
 She works more or less wherever she goes. carrying 9 little portable typewriter for the purpose.
 The writer from LaTouche iB going | North on the steamship Aiameda, which leaves Seattle tomorrow night
 That's the Christmas ship for us, you know" she said. I'm going up with the turkeys, and tell you I'm glad I'm going. When ! was in Chi ,ag0 1 heard steamboat whistle. And then I listened for something hat didn't hear. When Q boat whist es as 1t comes to LaTouche, all tho logs start to barking. was listening Or that bark, and ! have been home lick ever since.
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