davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1951-12-16
Crime
By Miriom Gutenberg

A Corpse for Christmas, by
Henry Kane. 81. B. Lippincott
Co.: $2.50.)
Mainline.
When a female private de-
tective goes to jail. she calls on
her colleague, Peter Chambers,
for a bit of help-just delivering
a message. Naturally. the man
supposed to get the message is
dead, or there wouldn't be any
story. But this one has angles
and curves. too. The dead
man, it developes. had a sue
cession of wives plus a daughter
found with gun in hand beside
the bullet-pierced body. For
motives, there were the wives
trust funds the man was about
to revoke, a missing fortune in
jewels and a big-time gambler
with a grudge. So who killed
him? Kane dishes out his own
brand of slick patter and wry
humor in this Yuletide puzzler.
Shoot to Kill, by Wade Mil
Ter. (Farrar. Straus & Young,
Inc; $2.50)
1t wasn't really framing a
man to plant one more piece
of evidence when you were sure
of his guilt. That's how Max
Thursday figured and besides,
this Weaver character had
stolen his girl. Then, Max
wasn't so sure any more that
Weaver was killer-even when
Weaver escaped on his way to
Jail, two more women were
strangled and "shoot-to-kill"
orders were issued to stop the
stranger. Whodunit fans may
carp at the denoument. which
fractures a rule of the trade,
but they must concede some
fancy sleuthing goes into it.
y X
The Far Cry, by Frederic
Brown. (E. P. Dutton & Co.;
$2.50.)
Guilt Edged.
A real estate man recovering
from a nervous breakdown set
ties for a summer in Taos, N.
Mex. To give him something
to do, an author friend sug-
gests that he collect enough
facts about an eight-year-old,
mysterious murder to war;
rant a sale to a true crime
magazine. Plagued by his wife.
soggy with drink, he gets suf-
ficlently warped on the murder
to chase halfway across the
country for more about victim
and killer. He gets the answers
all right-one too many. Here's
a sample of a book-length
novel painstakingly building up
to a single ironic twist. 1t
would have made a fine short
story.
Evening star., 1951-12-16

Some sort of biblical reference
seems fitting to tell how it was
when Herman Wouk. author of
"The Caine Mutiny." faced a
flock of admirals in the rectory
of st. Johns Church last week.
Daniel in the lions den comes at
once to mind. and perhaps will
do as well as any.
Mr.. Wouk (it's pronounced
"Woke," by the way) was self
possessed as he faced the re-
doubtable array of Annapolis
graduates Sprinkled through his
overflow audience. Accompanied
by his pretty wife, he had come
from New York. and rehearsals
of his new play. Modern Prim-
tive" at the invitation of st.
Johns rector. DR.. C. Leslie
Glenn, an old shipmate from
midshipmen's training school
days. Mr.. Wouk, who is about
81 and tall, with black curly
hair and a New York accent,
was plainly out to disarm the
opposition.
Even If "the Game Mutiny"
describes one of the most de-
plorable captains since the re-
grettable Bligh, it is still his
bread-and-butter letter to the
Navy, he told them.
Not in Navy Annals.
Even if 1t describes an Incl
dent never recorded in Navy
annals-that is. the unauthor-
lied. relief of a captain by an
executive officer-it Is still his
way of saying thank you to a
service which he feels made a
better man of him.
Having made that perfectly
clear, Mr.. Wouk went on to tell
the admirals (there were at
least six. all, he noted thank
Evening star., 1951-12-16
KnipschiId at Watkins

Robert Knipschild, a 24-year-
old artist to whom recognition
and honors have come with a
rush in the past two years. is
having a one-man show OF
paintings and drawings at Wat
kins Gallery, American Univer-
sity. through next Thursday. He
had a painting In the univer-
sity's annual purchase show last
spring.
Born in Illinois in 1927, he
served 13 months in World War
II, subsequently going to the
University of Wisconsin where
he received his Alb. in 1850.
Attending Cranbrook Academy
on a scholarship, he got his
MA. there last June. He is
now teaching at the Baltimore
Museum of Art.
He has been represented dur
ing the past three years in
eight important exhibitions in
the East and Midwest (includ-
ing three in the Metropolitan
and Brooklyn Museums, re-
ceiving third prize in the Walk
er Art Center Biennial, 1949,
and second prize and purchase
award in the Old Northwest
Territory Exhibition. Spring.
field, Ill, this year. Last win
ter the Pennsylvania Academy
of the Fine Arts purchased the
painting he showed in it's 146th
annual. Five other institutions
own paintings or prints by him.
including the Library of Con-
greSS.
Evening star., 1951-12-16

f1ict. To him, the conflict came
when the civilian enters the
military establishment.
"He goes through a terrific
process Of being cut down to
size. It's a tough process. and
it hurts. 1t generates a big
head of resentment"
Loyalty Is the Secret.
Mr.. Wouk illustrated with
anecdotes of his own expert
ence as executive officer of a
destroyer -minesweeper. where
fresh from Columbia and a
happy life as Fred Aliens gag
writer, he found himself in an
unfamiliar situation doing un-
congenial work.
He found that the secret Of
success in the Navy lies in 10y
Evening star., 1951-12-16

who, after reading It, can say 1t
couldn't have happened? And
where will you find so complete
a fragment of life in so few
words as in "Act of God" by
Richard L. Tobin?
Some Of these writer's are
published here for the first
time. Others have had short
stories printed. some books.
Luck to the Burnetts in their
trail-breaking journey.
Mr.. Collier is widely known
for a special type of short story
which is not like any other in
current circulation. You could
say. as the publishers do, that
these stories are weird and
fantastic. but these stereotyped
terms wouldn't be quite ex-
pressing their distinctive flavor.
He writes of the supernatural
as casually as most writer's
decribe ordinary happenings.
Demons. angels. ghosts fit in
and out Of these narratives as
naturally as gusts of wind or
bursts of rain.
The matter-of- fact way in
which Mr.. Collier accepts these
phenomena adds something
dramatic and sometimes terri
flying to the odd occurrences he
describes. He has, too, deep
sense of irony which comes out
in such tales as de Mortuis"
and Fallen Star" Poe or de
Mauppasant could we'll have
taken pride in THE Touch of
Nutmeg Makes It."
Some Of the stories come of
much better than others but.
on the whole. they not only are
highly readable but, of their
kind. works of art.
Evening star., 1951-12-16

advantage Of growing up sur
rounded by great art in his
home and in the Phillips GAL
lery. He had no formal art
training. He followed his father
to Yale, was with the Army in
the Pacific, and on returning to
the United States, went to the
University of Chicago, where he
acquired a masters degree in
philosophy. He is now vice
consul in Hanoi, Indo- China.
His II paintings in the cur
rent exhibition are distractions.
He favors complex arrange
ments of curves, diagonals and
rectangles In dark colors, for
titled with heavy black outlines,
and highlighted with white. In
one or two on view. notably No.
81, he approaches concrete
subject matter.
Evening star., 1951-12-16

United States. Many Of these
exhibitors have received awards
in such national competitions
as the Ceramic National of the
Syracuse Museum.
The Washington and Balti-
more areas are represented by
the enamels of Alice and VIII
liam Mahoney of the University
Of Maryland, Department Of
Practical Arts, and silver and
leather designs by Betty Cooke
and Helen Battams of Balti-
more. Work of the jewellers re-
veals new forms and use Of new
materials, with the aim of pro-
ducing objects suited to our
present era. Bold, simple forms
and contrasts of texture arouse
interest. From California. for
instance, is jewelry by Ester
RieS, who uses only driftwood
and stones from the California
coast. Most people, however,
will probably prefer the jewelry
by her husband. Victor Ries,
who sticks to silver and gold.
The show will remain through
December.
Evening star., 1951-12-16
A New TroveIoque
With q Heart
VENTURE TO THE INTERIOR

VENTURE IO The INTERIOR
BY Laurens Van Der Post.
William MorroaU; s3J
The meaning of the title is
twofold. Col. Van Der Post, a
British subject born in South
Africa of Dutch parents, literally
ventured into the heart of At
RIGA, to chart two fabulous
mountain territories for the
British government. He also
ventured deep into his own
heart. charting memories and
motives with rare honesty and
precision. So his book, for all
its gorgeous descriptions of At
rican animals and flowers and
vistas. is more than a travelogue.
1t Is a travelogue with a soul.
Col. Van Der Post left London
reluctantly in 1949. He had
been trying to piece together a
life rent by some 10 years of
war, including long imprison-
ment by the Japanese in Java.
Yet. when the government, des-
perate for new areas for food
production. asked him to inves-
tigate on foot two tracts of land
IN Nyasaland. he could not, he
said, have refused without do
ing violence to conscious con-
victions." So, armed with
Shakespeare, sealing wax and
Meredith's Modern Love-" of
he went.
All the Externals.
His grave and sensitive ac-
count takes note of all the ex-
ternals: The lavish meals on the
plane, the camaraderie that
suddenly flowers between the
passengers, the exiled English
colonials making their work
their home, and taking comfort
In their hockey and their SPAN
tels. and the learned, self con
SciouS gloom" of educated ma
tives.
Then, he says, where the
body stops travelling, the spirit
takes over the trek. And it is the
spirit. full of premonitions,
which takes over during his
marvellous and tragic excursion
over the face of Mamie, a noun
tain that for him had the quail
ity of Suppressed prehistoric
rage" Living on one of it's
peaks. happily lost in each other
and the wilds, are the gentle
Vances. Dicky, a forestry officer,
apprehensive lest the colonel
recommend the destruction of
his beloved ancient cedars, is
killed on the journey. The re-
turn of the colonel and his
friend to tell Vance's wife, their
agonized attempts to comfort
her are heartbreakingly de-
Scribed.
Travelling on to the great
plateau of Nyika, Col. Van Der
Post. wades through carpets of
wild flowers, watches the zebra
and the leopard in all their
tremulous beauty. He sees "a
silver light running like pente-
costal fire all along the sombre
ridges" This while his inner
eye is recording the disastrous
division between the whites and
blacks in his native country, a
suppression which outrages the
deepest core of a being which
yearnS for Wilderness and SINGLE
ness in life and in the world.
II there were more men like
him, his dream would be nearer
reality.
MARY McCRORY.
Evening star., 1951-12-16
The Adventures
Of a BeN-Hop
Near HOLLYWOOD
REACH no THE STARS

REACH TO THE STARS
BY Calder Willingham. Van
guard; $3J
After reading this book. Mr..
Willingham's third novel, an
impartial observer may still
wonder what this young writer
is driving at. Reach to the
Stars" is a sequel to his second
book, Geraldine Bradshaw"
which described the adventures
of two former collegians as
bellhops at a Chicago hotel.
In the new story, one of
them, Dick Davenport, takes a
similar job at a plush hotel a
few miles out of Hollywood. 1t
is an easy job, the tips roll in
and Dick has movie stars and
other guests of wealth and
peculiarities to wait on and
divert him. But nothing much
happens and he is lethargic
and bored He and his friend
of college and the Chicago
hotel, Beau st. John, who is in
the East. correspond at great
length. There are parentheti-
cal chapters about men from
other planets in the year 3400
and persons of the present time
who have nothing to do with
Dick and his pals. What these
interludes have to do with the
story I was unable to guess,
though no doubt they have a
symbolic significance I should
have sensed.
Mr.. Willingham has a certain
virtuosity in dialogue and
swift descriptions of odd char
acters, but he has not yet CO.
ordinated these into any CO.
herent story. One critic said
the authors writing left him
"dizzy with pleasure and ex-
citement." merely say dizzy.
CARTER BROOKE JONES.
Evening star., 1951-12-16
Art
Phillips Family
Art Exhibition
At 6. w. Library
By Florence S. Bergman

A two-generation exhibition
of paintings by Marjorie. Dun
can and Laughlin Phillips is on
view in George Washington Uni
versity's library, through De-
cember. Forty canvases by Mr..
and Mrs. Phillips and their son
will remain through December.
open to the public weekdays and
Sundays except during the
Christmas recess, December %
to 26, when the university will
be closed.
This family is so well known
in Washington that 1t seems
superfluous to give biographical
data. Newcomers, however. may
be interested to learn that Mar
jorie Phillips is a distinguished
painter with a national reputa-
ton, whose work has been ex-
hibited extensively in the United
States (including five solo shows
in New York City, and also in
Europe. She is a member Of a
gifted family, her uncles, Clifford
and Reynolds Beal, having been
noted artists Of the generation
before hers (and still active in
their eighth and ninth decades.
respectively. She studied at
the Art Students League in New
York, with Kenneth Hayes Mil
ler and Boardman Robinson.
Her main themes are land
scape and flower arrangements.
Her landscapes Cn many in
stanceS) are panoramic views OF
Western Pennsylvania, where
the Phillips have a summer
home in the Allegheny Noun
tains. Mrs. Phillips impression
istic technique does full JUS
tice to the beauty of this coun-
try. Her flower paintings are
equally distinguished, revealing
her flair for unusual and subtle
color schemes. and her delight
in the individuality of flowers.
Duncan Phillips founded the
Phillips Gallery in 1918, as a
memorial to his parents and his
brother. who died in World War
I. Established as museum OF
modern art and its sources, it is
widely recognized for the i'm
portance of its leadership.
Mr.. Phillips paints for pleas
ure. usually during the summer.
and rarely shows his work. Ex-
cept for the infrequent inclusion
of one or two works in a group
show at the Phillips Gallery.
this is the first sizable group OF
his paintings that I have seen.
Writing is his major medium.
During his years at Yale Uni
versity, he won honors in Eng
lish composition, was an editor
of the Yale Literary Magazine.
A persuasive interpreter OF art,
he is author of a number OF
books, "A Collection in the
Making" 1.-THE Artist Sees
Differently" THE Leadership OF
Giorgione." and others.
Laughlin Phillips had the
Evening star., 1951-12-16
Solving the Riddle
Of Emily Dickinson

A Yankee scout reports un-
favorable reaction in Massachu-
sets to Rebecca Patterson's
Riddle of Emily Dickinson"
Sentiment in Emily's home State
upon examining Miss Patterson's
thesis that those love poems
were addressed to another
woman seems to be that the
author, a Texan, knows very
little about New England, even
less about New England spin
Sters.
Evening star., 1951-12-16
Guest Lecturer

Emily Genauer. one Of the
United States best known art
critics. now on the New York
Herald Tribune staff, and au-
thor of a number of books in
art, will be guest speaker this
afternoon at the National Gal
lery Of Art. She will give a
lecture open to the public on
Americans at Home and
Abroad" at 4 o'clock in the lee
ture hall.
Evening star., 1951-12-16
Reviewed by corter Brooke Jones

Publishers will tell you that
books of short stories don't sell
and that they publish them oc-
casionally only as a service to
literature. There are, they'll
admit, exceptions. If some IA
nous novelist turns out a VOL
ume, perhaps the public will go
for it to an extent. Otherwise,
no matter how good the stories,
you can count your profits with
your left hand.
If this is necessarily true
and perhaps it's more q con-
vention of the publishing busi-
ness which has brought on a
phobia that prevents more such
books-there is cause for won-
der. People apparently like to
read short stories. They buy
the so-called fiction magazines
in large quantities, presumably
devouring meritorious, mediocre
and bad stories. But when they
read a book, it is contended,
they want a single spun-out
story-the longer the better, ac-
cording to present practice.
The Burnetts, who published
Story as a monthly magazine
for some Is years, are beginning
with this book something COM
pletely new-a group of stories
never printed in a magazine,
appearing for the first time in
book form. They plan to pub
lish volume of new stories
twice a year. In other words,
they are attempting to continue
or resume their magazine in
book form.
Golfers Own Stories.
Mr.. Golfers "Fancies and
Goodnights" is a large collection
OF his own fantastic stories.
Some Of them have appeared in
magazines.
The Burnetts make an excel
lent start in number l Of the
book-form Story. There are 20
stories by as many authors.
Naturally they vary In merit,
but not one is dull and none
seems written with that self
conscious effort to be different
which some writer's affect when
they turn away from the mass
circulation magazines and de-
eide to write from the heart.
The authors in this book are
not afraid to let their stories
take q dramatic turn or even to
have a definite ending, II such
trends are indicated. Nor are
they concerned wholly with
tragedy. futility or frustration-
In fact. II any collective tone
could be detected from the
stories as a whole. it would be
q positive note in a major key.
In its early years Story Maga-
zine. like most little magazines
of the period, ran to the story
which suspended In midair,
sometimes in experimental form,
and to the proletarian and anti
fascist themes which were pop
ular in the '30s. These were
reflections Of the times and what
was being written about them.
But there Is neither propaganda
nor any obvious effort to prove
a thesis in any Of the new
stories.
Some Are First-Timers.
It is heartening to find an
earthly humor In the first story,
Teresa Foley's Sam and the
Dean" More sly laughter awaits
you In later stories. such az 1.-THE
Long Pike" by Rearden Con-
ner; Fog and the Saints" by
Merrill Anderson. and "The
Devils TAIL" a Welsh fable by
Graham Brooks. Daniel B. Dod-
sons "The Let-Down" La as
dramatic an episode of q war
plane as you're likely to find.
"The Blond Dog" by Louis
Clyde Stoumen, Is an amazing
story that seems incredible. But
Evening star., 1951-12-16

1ully w e b l.
ing m uf It'd
a bout his
t e c hnic al
problems in
com pos ing
this unusual
valentine to
the service.
He explained
that a happy
ship. like q
happy mar
riage. is not
the stuff of
fiction, which
demands con-
Evening star., 1951-12-16
Reading and Writing
Herman Wouk Answers the AdmiroIs
At Gathering in Reetory
By Mary McGrory

alty-loyalty under all circum-
stances. that is.
That is why he made his cap
tain embody all the beefs he
had ever heard about a COM
manding officer. and then made
it plain that the captain still
should have had the loyalty Of
his men.
II think got the point across,
too," he said. There's one let
ter I keep getting from all over
the world-the same letter from
different men. It's always from
a Junior officer. Sometimes he's
in the Mediterranean, some
times in Korea. But they al
ways have the same thing:
You have made me ashamed Of
myself. I have said a lot Of
harsh things about the captain
behind his back. I am going
to try it his way for while
Then I know 1 have written
the book I wanted to write" he
said. Apparently he also wrote
the book some 350.000 people
wanted him to write. THE
Caine Mutiny" is Americas
number one best-seller. and
every one who reads it makes it
his mission in life to make his
friends read it. Men who ordi-
narily spurn novels gulp it down.
and order their wives to read it
at once.
Who Reads the ForewOrd?
Mr.. Wouk's apologize was
greeted with warm applause and
what sounded like a little purr-
ing here and there.
There was a holdout though.
Over the teacups one old salt,
in a quarterback voice was heard
to boom. 1T infuriated me-" He
meant the book.
I'm 40 years in the Navy I
never heard of ship being run
like the Caine, and I never saw
a captain like that" The book
had been sent him by a brother
in the Army. and the admiral
was making heavy weather of it.
Another tea-drinker mildly
suggested that Mr.. Wouk had
made that quite plain in the
foreword.
who reads the foreword OF
a book?" roared the admiral.
Loyalty. nobody answered him.
Timed to the headlines Is
"The Lawyer Looks Beyond the
Law" a new Catholic Univer-
sity publication whiSh contains
seven Essays in Human Dig
nifty" 1t was issued by the
William j. Kerby Foundation
and is available at the Catholic
University Press.
While the rest Of the Nation
anxiously chews its nails over
what might happen at the big
political conventions this sum-
mer. Doubleday g. Co. is sitting
back with the air Of people who
have the situation well in hand.
They look at it this way: AS
OF now, it will be hard for
either party to nominate any,
body who isn't a Doubleday
author. All three avowed can
didates, Senator Taft CA For
eign Policy for AmericansO,
Gov. Warren Goreword to mo
Time for Tears" by Charles
Hamilton Andrews) and Sem
ator Kefauver CCrime in Amer
ica") have long since been on
their lists.
Thomas E. Dewey ("The Edu-
cation of an American") will be
by next January. The leading
probable. Gen. Eisenhower
CCrusade in Europe') is also
one of their boys.
And just to be on the safe
side, they also have Harold
Stassen oman Was Meant to
Be Free~ and Senator Tobey,
whose "The Return to Morality"
is coming in February.
Evening star., 1951-12-16
JeweIry and Ceramics

The IFA Galleries are show
ing more than 225 examples
of contemporary American ce-
ramics and jewelry. made
by 90 designers and craftsmen
representing all sections of the
Evening star., 1951-12-16

patterns producing a Victorian
atmosphere.
For those who prefer abstrac-
tions, simplifications and other
works in modern idioms. there
are paintings by Robert Frank
lin Gates. Joe Summerford.
Herman Maril, William Calfee,
Peter Blanc. Pietro Lazzari and
others.
Evening star., 1951-12-16
Books in Review
The Editors Of Story Magazine Launch
Forth on d New Venture in Books

STORY IN BOOK FORM: NO.
Edited by Whit Burnett Halle Burnett (MacKav S3J
FANCIES AND GOODNIGHTS
BY John Collier Doubleday; 81
Evening star., 1951-05-27

life tends to be markedly lacking in recrea-
ton, leisure and social activity.
The average spinster. however. is we'll edu-
Gated. Over one third of the group of single
women studied had gone to college, and a
majority of the rest had finished high school,
In most cases, the spmster was professional
woman of good intelligence and excellent
background.
About one woman out of three was found
to be poorly adjusted emotionally; and better
than one out of four suffered definite nervous
disorders. Only 48 per cent could be rated in
good health by the measure of constitutional
balance and nervous stability"
Q: What sort of lore life does the average
spinster hare?
A: DR.. Dickinson's study showed that only
about one third of the spinsters had some
time love interest. Most of these romances
followed similar pattern: the man departed
leaving the woman bitter and disllusioned.
y: What percentage of bachelors and
sPinsters hare neUer had a loue affair?
A: Duke Medical School made a study of
4,60O young unmarried men - aged q to %.
They found that only 20 per cent were virgins.
But as for the spinsters, survey of over a
thousand single women of all ages showed that
Evening star., 1951-05-27

TTow does the bachelor get that way? Why
LII does the spinster stay single? Science,
too, keeps wondering, and leading universities
and research foundations have conducted ex
haustive studies to find the answers. Let's
take look at their findings, via the question
and-answer formula.
Q: As a general rule, are spinsters hap
pier than bachelors?
A: Evidence indicates that they very def
nitely are Though the average spinster's life
is shorter and less happy than her married
sisters, she is far more capable of adjusting
herself to a single existence than man is.
Wholesale studies indicate that spinsters are
far less subject to mental and physical break