Evening star., 1953-03-17

Charlottesville. Va, ought to be
discovered.
II had not thought of that"
Mr.. Michener said. "but that's
right. I went to school at
the University Of Virginia and
learned to love the area"
Mr.. Michener, whose way Of
life is detached enough to give
him perspective, is not as dis
tressed as perhaps you are by
the investigative tide that is
running so high in Washington.
Sooner or later" he says.
every one will be swept into it.
When it becomes apparent what
is really at stake, public opinion
will take care Of the misuSes of
the 1nvestigative process. AS for
its uses. they are recognized in
basic law. Congress rights are
well defined in the field. Under
existing circumstances, I don't
60 along with the refusal Of wit
nesses to answer legitimate ques-
tions."
AS a younger writer some years
ago, one with sufficient promise
to attract their attention, Mr..
Michener came under the obser.
vation of Communist zealots bent
on converting the liberal young.
"They were all too neurotic or
pSychotic. and I was too healthy,
I guess" he says. "At any rate,
we couldn't tolerate each other"
X X \ y
Mr.. Micheler, whose 'Tales of
the South Pacific" made him
successful and what he calls one
Of the luckieSt writer's of his
time, is none Of your agonized
artist-type authors. He regards
himself as a professional, with
the purposes and disciplines of a
professional.
He writes Of the life about him,
with particular reference to the
Pacific area which he knows best
and struggles to know better. He
Is not concerned with inner COM
pulsions although he envies,
moderately, those who write out
OF their personal feelings. He
sometimes wishes he could write
like Henry James, Jane Austen,
and even Truman Capote.
He goes along with the ones
who have made a profession,
rather than an art, of writing.
One Of his great admirations
here is Joshua Logan who trans
formed his first great book into
the musical South Pacific"
Mr.. Michener is not one who
laments that writing is hard
work.
"Sure, it is hard work." he
agrees. That's the way it should
be. # writing were easy-as
easy as it sometimes looks when
other and better writer's do it
every one would be q writer.
What kind Of a world would that
be?"
Mr.. Michener who has done
enormously well with it still
feels, with Mencken and q lot of
others. that "the English Ian
guage is not to be trusted" Any
thing . man gets out Of It, he
will have worked for.
\ 4 \ \
Like every one else whose
trade is words, including book
and drama critics. Mr.. Michener
has a reading problem; finding
time to read and writing that is
worth the precious time one has
for it.
"You know how it is with
writer's" he says. "They have
one of two reactions to a book,
either that it is phoney and not
worth reading or that lit is so
much better written than they
could match that it is discon-
certing."
He has found one way, how
ever. to keep a reasonable pace
with contemporary writing. He
takes book review assignments.
at least six a year, which keeps
him somewhat current with
novels, on one Of which he is
busy right now.
Its subject is Japanese-Amer-
ican relations in which Mr..
Michener has solid hopes for the
future, even though the new
Tokyo cabinet, succeeding that
Of YoShida, may be less in