Evening star., 1932-08-06

Templeton Jones secured a copy of
Magnolia Street when it was new,
and placed it on his shelves for future
reading.
1t Is a habit Jones has. to buy new
notels and leave them unread until he
gets ready to read them.
Quite a sensible habit at that. come
right down to it. but the majority of
human beings seem to think that be-
cau~e they come into possession of a
new work they must r,ad it at once.
A member Of the household read
Magnolia Street" the other day, and
Templeton asked how it went.
The people in it seemed very much
alive" was the reply. .--.
Jones stopped to wonder If there is
any greater praise of a novel, aft-r all,
Fiction is people.
People are stories. ......-
There is no more plot to Magnolia
Str ct" than there is i'll rabbit. as
the old expression has it. but when a
novel makes You see and hear real
p-ople it is functioning.
Its author has succeeded in what
he attempted to achieve ,.
This one book may be taken as
type of the considerable output OF re-
cent years wherein the old-fashioned
plot is dispensed with and reliance put
solely On the presentation of men and
women as they are. -....
It is needless to state that this meth
cd requires a nice observation. an ap-
probation of values. and q great d al
of understanding of the psychology Of
interest.
IF one will consider for a moment
the comparatively skimpy material Eith
i.l, oil rr1o at1t1 t1Nn, daal II mill l1S
realized ky the least analytical of read
ers that their achievement is consid-
eTablS. -- ...-.-...
They have dispensed with the old
time entrances and exits. the hundred
and one timetried devices" of fiction
writers since writing began. s..r
They have believed that nothing is
quite 80 irtere ting 10 human beings
as human beings . -.r,.
That is the cardinal point of their
writing creed. ."
Action. with them, is simply Incl
dertal to people. -s
Deeds. in these books. come solely
as the reactions of human beings
placed In certain environments and
confronted. with certain situations.
Ohhand. it might seem to the un-
wary that novel of this type could be
llTUeQ Ullt Ny ANY Ollt.
Many have tried 1t, however, and
failed diTmally. r..
No sort of writing is more deceptive
as to its ease of creation. as a host
Of w0uld-be imitators have found out,
to their own personal dismay.
1t seems no task at all. to the brave
person who is in the habit of rushing
IN where angels fear to tread. s- -
one will grasn nRn 0r
typewriter, seize a large quantity of
paper. and go bravely to work on what
vanity proudly calls "a novel" or per-
haps my novel"
1t is being done every day in the
year, in a thousand places, mostly in
secret.
It looks so easy! 90.
All one has to do is to write about
the people one knows. But right there
one OF the main difficulties enters.
Actually. the task of writing about
the human beings one knows is one
OF the most difficult jobs in the world,
If one is at all fair and harborS any
Of the ordinary sentiments OF a de-
cent man. ....- rs
One cannot divest ones self OF the
feeling, in taking notes, in making OBJ
servations, and SO on, that one is in
dulGng in process OF spying.
BE careful" one wants to shout.
what you are saying and doing is
goirg TO be used. not necessarily against
you. but about you, and the chances
are distinct that you will not like
what Is said"
They never do. "a, ..
Most people have built up exalted
images OF themselves tl.- et
In regard to these ego-images they
are grossly biaSed-in favor Of q pic
ture of themselves which exists only in
their own imaginations. ,r..
The fact that one specimen, for in