Page Eight THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Otte Jriter Looiks it Another and11cr Craft
October 7, 1956
By ITAIErTE S. ARINOW
"The symbol has become more important the
A STRANGER by a heavy se a ol th h ae and rd in our self fear we seize upon it as :still n
witing,wonuder, and at uatgo LS and reality, and so become but Pharisee
away td never know' which wavie Harriette Simpson Arnow But, she continues
marked the turning of the tide at
maybe aever know the tode had plate nothing for the pure joy of the thing.
urned before he came, and thaI
he watced the ehbb read; we translate . Never has western man b
The Reformnotion was euch 1 with symbols" Miss Grau's writing, she finds,
tide in te;omong tie imany with no translation, and though many woube
things if bore atorg wee anews 1g
concept of ma'n ors cirtate with abomination it may be only that such writing
a reason nd conec ince att tie
own; and so tempoaiityot in
many tptacs nd for tn peritd
thoual st5Ctleice, et deplisty.iist and tc intellectual. lay, iterary eciitor of 'he New Lead-
hiddten at the veeiy bottam ofa down his right to disagree and o er. Mr. Hick. was of orecr-
ware, wee the old concept of tels i mnod n n thel f- ain of elit cntiittesliterature,
inftallibiity of any ne mind be , tn beeame les important tha n ad when he saw it bein abued
liheowner king, udge, or intellec- he had been. Literary at, and in atother ma gazine Iesptok up.
tuat; thsts doubt ets bantd any qute ofte nCiibconsciously, agreed; We catt blame him; Mr. Hicks is
mant who hod a mind fortinstking jitst a the gios-steppitng soldier ony one of mny exercising his
eas fre'e to spek of the thingIe beeame a symbol ot of amtn infallible mini.1His Where We
long hcad had doubt bout; leebt of Hitler's power and tat us (ame Out, is a book that any1
cotuld questionthlie xteeice of trn the power of an ides, so doe person intere.ted in mind' shold
God or of dragonsi iteseatelb a chracter in tost of oat cn iead it is one at those care rea-
wiadom at his king or the specific, tetprary writing sa nd, not s a ions info which the authr pts,
gravity of the innocent as rate- man in his own rght, but as a not les, aut more fticn he realies,
pared to ticat. of flee guilty. symbol of smethinig. biggethan and ao paints a picture not n-
Man become itmportaint, antd so mere man. True ma n the ftght sit, today, that of a man holding
men wrote of other men, nof gods isg, disotfecing animal is wa.(ctfes'ots of his pat fallililities'
or legendary heroes; and if wa and foevr shall bamotg us in onie hnd while diplayitg his
thlis preoccupa tion with macn hatf thoigh scarce at time. ccirtainty of Iis pre.cnt infallibi-
produced mostaof hat we today Sitnce he it practically e tintty in the oter. Mr. Hicks' con-
consderlitratre;ths' wrtitns in 11lleovinces of the literary ern for Mr. West's unorthodoxy
as' a tulebnth added to out Pei- wold his absence ihas mcade ne- from aicelmpraindth e'ardy
ception of man and itceised hisceettay the emergence of the twin frevewcoflninate thatuptda
stature as a crcatre boric to ea- needed to 'tilde atd direct the RveHoit'keautatatye
san,tonthinitk to sttuggleto per-putr.'tirmcke ciotareahatlha
peue tknwrmi wcraue tahs We seldom read ither man, anda
cev.tknhis place; thus, w hae thecnntktwiMrWetccttd
Sometities this literatire trode infasllible mind; ,ad when meteantko fMr Ws eatd
with the wares, rftetitt the beieve in inalibility flees can- a rc nation will of corse i-
farce of the prevailin' winds; but teal dieggee. creuase his.ppularity; it these
for much of he time it was a adythfle Prodigal Son i tet only
ship srugglin" agaitnst stongi off- We sowtfis iii Gematny anId givn the fatted calf, aut is pt
hre winds; sonmetimes lh icerud usia here the blif in the in care of Ole stable. are in-
was'governmetnt, ad many felt smallness of the idividual tak ded ie the writer or intellectual
it' breath- Tolstii Dostoic vsky, cncrete form In the United who dares to disgree on any-
Milton. Hugo; other titnes, as in Sttes this pre-Reformation idea" thing There at Arthur Miller
the ctise of Kfeats, Mark Twain, of the infallible mind is foutdeho gave tame indication thatp
Melville, there came cruel buffet- ie many places, but it mst con- possibly le could not trust the in-l
ings from the bitterest wind of mate in that most regimented of fallibility of his ont mind in re-
all, that of the critics; this wa all phases of society, withe the membrance of things last for
particularly true when criticism, possible exception of medicine and many year; we don't know; at
ttempted to put a rt onlate intel- his i of course American Liteary least he dared to disugree, and
I etual basis, for the war betweenI Art, its production and ciiticiem many wvere the head scakins
rt and fle intellect is a ong one 1Arreemet among flee cstodias amongthfle intellectuals; there
'ite tuthmor it, iy o thatod mtolders of our literature to acere some kind orde in the New
'ideof rtTheintelecuat ofwhoam we have so gladly iven otr Republi, but contained in a pt-
early NewEnigland were justfas minds for furbihin' is almost as roniin article of somewhat qus -
ce'itaitn of hat contsitted omplete as that amng prcticing tionbIc taste that missed th
witche and hoer the crimnial shourld physicians in one small town. The point completely.
be dealtfwith as' not ton iy de- spootn-fed intellectual ha, alwa's
cadet later otlher intellectuats its been among us; it hn't been too H~IIS our' remble i unort-
Germany, Russia, tidelrewerhcr longfthteany knewr the itfalli- nately necesary if I am to do
in the world knew tie nature o' bility of Mecken, that every small "at asked atd write on "'h Work
mates dstiy '~5 o trsethemidwestern town was a 'akCen- of Shirley Ann Grau As See at
tate.fe, and every' little Suiner' ianaRlation to Southern Writing."
a abbit. First, Sotthertn Writin is The
IT IS not tewicthatwie men Litrature atd for ma ny The Guly
'should believe ln itlches or that "TILL we lave sedom or ever Literature of the Day. n-acteally
eati is no muoe thentfle expend t kitoei'ucisweet agremetaat -11 The People Who Coatnt, fin-
able in'terust on awich poliuce 'as is ve todayDisatieementef cludunoitscetasais grec it is1
states tue buuilt the tlla lii u of atngu' telet'uau'gcitirse this, otitmst valid foum of literaryl
thue reasotned juuulmeeete of mtuertrm as a rue duues not includ ct Neet has a. school tid its
is ate old stuury Souirates ws upittut ie ha uolntaats yblow wth metbrisenjoyed suhuiiersali
to deatutiby sksre flewsstutu"[ thur prviia" vwuds sthi 0s Jipoiulrity - ritic and tuche's
was tthact ait tbehlivdcutmaniuewas Duunual Auameuur Gusite Precot 'uciwith each other its utsparig
born to it a patttrnu anduumsCiibe ewhouuare utultyuueityduimiseprai ser'poularlm3 aotiles with
carme hattiehutndmat id uf aundlusfashicuiabuleuinteetctuuut 1 -ecculatitoiss ar poud to
the itelluct. it hashetensudththirtcire sut seuldiuuumquotd-- is so itublsh trin their wourk uofteu
a literatur o rutet cit' vryinetueha t ushiiiMr Wet ofl'nds'ituseilif to Hollywaod prodc-
inttoruuutu ''uusu 'uIf thiis, bu tueuu t R seYoukercuonuutiueuud tut uoft-ions adthu tu t t s untur'ueoften:
tuuscctinu l lullute' sor 'uliter- fenrit usitnuothoudouusopiios ouuisluend themseless to Hullyacud
:o Inu rutif uuClu.iuTir ui rhut'wususoeunrtdly t'ku'u;Some mu' eirsputi cu aar l y'
to a e u r in heru;u'a'umaui s iitin'' to t a'k us'Mu. tranilseuHicks aulkneri std Cuptue te toMin iy
sinueely nd tuthfult cuattC __only _________________ of___ lthe Itulletult Gutluuuk ao r
"ire ht i auinhi;if h luu eSmso rnwlie tiseWiitig cr00die iotivrtiu
a rues ti~tli the ori11arin, thee cmpusesswatiElvmsuresley i
'ut '55tuu hu , uuliisuuuuumtItis withm lier husba'ndlamd twochil- utsutuC e'uu ss P ty u
iudfitnct'it"rutut 's dutd1fuene suuuu reihinm u fammmho,,m'e on te touuthec Hcubyh Sxi
andtuuuj H he ubut'etuuuts' outskis iof AmumiAiborI mlInlet owt'v'e','tiuur'ret aputerau
it it onuuithue0buck tudtis 'u, It cidtioni Itoi iiriamii scomutrbui uuintutus'aut'that buliuuteat cime
cuust h f i Ccaiai ii iins itqartely magazatines bt ient's it eues th horroturtu
lute e,, cnt tra y to ithut1ut(u':ail- atitc11mmoversialdominloce eppears
uuu''sstriuas didc l tsiu 5ut, t a It i ms nc tiei'Setura ev'iew umtitu e hiu tctir uuussuut Ic fet;no
lurotr eoe stttig thefoloitg oves:oteof theegruouupehusers ibett
o it, lfpte t tom ii' "Moutiin Path,"mui:vm'ls' kunuuenisto uffenriuu etuhea cmplete
ft tre us teul u iicult'1'36,uNeui'York lyuor toox opuinion ouu asny cuuu
tu ,uostuuuu tutu 11,1 r i fmutinnoret tutoble cur to banii;'osn tte
aniaf'ir'lrkwaitthiof thur AmeriiateLegion
an the thing itself,
,other wall between
Siwrites Novelist
"Can we contain-
. We no longer
ueen so preoccupied
r "... we can read
d consider that an
is out of fashion."
luer firstuund authy'publisheed boouk,
tao' be flee aork of one 'ho rode
on the ebb tide of the Reformation'
and never got to shore; we do not
know.' Her peotple emerge as clear-
acters; for tome thsey will remain
people, ad that in itself ts no
tmall achievemnct; others such as
Pete echo otnly smiles when his
muothuer calls him a cow'ard, mayj
to souse of thee symbolicuully con-
scions., became a symbol of the
thitng continually portrayed in
modern wsrifing - cowsardice. In
general, hoewever, tils Groutshoot
little cotncern with mcort of ther
conuscations of Southern Writing.
tiutes poo'. Th ecottont plainter
loved th huotue placc solittleOthat
wenheiccould tufford it he tspent
bulog tar saway'fcam it' many
acere inced to think of land use
at a temnporar'ynmatter, and after
a fee' 'cars wutld leta.rcdespoiled
acres to iceed to death in galies
shite thueir 'laves d'lea red and
riuitned 'oncenmore' or 'et more
compeitiely Milton's hell an carth
it' ,li dead laund of sulphuric a cid
ft i-. in southeast Tennessee, not
a hir'c, or u bria r, or a eworm ; not
too aus' tiles aw'uy ie the same
'tote thuere is in the Great Valuey
and ftill lactcer ewest in the Mid-
dle Bausiun. land that for araouind 110
yeer h.tas kinown little beut lovitn'
I canusthuinkatftea Sune enecr-
alization on 'any subeject that
a'ouldtuold true foreveu Tetnies-
see, let 'aloune Mr. Cowley''saDeep
Souith thaut beniuu, at lheGhuto
River; and vshrg "they didn't
talk aboutt ideua"-uinquote. Otheers
of his black uatd wchsite statemets
about the sauth arceuallhy octet-
tionable. His opinians are his oats
and one catsoats' potnder on many
such as the southern writer' his
an ability to write of the laund
Igreater than that at other regioins;
one thinks of Rolvauag, the early
3 wors of Louis Scamfied or Con-
,t
SHE'S yocung atnduafrid ad iad Richter, and have sue tar 'u,-
acters a' if she'd tieer heard at ten Thoreau?
Malcolm. Cowley's South; no small
Icat this, for Mc. Cowley might he 0NCE AGAIN Shirley Ann Gril
1'abeled Official Purvcyot of bceas the pattern' her worldl
ISouthern Culture with an Intel-is not theia aeat world; her stouies
lectual Approach,, thugtih this one display an amating versatility bath
tade can haurdly do him justice.lHe in character and Sackground, aut
is the buisy little houewife of the bet characters arc people, not auni-
hotuse of literature, forever as- mated bits of the scenery, or ob-
ficsmbling, ar'ratnging, 'fubishing,!I scure equations to be solved and
casting tttide, suddenly bringing ' plotted on the graph paper of the
ott old piece down from the attic, subconscious. eams of criticisma
and quite often buiying the new, hae becn swritten of Sotithern
thonugh most of his new 'ice Writing, biut seldom is the average
were built by Southernts itrP discussion concerned withc char-
and Mr. Cowley like any anod acter or the completedahole.
housewife with an eye for an 'an- At in Mr. Cowley'a house the
tique mast first be exactly ccr- method of creation is of prime ins-
fain how ifteras put together; portance, and in explaining this
he is conerued quite at much, there is much psycholanalytic dis-
an onc laes moe, wth t e sston, not only of the created
manner of cecation thati the thing j tomith ut u ofth midbof the ccc-
created, Thus, all Mr. Coa'Icy, hsmc fstbcmso
novels are like a group of prited art form that in order to be oat-
antiquesediteasuired by the method preciated must be conmpletels'torn
of the'ic making; oh, what a asunder, Once the thing is 'am-
hustling anid a bustling and a plefely dissected, there is still no
mopping and dusting oaf of old ' Captain Ahab to survive both as
idea, ad sripitegandfitinga symbol and a living, strugging,
idea, ad sripingandfitingtormented man, no suffering Rca-
and squeezlingto get off the old tec Prycnne, in fact no women at
tlip covet's of opinion and on with all' the medicval conception of
the new if by sotme horrible freak woman, shared alike by our gadi-
of history it could, fat' exa mple, tanicat forefathers and our or~es-
h eroin cotnmon knowledge that 'ent day creator, of 'omit books
'Tolstoi was his ancestor and had ond soap operas, also prevails in
l ived flaring the Napoleonic Wars; Southern Wtriting; most often she
'ear amid Peae would no longer be us the heat less, soullcss bitch lead-
hcistorical, and eerythingswould ;tug poot watSmanto his dauom,
leave to be rear'ranged, dirawing him on white she, con-
Gae example, quite typicait of sciouisly'fleeitugCuibconsciously
M'. Cowley's innumeiable late- hoping far thit huer doom which
eewords' is cotntained ina a-user may he nticdeth or.leer saleation,
backed valume, Great Tales of th e but whateer it us fatraeon or acuti-
Deep South; there are tie' usa'Il tuei is nmost often at thur cud of
picturet' atethe covercoupileof'lighte
lushses, decatyed. maunsion, dar k of olui Cuaus
neon, tight maustharu cruopper;i Warren are aull tue vurying degrees
sciniatatiegtie pitutes ur heeatesed outhefaugust'thurewetuk, tie-
u sutal usames, eitucludigus M.Cw h eviulthe roes tidlv tl heruis,
ley's. We hookseithinuantd aieandee trou llutarestint" se tin-
starthed to see SMuck Twiuin- bobsih trough 1eheso itigd
chided in tie ODeep South audeasea
Jcee Stuuau't. I1T IS TRUE welive iencueage of
lest; of esh1at1we to tot know"e
> ' Eriurtul southttiof tirtty e'ac itit snot tiestocs cutmb whuuish t
augo, we ru'dctits a curiously tmost cute only hinus obluevion;tutu
Cstrained pruise as if euithen loura hutaas ive ud unsderseence of
' not-toa-hu'ig'ht child.ws usdisvitedhdeath, teatsurveiueduinuimetrchle
ineto latnd uewners, ohute teunats, arciaplaguestied amultiudiuaoust
ishllbsmce, tanud Negroes aind all disacttri' ounefunictioeniofircli-
unetty pattercued uccuidng to thur! guon it to reumove fhr of deaduse
iuntuire of thurtend;huenafees esordcs 'and sitnce reltiuinis u ainnwde is
G eear al u labuottiucsotheener's theatiit huse r''beScudmansshoulcd
feetling far place 'stdland';thuee Srless intea d ofscouera i d
feelicecing eoteute thausthoite'lotof'ull, 'aicsenes tatrututof
of menits otisur retuous life aned of hiuelf,,undusn'South-
OhIfillatey c it se'to the ertsWriting thitefetriscnifessit-
uu; rou mu't'large eiututeof Mis- erlf tie ssoici sars, potiutlarly in
sissippi, Alauama, ansid Georg-i's fle wordiness of tfleeanguare;
1coumd stated as symbols of tn's tue, Ohere is msueh talk of sethle
}hatred ohftic eauth that some- but any aoct hat cal lt a eruae
t'mes matethi ec tact sane e eA NEWPaget1
ntitutinoituis; 5 ins(t sof mna s
a :stuieslthi he uts' istusit uainutuerial
iuitahlr fur tue, tuhehu fcu arnmiess,
oc stuter - or tliscusie. It is trueu
tat gisiouu;')hasutmacis atthee
\''aeri ~vorlu maun, incuding thee
"'0'S'Dollmker, " Mt cutill'a, esOtas'i rulo i
155 :4, New 'inmk.,fhbcaut'e it it' oneeofa tewstm.alb
A t presemmt cshe isemg'gedi1mm hise'th'atoppea r to eo aaint
the eriting of a yinlume if enon- thee prevailing 'buds af literature
.itiu and of thuea'or'ld. The nine 'farie.
flu't0m'aIe up The 111 k Pr'nce,
-1