Evening star., 1954-03-07
Too Much ReoIisi117
Writer Says
-
Imagination
Necessary
BY Hurriet French

There was the sweet smell Of
leaves and dried flowers. a pot
pouri. A low, white bowl Of
leaves, grasses and berries stood
on the mantel, another one on
an Italian table, many books on
the shelves, A small Tyre table
was by the fireplace. A manu-
script that was being corrected,
plus a gray kitten rubbing
against ones ankles-all these
contributed to the atmosphere
that seemed particularly fitting
to a successful writer Of chill
dren's books.
And the writer? She is Mrs.
Carley Dawson. Mrs. Dawson.
blond. slim and trim. was wear
ing q pale, pink sweater and q
gray flannel skirt. A scarf. tied
softly around her throat. was a
pinkish mauve.
1--WE just been going over the
manuscript of my third book"
said Mrs. Dawson. 1.-THE pub
fishers have accepted it without
making any changes, but there
are some parts that I think need
q little polishing"
When asked about her second
book, 'The Sign of the Seven
Seas" she said that the proofs
had been corrected and returned
to the publishers and that it
would come out this fall.
Dedicoted to Friend
1--WE dedicated it to a Mexican
friend who is responsible for the
germ Of the idea. He has as far
fetched an imagination as I
have. My books are a kind of
protest against the too realistic
type Of books that are now often
written for children. I think
that an imaginative world is
the proper heritage of childhood.
There will be plenty of time for
realism when they grow up"
Then she spoke of magic, or
what now seems to be magic.
There are actually so many
kinds of magic" and she re-
lated her experience with for
tune teller who had foretold the
success of her recent book, ''Mr. !
Wicker'S Window" and who said
that she saw" the book clear
ly, bound in red with a gold
design. After the book was pub
liShed. Mrs. Dawson learned for
the first time that Houghton.
Mif1in had chosen a coral-red |
binding and used a gold design.
inspiration From Dreo m
The inspiration for ''Mr. Wick !
er's Widow" came from a dream
that Mrs. Dawson had while |
living in England. It seemed that !
she had been walking down |
street in the East End of Lon |
don when she came to a tiny |
shop with bow window, sand |
wiched in between two big ware |
houses.
She entered the shop and |
looked out the window. To her
amazement, instead of the mod
ern street that she had Just left, |
there was spread before her a
scene Of the 18th century-com-
plete with ladies and gentlemen
in 18th century dress, and car
riages drawn by handsome horses.
The dream seemed so real that |
the memory of 1t remained with |
her vividly for a long time.
Mrs. Dawson had returned to |
America and was living in |
Georgetown when she wrote "Mr. |
Wicker's Window" She just |
transferred the locale of her |
story from London to George
town.
Kentucky Born |
Louisville. KY, is Mrs. Daw-
son birthplace. Sne attended |
school there and in California.
Her father is Avery Robinson,
the composer who wrote Water |
Boy" and her mother is MARY |
Chess" well-known perfumer.
In 1920 Mrs. Dawson went to
England "for the summer" and |
stayed 10 years. When she re-
turned to the United States she |
intended to stay six weeks, and |
she is still her. When her six
weeks were up, war was immi- |
nent, and she knew that If she
returned she and her 4-year-old |
son Stephen would be two more
mouths for England to feed. |
Stephen will be graduated this
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