The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1934-04-05
Pen Picture of RED"
Lewis by fastener
Continued From Page Onel

of the merchants, the CLEAN of
calculation in their eyes; the trav-
cling statesmen, with their glass
diamonds and the f1ippant man
ners; the town boosters and cheer
leaders; the prim old maids, talk
ing thin platitudes at women's
club meetings. Even as a boy he
wanted to write about these pep
pie.
At the age of IS Lewis entered
Yale with about $40 in his pocket.
It was a financial struggle for
him to pull through, but in 1907
he got his A. B. degree. In Yale
he acquired the nickname "Red"
on account of the reddish tinge of
his skin. His hair is not noticeably
red. For a while Lewis drifted
about as a wandering newspaper
reporter. For several years he
held minor jobs in publishing
houses and in the editorial offices
of magazines. At one time he lived
in a bare room, cooked his own
meals (sometimes), did his own
laundry, and supported himself by
writing short stories and poetry.
In the summer of 1913 he became
editor of the Publishers Newspa-
per Syndicate, and while in that
position, wrote most of his first
novel, Our Mr.. Wrenn." When
the novel was about half done, he
carried it to Frederick A. Stokes,
the veteran publisher, for apprais-
al. Mr.. Stokes returned the man
uscript. You're not cut out for a
writer" he said to the anxious
author. eff I were you, I'd forget
all about it." Nevertheless Mr..
Lewis finished it. Harper & Bro
theirs published it in 1914. It soon
died, however. and was decently
buried. During the next six years
Lewis brought out several books,
all delicately written but lacking
power.
In 1918, he began work on Main
Street. He intended it to be a
work of contemptuous defiance,
and his last book Within six
weeks after its publication, Sim
clair Lewis was the best known
author in America Up to date
more than 10000 copies of the
book have been sold, not counting
the foreign sales. It was followed
by Rabbit" in 1922, which has
sold $4,000 copies. Up to a year
ago, his five best-selling novels
had brought in to their publisher
about $3,5O0,OOO. All of them take
their roots in Sank Centre, even
when the scene of action is far
away. His entire swarm of vivid
characters are Sank Centreites
transformed into other patterns.
Lewis does not work in a hap
hazard way. When he was getting
ready to write Rabbit" he made
a map of the fictional town of Zen
it'll, so large that =. covered the
top of a writing table. The streets
were named and the principal
houses and stores were drawn in
their correct proportions. After he
has the plot in mind, he begins to
prepare a synopsis, and at the
same time he writes short biog-
raphies Of all the principal charac-
tiers. These contain a vast amount
of material that never appears in
the book.
It is unquestionably difficult for
Sinclair Lewis to live in the rare
fed atmosphere that surrounds a
Nobel Prize winner. Although he
is excessively voluble on occasions.
Lewis is a naturally shy person,
and an extremely sensitive one. He
does not like to meet strangers;
he hates public gatherings and big
dinners. Whenever circumstances
put him into situations that are
irksome, his inward distress Is
likely to fare out in actions and
speech that, if not resented, are at
least long remembered. He has no
regard for social amenities. When
invited to a strange house for din
ner, he is as likely as not to dis
appear and be found asleep n
somebody's bedroom. He evolves
dramas which come out in long
sustained moods of mimicry, and
you are never quite sure whether
he is being Sinclair Lewis or some
body else. There was one memoir
able evening at party, when he
took it into his head, before he
came, to act like Calvin Coolidge.
Strangers at the party thought his
nasal twang, his dry speech, and