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Literary Value of the Prize StoryIt is somewhat surprising to notr* that several novelists of established reputation were worsted by beginners in Collier's short-story contest. The cwvetea first prize of $5,000 was awarded to the comparatively little known Rowland Thomas, while the second prize of S2.000 went to the celebrated Margaret Deland. The contest was decided purely on literary merit by Mr. Walter FI. Page. Mr. 'William Allen White and the Hon. Henry Cabot Hodge. The opinions of the judges on what constitutes a good story are of interest. Mr. Page says: A good storyIs—a good .story—hut this much Is true— a story must be a succession of events or experiences, and a single picture or a mere description Is not a story. It may be material f*»r a story; but good material must be put together well to make a story. There were ‘strong’ manuscripts that failed. for this reason, to commend themselves to me. They were like pieces of good building stone, but they were not put together. So many writers seemed t« mistake good materia! for good stories, that I wonder if this be not a common mistake in our time. Surely It is a fundamental mistake to forgot that storytelling is an art, a diiculT art, too. A man who has a sirring fact or a thrilling experience has not a story until he has used it in some proper way—has constructed it, has built It.I do not yet know (and I did not receive the slightest hint from the style or the mater or any other circumstance) who wrote any of the nine stories that any two of tlie judges mentioned In tlieir reports. ‘Fagan,’ by Rowland Thomas, which seems to me the best, deals wlta fundamental human passions. It is well and simply constructed, for it is a straight narrative of a man’s life; but it is so told as to move naturally to a climax—an inevitable climax. It shows, too, the self-restraint of good story-telling; only fTle main facts arc set down. Conventional ‘literary’ adornment—it has none. It has directness and simplicity end strength—nothing else. There Is no fine writing. I imagine that the rhetoricians who thiuk that verbal felicities are the first quality of good style will think it a plain product. The man who wrote it (it must be a man, for it has a very masculine quality) does need to learn the use of punctuation marks and such things, for his small habits are as vicious as Sir Walter Scout's, whosedashes covered millions of signs. Rutany man who can build a story as good as this can afford to keep a literary critic in his employment, to do his punctuation and spelling—if he will limit the activities of the critic to these humble services. May he never listen to any man who preaches fine writing to him.Mr. William Allen White found that each of the first ninety-five stories in every hundred could be cast aside with five minutes' reading. “If a writer has anything to say he will begin to say it in the first thousand words he writes. But If his language is stilted, his subject inartistic, or his treatment of it bungling, there is just one further chance for him—go alfter his plot. Then if he lacks dramatic force in handling that, he is hopeless. The naked plot of afive-thousand-word story may he uncovered in two minutes. Two minutes more nosing around the climaxes will tell a reader whether the plot has been put together with an artistic judgment, and if the story, lacking style and the niceties of exterior workmanship, is weak at the core it may hr* cast aside. It III astonish the render, as it astonished the deponent. to find that only one story in a hundred of those entered for the Collier's prize contained the rudiments necessary to make a good story—even a pas-able good story. Of this group of stories, which were found by eliminating those that failed in the fundamentals of good workmanship, probably seventy-five were written by professional writers. The hand of the craftsman is unmistakable. 'Many Waters,* by Margaret Deland, seemed to me to be the best story In the contest, because it handled a big universal theme in a strong way, with the dramatic power well in hand, and with the artistic quality always in the foreground. *LOS ANGELES’ CARUSO SPASM.(From The LdS Angeles Times.)Caruso!Where is the golden adjective to paint the word-tint for his moonlight voice?When we came away from Temple auditorium late last night we had forgotten for the moment the crowd; the comparison of fashion was forgotten; the orchestra was forgotten—the other singers were forgotten—it was Caruso only who lived in Immediate thought, his wonderful dramatic voice which rang in our ears, the pleading note of his impassioned recitative still echoing in the moonbeams outside—drowned we were in the ravishing charm of an artistic holy night.Ah, this Caruso!Talk if you will of the serious side of operatic art; claim—and most justly— that Donizetti was a clown in the construction of sensible plots; argue for a year and a day upon Wagner and ultra-Wagnerism—but do not decry the magic of this mans mellow lips and silver tongue.Why, hanging upon a natural F, changing from forte to pianissimo, back to forte, again to pianissimo, and then spreading to colossal sunlit splendor in a wide open final tone, Caruso runs the gamut of human emotion. Tears and laughter are melted in the crucible of his throat and amalgamated into lyric goldin this one note. There is heartbreakand joy, despair and resignation, mockery and pleading encompassed in the cound-placement of one entrancing syllable.Didn’t you like that scenery? Don’t ci.mplaln, for you heard Caruso. Didn't you care for the plain-looking chorus? Never mind, Caruso sang over their heads. Did somebody step on youu rcrns? Well, they wil soon heal up. but nothing can ever efface from your mind * and heartt he soul-reaching richness of Caruso's voice., GOLD WATCHf nu .Itch bu SOtIO OOLD UIDCAftK,•mtitkI *m BOTH SIDK8. AmmimmfallywTTmftUdtlMftkMpsr.ocmette riM.tfMlla to Pol Id Gold Wfttek, tUARAR*IwTKKD 2S YEARS, w. M YREE Rr[ fUui., only * pWs of hmmAmm tm. Gold J*Wry )glitlOafMfc. fWad •ddrMR and wo vfllmdj wbjAfMtvald. Who. sold sr«d us RJ OO mmiwmwill r Kl^ly md YOU wmtrh: mlm OOLD LAID CHAIN. LADIB8* OH OFNT*S WrlHRAND MFD. CO. DEPT. tM 3MICADO.
Newspaper Details
Atlanta Sunny South
Atlanta, Georgia, US
Sat, May 06, 1905
Page 1
Full Page
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Anonymous
USA 17 Dec 2018
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