Contemporary American Literature Part 33

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Captivating Mary Carstairs. 1911. (Under the pseudonym, "Henry Second.") Queed. 1911.

V.V.'s Eyes. 1913.

Angela's Business. 1915.

When I Come Back. 1919.

Saint Teresa. 1922.

STUDIES AND REVIEWS

Bookm. 39 ('14): 420 (portrait).

Columbia Univ. Quar. 15 ('13): 341 (portrait).

Cur. Op. 58 ('15): 352 (portrait).

Ind. 71 ('11): 533 (portrait).

Lit. Digest, 48 ('14): 905 (portrait).

New Repub. 2 ('15): 199. (Herrick.) World's Work, 26 ('13): 221.

+Ben Hecht+--novelist, dramatist.

Born in New York City, 1893. Traveled much until he was eight years old, then lived in Racine, Wisconsin, and was educated in the Racine high school. Went to Chicago, intending to join the Thomas Orchestra as violinist, but instead, joined the staff of the Chicago _Journal_ and later that of the _Daily News_. War correspondent in Germany.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The Hero of Santa Maria; a Ridiculous Tragedy in One Act. 1920. (With Kenneth Sawyer Goodman, q.v.) The Wonder Hat; a Harlequinade in One Act. 1920. (With Kenneth Sawyer Goodman, q.v.) Erik Dorn. 1921. (Novel.) Also in: The Little Review. (_Pa.s.sim._)

STUDIES AND REVIEWS

Cur. Op. 71 ('21): 644.

Dial, 71 ('21): 597.

Freeman, 4 ('21): 282.

See also _Book Review Digest_, 1921.

+Joseph Hergesheimer+--novelist.

Born at Philadelphia, 1880. Educated for a short time at a Quaker school in Philadelphia and at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.

SUGGESTIONS FOR READING

1. Note Mr. Hergesheimer's use of setting and atmosphere. What is the relative importance of these to plot and character? Is the author's main interest in developing a story, in creating characters that live, or in suggesting particular phases of life, each with its own physical and emotional atmosphere?

2. What evidences of originality do you find in his books?

3. Is the author a realist or a romanticist? Is it true, as has been said, that he stands midway between the "unrelieved realism" of the new school of writers and the "genteel moralism" of the old?

4. Consider these two criticisms of Mr. Hergesheimer's work: (1) He aims to set down "relative truth ... the colors and scents and emotions of existence"; and (2) he is at times as much concerned "with the stuffs as with the stuff of life."

5. Make a special study of his style: (1) of his use of suggestion; (2) of his choice of words; (3) of his feeling for rhythm. It is true that there is both art and artifice in his methods?

6. In what ways, if any, has he made actual contribution to American literature? Can you prophesy as to his future?

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The Lay Anthony. 1914.

Mountain Blood. 1915.

The Three Black Pennys. 1917.

Gold and Iron. 1918. (Wild Oranges, Tubal Cain, The Dark Fleece.) *Java Head. 1919.

The Happy End. 1919. (Play.) *Linda Condon. 1919.

Hugh Walpole, an Appreciation. 1919.

San Cristobal de la Habana. 1920.

Cytherea. 1922.

The Bright Shawl. 1922.

STUDIES AND REVIEWS

Ath. 1919, 2: 1339. (Conrad Aiken.) Bookm. 50 ('19): 267. (James Branch Cabell.) Bookm. (Lond.) 56 ('19): 65; 58 ('20): 193. (Portraits.) Cur. Op. 66 ('19): 184; 68 ('20): 229; 71 ('21): 237. (Portraits.) Dial, 66 ('19): 449.

Lond. Mercury, 1 ('20): 342.

Nation, 109 ('19): 404; 112 ('21): 741. (Carl Van Doren.) Sat. Rev. 128 ('19): 343.

Spec. 125 ('20): 371.

See also _Book Review Digest_, 1919.

+Robert Herrick+--novelist.

Born at Cambridge, Ma.s.sachusetts, 1868. A.B., Harvard, 1890. Taught English at the Ma.s.sachusetts Inst.i.tute of Technology, 1890-3, and at the University of Chicago since then, becoming professor, 1905. More important for interpretation of his work is the fact that he has carefully studied modern English and Continental literatures and is deeply interested in philosophy and the social sciences.

SUGGESTIONS FOR READING

1. Much of Mr. Herrick's work must be regarded as primarily social criticism of American life. Does the interest tend to centre rather upon the problems of the characters, growing out of their circ.u.mstances, or upon the characters themselves?

2. Is Mr. Herrick's work more notable for scope and breadth or for intensity?

3. Note, especially in the novels previous to 1905, the conscientious artistry, the compactness of structure, and the unity of tone commonly a.s.sociated with poetry. What other qualities characteristic of poetry appear in Mr. Herrick's work?

4. With the structure of his earlier work compare that of the _Memoirs of an American Citizen_ as showing an attempt at greater breadth of canvas and greater variety of tone. Trace this attempt further in his later work.

5. What evidences do you find in Mr. Herrick's novels of a carefully wrought theory of the art of the novelist?