Show Ge George rge Barr Has s. s New Theory rt j i r That c Visitor Dictates B Best ark t Else EIs s How Could F Farmer r er Boy Write W- W Write te of Cas Castles les CO Courts ts i and Kings t i By B Jane Dixon Dion tOutIn i In Indiana Indiana ro round o nd d about the old college e town of Lafayette there la Ie a av v v very y unusual soil deposit t AsIde from growing lush tush fields fields' of oft t r stUng rustling Indian corn and billowing surfs of go golden den wheat and melons melon a that have a way of keeping the tha colored colored colored col col- col- col ored population Just one jump ahead of ot the constable constables this Indiana town has has' within It Its breast a a fount of lit lit- Sons Sops of ot the soil come to q quaff there and from the cup of grace has flown some of the most Interesting Interesting interesting Interest interest- ing certainly the most human compositions com corn positions in the library of American writings James WhItcomb Riley RUey Booth lark Tark- Ington George Barr McCutcheon McCutcheon- I these are only three of the high lights The list might easily b bo ba run up into the two or three dozen k Many a a. time did young youn George George- McCutcheon McCutcheon Mc- Mc Cutcheon walk along the country pike to hf his fathers father's farm kicking up the dusty subsoil with his bare brown feet SAnd VAnd And It was Yas this plain lad from the fields who gave us Graustark one o of ot the most fascinating romances ever written No one with enough nough imagination to tok k keep ep their brains from atrophy has ever started darted to o read Graustark and put It down down again voluntarily until they had finished the story What does a farmers farmer's boy know of castles and courts and the uneasy heads for crowns to ride upon I 1 I can only refer you to that mysterIous mysterious mysterious mys mys- foun fountain where young George must have and to that strange visitor he Dell believes eves drops In Inon inon inon on the artist to light the lamp of ot creation for a spell I r 1 always had a a. sort of hunch for tor writing admits Mr McCutcheon We were sitting In his book lined d library ry here herein in New York discussing the subject subject sub sub- of birthright bh The toned mellow-toned leathern lethern volumes were a rich Tich background background back back- ground for the tha ripeness of the novelists novel- novel Cist's dst's smile the genial genia sparkle of his hie keen gray eyes the flush of health In his rugged round face FIRST IMPULSE TO DRAW I At first I thought I might draw rat he continued Mother had three brOth brothers rs who were artists My brother John look took to drawing e early and Ben followed his lead I tried for a while I soon soon decided this route would carr carry car car- r ry me me nowhere My execution was not so bad but I had absolutely no Initia initia- tive tl I r was lacking in the one I essential essential es essential es- es without which art Is Is' sure surefire surefire fire f failure failure originality I Fathe was a stock drover His farm was s an assembly ground for tor c cattle cat cat- t- t tIe tle- on on their their- way from the West to Buffalo and Eastern cities clUes I have seen as as many as head of cattle on the ranch milling and stretching their muscles after the long ride This stock Interested me but but- butI I never considered taking It up p permanently I was graduated from PUr Purdue ue college right there in Lafayette Lafayette Lafay Lafay- ette and went to work on the local newspaper About this time lime my first short story was was accepted by the old Waverly Waverly Way Way- erly magazine then published in Bos Bos- ton I received the magnificent sum of five dollars for the manuscript Th The coffers of a 8 king could have hare offered offered of of- of no happier prize I I I liked my work on the newspaper In fact I like It to this day The young oung man or woman who desires to t take ke up writing as s a profession can be graduated from no rio better school t than tan an the university of ot reportorial agil agil- ity- ity Nothing quickens the perception sharpens the wits brightens up the b bump mp fit of observation like reporting More than this It teaches the writer that most valuable of all literary accomplishments ac ac- brevity brevity He learns to pick out ut at a glance the tragedies of life Ute and nd d visualize them He develops a a. keen scent for the dramatic and he be knows how to keep a sharp eye for comedy All All the time I vas Teas working working- on th the home paper aper I was writing in spare hours Many of these early stories were accepted More were rejected I have a whole of rejected manuscripts In my storeroom When my brothers come on from Chicago for a 8 good old time visit we drag out oust the sarcophagus of Ideas and have many many a laugh going over the chaff chatt There Is a play I once attempted in Ip the callow canow days This play is our pet piece of comedy although It was meant to be a 8 most serious vehicle Eventually I came carne to be city edi edi- edi- edi tor of the home horns paper To one it a 8 pretty Important job but It did not make any extra impression un un n T ma ain They went on n I I l HERE is something talent something talent art Inspiration whatever you want to toI T THERE I call it which it-which which visits us at certain creative periods period The iThe best bes proof proofS of this to the author is that he will work feverishly for a time utterly oblivious to the things happening about him and when the mysterious mysterious mys mys- visitor has departed the flare has died down he will pick up his work read it and find it quite strange to him almost as if it had been written i by another person person- Georgo Georgc George Barr McCutc McCutcheon eon 5 S i t r q r Z S c I S. S S S GEORGE BARR I I I rejecting or accepting Just the same as when I was a a mere cub reporter And Gr Graustark I asked When did that happen along About the time I was 30 SO was the reply S SI I asked Mr McCutcheon If ff when he was writing It he had had any idea the he story was so big was big was destined I to be one one of the greatest successes success s In I No no po he hastened S to assure meTo meTo meTo me To me It was just like any st story ry I wrote full of p promise while it was In the making and more or less forgotten forgotten forgotten for for- gotten in the glow of a formative one once e it had been sent along along- to print You never suspected then that Graustark was to bring you fame and fortu fortune e I insisted It didn't was the smiling con con- A degree of fame yes B Buta But Butas t tas a as for fortune she is a IL mighty skittIsh skittish skittish skit skit- tish I sold all rights to Graustark for SOO and thought hought I had all aU the best hest of the bargain Five hundred dollars for a book which ran Into the h hundreds of thousands thousands thousands thou thou- sands One fact Is beyond cavil cavil cavil- the strange psychics visitor who drops in on on oh authors to 10 light the flames of creation did not linger long enough to give her host a decent tip on the therace I race She confines her inspirational a assistance strictly to art leaving her subject to flounder helplessly about In n the uncharted bogs of business ONE WALLOP WAS ENOUGH I r hope nope you OU did not repeat the foly fol fol- ly y was suggested Beverly Beyerly of Graustark for example an and Brew ater's aters Millions I No smilingly one wallop was enough Even Evena a novelist cant can't go on being business blank a ss forever Mr McCutcheon believes the lamplighter lamplighter lamp lamp- lighter who trims trims' the candles candles' for tor plays has hag missed him entirely Play and novel writing are two entirely different institutions he says Now and arid then they coordinate e out rarely I try to do a novel a year None of f my late books meet with my ap ap- ap- ap Sherry Dodd Mead Co has had a tremendous sale The public seems to like it very much I Ido Ido Ido do not know why but neither did I know why they were going to like I Graustark S I 1 have never had any any r results by forcing m myself to write Work I have done under s such ch pressure pressur Inv invariably must be done over again It is flat colorless a lot of technically arranged words with no breath of life in them When I feel mys myself H growing dull and l drab when drab when the flare b begins gins to to die I down down I I go out out get get away and no matter what I am doing when the mood for writing is on me I r drop i it and follow my mood moo Production a at such times increases p per r centIs cent Is not this concrete evidence enough to convince the skeptic that ability multiplied by inspiration is birthright birthright birthright birth birth- right I In a remote corner corner of a. a a book shelf at home a worn finger-worn copy of Castle Invited the dust of days to settle itself Into a shadow blanket I lifted the volume out and le leaved ved the yellowing pages S The farmer boy from the fields of Indiana wa was born to write |