Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1921-12-15
WISCONSIN HAS
WRITERS OF FAME
ELLA WILCOX, IONA GALE,
EDNA FERBER ARE
DISCUSSED
Concluded in this issue)

find what books OF Gen. Charles King
were on the shelves, found but two
and yet he was the author of over
fifty books, all rafting good stories.
1t seems that most of these books are
now out of print, except the more pop
ular ones like The Coloners Daugh-
ter, and 'Marion's Faith. | find his
stories much more fascinating as
stories than are Hamlin Garland's.
They show less care in preparation,
but also reveal the many exciting and
dramatic episodes the author expert
enced and witnessed in his long life
as soldier. His modesty, however,
prevents him from relating the NOV
ing exploits of his own life. Wiscon-
sin is justly proud of this writer. who
is every inch soldier. This is not
the place to relate his experience with
the Iron Brigade in the civil war,
his military life in the Philippines
and the Indian warfare in which he
was wounded 1t is rather for us to
reflect why such good stories are now
neglected, stories with plenty of &C
ton, fighting, love making, dangers
in camp and on the field, all pointing
to heroism, unselfishness, ideal friend
ship and loyalty to home and country.
wisconsin has another good story
writer in Frank Hamilton Spearman,
who received his education in the APP
pleton public schools and at Lawrence
college. His most recent book, Lara
ME Holds the Range, is as good a
story as one may want, that loves the
open life of the west. Here is no
effort to boost cause or make a case
for some pet project, but story writ
ten for the joy of telling. Hereto
fore he has largely confined himself
to railroad stories, some of which have
been highly praised by the critics, no.
tably, AS the Dispatcher Saw, The
Nerves of Foley, and Held For Or
ders'.
while Gen. Charles King wrote the
greatest number of books, the author
that covered the widest range of sub
jects is Ray Stannard Baker, who
spent his bovhood and youth at st.
Croix Falls. After graduating from
the Agricultural college or Michigan,
he went into business with mis- faith
err at ST. Croix Falls, but soon gave
that up, for the desire to write was
too strong to resist. He now lives
at Amherst. Mass. but returns to Wis
consin every summer. so we can claim
him.
He has written much under own
name ON social, political and econom-
ic subjects. He has also written two
volumes entitled The Boys Book of
Invention
Under his nom de plume of Sturges
B. Rand he wrote The Rop1ng at Pas
cos; while under the pen name of
David sGrayson he has published those
delightful quizzical tales, Adventures
in Contentment', and The Friendly
Road You would hardly think after
reading David Grayson's writings that
he was the same author as muckrak-
ing Ray Stannard Baker.
There are brilliant writer's at the
state university who deserve more
than passing notice because of their
excellent work. | refer to Grant
SLOVENIAN and William ElIery Leon
ard. Grant Slovenian is best known
through his essays in the Atlantic
Monthly and other periodicals. Leon
ard has published several volumes,
both poetry and prose. Rounds in
his Wisconsin Authors ana Their
Works, a book well worth reading,
compares his style with that of Swim
burne because of its warmth of pas
sion and the fluid quality or his rhyme.
His favorite poem is "A Dedication,
in which he pays beautiful tribute
to his father and his mother.
prof. Leonard has also written a
play, Glory of the Morning, which
shows the skill of master dramatist.
Wisconsin had another nationally
famous humorist besides George w.
Peck, Edgar Wilson Nye, who had
a wide following generation ago.
As Bill Nye' he write Forty Liars,
Bailey Hay, Comic History of the U.
s. The family lived for some years
on a farm in Wisconsin. He lived in
Wyoming for a while, but later re-
turned to River Falls % take up
newspaper work. Two other Wiscon-
sin humorists were Lutte A. Taylor
and William F. Kirk.
81 wish / had time to tell you OF
the work of some of the younger writ
ers connected with our university and
our colleges, such promising writer's
as Horatio Winslow, Berton Braley,
whose poems now appear daily in the
Record Herald, and Howard Mumford
Jones, Wisconsin boys of whom we
may well be proud. Recently the Law
renee college paper has been publish
ing some excellent poetry, but the
names of the poets are not given.
However. were one to do justice to
them all it would take a week OF
days.
Second Class
II should also like to rerer to the
work of many so called writer's OF
the second class, writer's that have
more readers than our best writers.
There are magazines that have a
greater circulation than the Ladies'
Home Journal or the Saturday Even
ing Post, but they are seldom If ever
seen, much less read, by the intelli-
gent men and women of our country.
While the Journal and the Post may
have 100000 readers, there are over
hundred million people in our coun-
try that never see these popular peri
odicals, but most of the adults among
them read something-and it is often
such ordinary stuff as one finds in the
Woman's World.
1T would be interesting also TO