The Denver star., 1914-01-24
By CHARLES ALEXANDER.

00BG en0fy IN FICTION.
By CHARLES ALEXANDER.
Los Angeles, Cal.-Most Of the i'm.
portant life values are found in the
books we read. Art, science, philoso-
ply and religion are great life values
in the training of the human intellect,
and these are brought to US through
the medium of books. The making of
books is the most vital work of the
race, but only men of real talent and
genius are able to produce books Of
worth and permanent value. In liter
ature the Negro has thus far produced
but few deep diggers."
The chief glory Of every race rests
in its authors, and the Negro race is
just entering into the larger and more
glorious possibilities of literary effort.
The object Of literature is to impart
vital lessons of life, to give pleasure,
to excite interest, to Danish solitude,
to make attractive our future pros
poets and to give inspiration to worthy
strivings.
The person who loves books need Of
fer neither justification nor excuse, for
with the love of books in the heart
one is rich indeed.
1t is sort of compliment to the
race that it has, SO early after its
emancipation from slavery, developed
so many booklovers. Although the
performance Of some of our writer's
has not reached greatness, yet 1t
must be acknowledged that some Of
them have produced work Of genuine
literary merit. Prior to the civil war
and for about fifteen years immedi-
ately thereafter the literary produc-
tons Of the race were largely theolog-
ical and autobiographical. Very little
of this literature possessed the vital
spark of true authorship.
There was the lack of elegance and
grace Of style, and hence the books
produced during that period soon lost
their place in the memories of men.
But considerable proportion OF this
literature dealt with the escape Of
slaves from bondage. The most thrill
ing and perhaps the best example of
all such narratives is the autobiogra-
ply Of the great Frederick Douglass.
This book, Life and Times Of Fred
erick Douglass" is fascinating in style
and convincing in elucidation. 1t
proves in its composition, when we
consider the authors meager chances
for acquiring knowledge, that Mr..
Douglass was a singularly gifted man
of unusual powers.
The only book produced by an Amer
lean Negro comparable with it is up
From Slavery" by DIR. Booker T.
n,,k nr Uo htrn hoo
since produced many books dealing
with serious and practical discussion
Of the Negro question In a peculiar
sense his work takes first place in the
list Of Negro authors. DR.. Washing
ton has enjoyed advantages of associa-
tion and contact with the most distin-
guished people of the world, and. hav-
ing good, strong mind-a mind capa-
BILE Of penetrating to the very bottom
of things-and, being big souled
man, he has, in simple. forceful Ian
guage, set forth his views with telling
effect.
The best history of the Negro thus
far produced is 1.-THE History Of the
Negro Race In America" by George
w. Williams. This book is still in
print by the Putnams Of New York
and London. 1t contains the story Of
the race in America from 1910 to 1880,
treating of the race as slaves. as SOL
diers and as citizens, together with a
preliminary consideration Of the unity
Of the human family, a historical
sketch Of Africa and an account Of the
governments Of Sierra Leone and L.
IBERIA.
In the field Of fiction the Negro has
done his best work. The short stories
Of Charles W. Chesnutt measure upHn
literary quality to the best things done
in recent years by any American
writer. and the short stories Of Paul
Laurence Dunbar, with romping, sing
ing, shouting and dancing characters,
are so clean and artistic that they ap-
peal to the most fastidious reader.
Those persons apt to be offended by
trifing improprieties found in the
writings of careless authors experience
no shock at any time while reading
the stories of Chesnutt or Dunbar.
In the stories and essays of DIR. w.
Fl. B. Du Bois and Professor Kelly MIL
ler there is seriousness from beginning
to end. These authors have attained
an important place in American let
ters. But what they have produced is
no laughing matter. DR.. Washington
often embellisbes his narrative with n
story. just to enforce thought or IL
lustrate a point. but neither Du Bois
nor Miller ever perpetrntes joke.
The pioneer writer of verse was the
frail little slave girl Of Boston-Phil-
lis Whentley. who was recognized by
George Washington. Since her day
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper. Mrs.
r. n. Mossell, Miss Cornelia Ray. Mrs.
Victoria Earle Matthews. Mrs Har-