the case of the poem I have just
mentioned, he may, almost acci–
dentally, express, in a form which
attracts a wide public, some idea
which has great significance to
him. Today, a special temptation
of writers is that they can live
largely by giving their views about
subjects of which they know little.
Because there is a popular idea
that the writers are "wise," and
since the public is not interested
in the particular form in which
this wisdom is best expressed, they
are expected to
be
omniscient about
any subjects which interest the
public, such as Higher Education,
Euthanasia, and the Atom Bomb.
I became involved in obligations
to editors and publishers, accept–
ing suggestions as to what I should
write, instead of carrying out my
original plans for novels, poems
and stories. I began in my own
mind to divide my work into three
categories: poetry, my vocation;
books about things which interest–
ed me, on subjects which were
sometimes suggested by publishers;
journalism, often hurriedly written.
This division of labor was not
really satisfactory, for the reason
that a creative writer should al–
ways write out of the inner ne–
cessity of a unique occasion. Not
to do this,
is
to risk paying a price.
The labor which he puts into stud–
ies not essential
to
his inner de–
velopment, and the shoddiness of
journalism, overflow into his crea–
tive work and confuse his sensibil–
ity. Or
if
these things do not hap–
pen, his best work becomes too ob-
255
~--------------
- "Wild,
fantastic,-
fWl
l'iI0iniflcently
comic.
•
In the
line .of
ULYSSES
and TRISTRAM SHANDY I"
.
.
-Grohom Gr••n.
~
at sWlm-
two-birds
by flonn o'brien
Th~
most
or~nal
ilpvel of our
le~r;.t~:iica~W~~~r:I~":~~es.
PANTHEON
pictures for
daytime and
pictures for
nighttime-by
MARIE MENKEN
March 12 - 31
TIBOR DE NAGY GALLERY
206 E. 53 St.
PL 9-1621
HAVE
YOU
DISCOVERED
the
NEW BOOKSTORE
and
GALLERY
63 WEST 44 STREET
.t
the Algonquin
