THE MICI-UGANDAILY MAGAZINE
3
Some gf America's Jagazines
(By G. D. E.)
When one glances over the field of
magazines in this literary empire one
is appalled at paucity of good period-
icals.
In making a resume of the business
I started out with a trial of fire, pray-
er, and faith, vowing that I would be
as liberal in making decisions as War-
ren Harding himself.
For all my splendid Christian spirit
of tolerance I was sickened at the
results. i dropped the Atlantic month-
ly as a sort of paleozoic AmiSioxus,
the Saturday Evening Post, The Red
Book, and all such purveyors of "clean
fiction" as so many melliferous squirt-
guns. I was forced to admit that
such magazines as the Cosmopolitan,
Snappy Stories, the Parisienne, et al,
were designed solely to rouse the pas-
sions of shop girls and factory hands.
The American Magazine is the worst
of all. It sticks charcoal into fluid
marshmallow, stirs it up, and uses it
for printer's ink. Of all the sweet and
overwhelming stories of how news-
boys went into the soup-ladle business
and won great fortunes, there is none
to compare with those published by
this magazine. Furthermore, it prints
the dulcifluous editorials of Bruce
Barton and of that national genius,
Dr. Frank Crane.
For a while, about six months back,
I watched the curious fermentings of
the Century magazine with interest.
A rumor spread and grew that the
thing was going to be literary, and
for a short ,space of two months it
actually had the buds of something
worth while, but it took an acute
dyspepsia and is back to its old groans.
All that remains of the promising new
Century is the cover.,
Other than fiction magazines I find
but one or two worth reading. The
Bookcman has -seen a vast improve-
ment, under the hand of its young
editor, John Farrar, and is no longer
the stodgy old bundle of criticism that
it once was. It gives proportionate
spaces to good books, and it is well
worth reading. The only fault I have
to find with it is that it doesn't un-
sheathe the sword occasionally.
Setting aside the political pishposh
of the Nation's editorial policy, one
may count on it for veracious articles
and for some of the best book reviews
in this fair land, which are nothing
like those of the New York Tihes.
The best one can say of the Times'
literary section is that it is volumin-
ous. The New Republic is not bad,
but in my judgment, it falls short of
the Nation's standard.
In the fiction field but two magazines
of first rank remain. They are the
Smart Set and the Dial. Here are
two magazines that deserve the at-
tention of anyone who makes more
than a pretense of being literary;
here are two publications that warrant
the consideration of every young ma
or woman who intends to go into lit-
erary work, unless of course, he or
she wants to live in hoggish opulence
from writing .such truck as Harold
Bell Wright's or Gene Stratton Port-
er's.
The Dial, perhaps, stands first. I
personally prefer the Smart Set, but
chiefly because my stomach becomes
weak when I look at the Dial's "art."
Nine-tenths of the Dial's prose is
absolutely above reproach, nearly
third of tits poetry is excellent. One he is the godfather of all the young necessary to the periodical's circula
finds in it the best fiction, excellent American. writers of promise. tion, and I take it that the editors of
cultural articles, and superb book re- I honestly believe that the editors the Smart Set are not desirous of
views. Nearly always one can depend of the Smart Set would rather run a having a corpse on their hands. But
on finding a translation of something good story by a young unkonwn than one thing is certain: the unknown
by a European literary light. by the foremost lights in the literary writer, man or woman, who sends
The Smart Set is somewhat differ galaxy. No magazine has shown such something in to this magazine can ut-
ent. Its fiction is not quite so good perspicacity in picking out the coming terly rely on the honesty of the edi-
as the Dial's but chiefly, I suspect, literati since the Seven Arts went out tors, to the best of their tenets.
because 'it is the foremost desire of of business. 'Way back in the dark ages The
the Smart Set's Neditors, Nathan and The fact that the Smart Set runs Smart Set was publishing stuff by
Mencken, to launch worthy young stories by the first raters I believe Cabell, by O'Neill, by Sherwood An-
writers, to give then the recognition to be because of the American craze derson, whose books now run into
they deserve. Vanity Fair, an in- for big games, a craze that is diffused several printings.
congruous mixture of trash and merit, into the most iconoclastic of readers. The poetry of the Smart Set is prob-
has rightfully said of Mencken that Celebrities are therefore more or less (Continued on Page Seven)
17lallowe'en
WITCHES, Goblins and grin-
ning Pumpkins will lend the
Grotesque Touch to Your Hal-
loween Party.
BUT don't forget Music -No
Party is Complete -without it.
MAY we assist you in making
your selection?
i
Mrs. A A. leel
611l1-115 East Willtam $1t.