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There is a curious difference in the attitude of a reader toward a book and an auditor toward a play. The reader of a book is somehow on the level with the characters in it. He can identify himself with them. The auditor of a play does this, too, but he is also above the characters. He is looking at them the way God might be supposed to look down on this world. He sees these beings moved by antagonistic desires, struggling for things that they cannot get, or if they do get them, finding in their train unforeseen consequences, and this effect of looking at the actors in a play from above is what gives us the essence of both the comic and the tragic spirits. At their follies we laugh; for their sorrows we pity them.

In a novel we suffer with the characters, in a play we suffer for them. This human quality of the novel gives us the kind of concealment or suspense that is characteristic of the novel. We go along the road with our hero and are surprised, pleased, or made unhappy by what happens to him just as he is. In a play the concealment or suspense is of a different sort. A mystery story would have no interest for us if we knew the mystery from the beginning. If we knew who stole the missing jewels in a story, the story would be unreadable, but in a play we have the divine quality of being "in the know." In a play we must know at the start who took the missing jewels, and the interest of the play would consist in our seeing the wrong man accused of the theft.

We all remember Poe's short story, "The Purloined Letter," in which the characters cannot find the letter because it is directly under their eyes. The pleasant shock of learning that they could n't see it because it was right before them depended on the reader's not knowing where it was until the characters discovered it themselves. If this story were dramatized, the audience would have to know at the start where the letter was, and the interest of the play would depend on the futile attempts of the characters to find the thing that was obviously under their noses.

Charles Lamb missed this point entirely and

wrote a play called "Mr. H." in which all the characters laughed uproariously whenever Mr. H. was referred to. The characters knew why they laughed - because the man's name was Mr. Hog - but the audience did n't know, because they did n't know what the "H" stood for. This information was sprung as a surprise at the end of the play. The mystification of the audience inevitably led them to hiss the play off the stage. Charles Lamb possibly never knew why his play was a failure. Think how flat it would be if Orlando knew that Rosalind was masquerading as a boy during his pretended wooing of her, or if the audience did n't know it.

The typical dramatic conflict leads naturally to the so-called well-made play which the French carried to such great perfection, and which until within a few years was the model for American and English plays. In these plays the climax was called the big scene, and everything that went before it was made subservient to it and led up to it. In a fouract play this climax came at the end of the third act, and the fourth act dealt with the dénouement or the untying. In a play of this type, our interest mounts until the climax is reached at the end of the third act, and then we suffer more or less boredom during the fourth act. The practical impossibility of making a dénouement as interesting as a climax resulted in reducing the number of acts to three. In this case the climax occurred very near the end of the third act, and the untying took place immediately after, bringing the play to a speedy close.

George Bernard Shaw has pointed out that the so-called well-made play is written ac cording to a formula which any one can learn and practice if he has a mind capable of solv ing a chess problem or putting together a puzzle picture. Naturally in such a play characterization and atmosphere are apt to suffer. The present tendency among the most able playwrights is away from the well-made play, and I am glad of this. In my next talk 1 shall briefly describe the liberating influences at work in our contemporary drama.

Richard Bowland Kimball

NEW YORK, N. Y.

(To be continued.)

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THE WRITER is published the first of every month. It will be sent, postpaid, for $1.50 a year. The price of Canadian and foreign subscriptions is $1.62, including postage.

All drafts and money orders should be made payable to the Writer Publishing Co.

THE WRITER will be sent only to those who have paid for it in advance. Accounts cannot be opened for subscriptions, and names will not be entered on the list unless the subscription order is accompanied by a remittance.

The American News Company, of New York, and the New England News Company, of Boston, and their branches are wholesale agents for THE WRITER. It may be ordered from any newsdealer or direct from the publishers.

The rate of advertising in THE WRITER is two dollars an inch for each insertion, with no discount for either time or space; remittance required with the order. For special position, if available, twenty per cent. advance is charged. No advertisement of less than one-half inch will be accepted.

Contributions not used will be returned, if a stamped and addressed envelope is enclosed.

The publication office of THE WRITER is Room 46, 244 Washington street, but all communications should be addressed :

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matic experiences of the Near East refugee orphans, and there is plenty of material available also for articles on international politics and humanitarian subjects, or even the type of fiction which Mrs. Margaret Deland calls intrinsic truth, and which she believes is the basis of all permanently valuable fiction. Those in charge of the Near East Relief are desirous of getting in touch with writers. They are ready to supply material, and they have from 15,000 to 20,000 photographs from which illustrations may be made.

Oliver Herford paid Sinclair Lewis a great compliment when, being asked what he thought of "Babbitt," he replied: "It's all been done before." "Done before?" the other man demanded, in surprise. "By whom?" "By Eastman," said Herford, "with his kodak."

Referring to the verses, "The Ship That was Guided Safely to the Old New England Shore" that were printed in the July WRITER as an amusing example of illiterate composition, a Seattle correspondent says: "I read them without being able to see where they had either less of sense or sentiment than yard upon yard of published-well, let us say 'poetry' by certain writers I the correspondent is un. kind enough to mention names], a great deal of which reads as if it came out of a madhouse or from some one in a horrid spell of D. T.'s"-a comment with the sentiment of which THE WRITER to a large extent agrees.

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hibition, is now turning its attention to other needed reforms. "The new corruption of novel and magazine fiction," it says, "the spreading over the country of the worst sort of perverted literature is a post-war development of an appalling character; but the newspapers of the country, which with all their faults never printed any dirt and called it 'art,' have gone into the trenches in defence of common decency, and it may well be that the development will be checked within the year."

How long should a novel be? James Joyce's Ulysses" has something like 325,000 words. "Vanity Fair" has something like 363,000, and "Martin Chuzzlewit" something like 361,000. Publishers now are said to favor novels of from 80,000 to 120,000 words. Donn Byrne says that for him there is no satisfactory length between the long short-story of from 30,000 to 40,000 words and "the very long novel" running well over 100,000 words. Should n't the length of a novel depend on the amount of story one has to tell, and if so, why has n't Mr. Byrne any stories in between? An expert publisher, by the use of large type leaded and thick paper can make a good-sized book out of a short story, and by the use of small type set solid and thin paper a moderatesized book out of a long story.

A big waste-basket is an important feature of a well-equipped editorial office. The good editor is known by what he prints, and quite as much or more by what he throws away.

An important announcement will be made in the September number of THE WRITER.

QUERIES.

[ Under this heading questions of literary interest will be answered, so far as possible. Questions not of special interest to writers should be directed elsewhere.]

What about copyrighting poems? If I sell a poem to an editor, do I simply sell him the right to print the poem, or does he become the owner of it? Supposing I give a poem for publication in a paper that does not pay for poetry, who owns the copyright? J. D. G.

[ It makes no difference about copyright whether a poem is paid for or not. Poems published in a periodical that is not copyrighted

are not protected unless they are copyrighted separately, and may be reprinted by anybody. Technically, the copyright of poems published in a copyrighted periodical belongs to the publisher. Practically, the copyright of single poems is unimportant, because if copyrighted poems are quoted with due credit publishers generally do not object, and if an author wishes to republish his poems in book form publishers who control copyrights, as a rule, freely give permission.]'

What is considered fair and right in regard to published stories? May these be submitted to other publications to be republished? Or would it be all right to rewrite them, making slight changes but keeping to the same plot? For instance, I wrote some stories some years ago that were used in small publications. These stories, although not well handled, contained some plot material that I still consider good.

J. F. L.

[A story once published under copyright belongs to the owner of the copyright. A story published without copyright protection is public property, and may be republished by any one. Editors, as a rule, do not want to publish stories that have been published before, and they have no right to publish stories protected by copyright. If a story has been published unprotected by copyright in an insignificant periodical, perhaps the author might properly rewrite it, using the same general plot, and offer the new version for sale, but the story should be radically changed - made a new story, in fact. Generally a writer will do better to let his published work alone and write something else.]

THE MANUSCRIPT MARKET.

[This information as to the present special needs of various periodicals comes directly from the editors. Particulars as to conditions of prize offers should be sought from those offering the prizes. Before submitting manuscripts to any periodical, writers should examine a copy of the magazine in question.]

The Gibson Art Company (Cincinnati, Ohio) is especially interested at this time in greetings for Christmas. They must be gen. eral enough to be sent by any one, and not limited by the use of "I," "we," friend." "love," or the idea of distance, and, preferably,

should not exceed four lines. Each greeting must embody a clever thought, cleverly expressed. By "clever" the Company does not necessarily mean "funny." What is wanted is a bright, catchy greeting that suggests much in a few words, and that is sincere, even though the greeting has a clever twist. The thought must seem to come from the one who sends the greeting and to be intended for the one who receives it.

Laughter (584 Drexel Building, Philadelphia) a monthly magazine to be issued September 1, is in the market for humor, from the two-line joke or four-line poem to the short story, of from 1,000 to 4,000 words, and also for suitable pictures of a humorous nature. William H. Kofoed is the editor.

The Chicago Ledger, the Saturday Blade, Boyce's Home Folks, and the Woman's Digest, all published by the W. D. Boyce Company, have been combined into one publication, to be called the Blade and Ledger (500 North Dearborn street, Chicago ), which is to be published monthly. The fiction needs of the magazine are supplied for the remainder of the year, but the editor is in the market for an occasional illustrated feature, if it is short and has a strong feminine appeal. He also buys a limited number of illustrated freak " stories each month.

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The Literary Review of the New York Evening Post (20 Vesey street, New York) is in the market for essays of literary interest, not exceeding 2,000 words.

True Western Stories (79 Seventh avenue, New York) is anxious to get both short and long articles, accompanied by pictures. It is also in the market for stories and novelettes, told in the first person, and with outdoor action. Writers are advised to look over a copy of the magazine before sending material.

Sportlife, now one of the Macfadden publications (1926 Broadway, New York), is more of a general magazine with a sport background than it is a sport publication, in the general acceptance of that term. Its contents

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are of interest to all who like an interesting story not merely to sport readers, and its slogan is "Better men rather than greater 'athletes." The principal requirement for stories is that they be about people rather than - stories about individual characters in the world of sport and outdoor recreation "human interest" stories about a single person or a group of persons. Writers should remember that an acceptable subject for an article in Sportlife must be something more than a great athlete or a champion of any sport; there must be some "human interest " features connected with the life that will make the article of interest to readers other than those who are interested in the sport itself. Stories of an inspirational character, such as an article about a successful business man who has developed on fields of sport those qual:ties that he has applied to a higher purpose, are always acceptable. Articles of hunting and fishing experiences are acceptable, particularly if they are dramatized and written around some individual character. Articles for Sportlife should always be accompanied by photographs and may run from 1,000 to 2,500 words. Fiction may run from 2,000 to 5,000 words serials from 20,000 to 30,000 words and the action in fiction stories should not be confined to the field of sport alone romance and action other than that arising from situations created on the field of play, with just enough of a sport background to give the story an appeal to all readers of a sport publication, is desirable.

The Boy's Gazette, announced by the Judy Publishing Company, 1922 Lake street, Chicago, the first number of which will appear January, 1926, has enough manuscripts on hand for the first six issues, and will not be in the market for material until latein 1926.

The special needs of the Sunday School Times (1031 Walnut street, Philadelphia) are chiefly for short verse that is distinctly spiritual; stories, of from 500 to 700 words, for its Children at Home department; adult "home reading" stories, not exceeding 2,000words, that are wholesome and natural, and have a distinctly religious tone; and brief

articles on methods of work in church or Sunday-school, or Bible-study plans that have been tried and have succeeded.

The Junior World (1701 Chestnut street, Philadelphia) is looking for some good serials for boys and girls under seventeen.

The Original Artists and Models Magazine (109 West Forty-ninth street, New York) can use clean stories and sketches of studio life, not exceeding 2,000 words, humorous or otherwise.

Flappers' Experience (443 South Dearborn street, Chicago) is looking for a good serial. It is also in the market for feature stories of human interest, illustrated with photographs ; ghost stories; mystery stories; and humorous stories. In addition to regular rates, the magazine is offering a prize of twenty-five dollars for the best ghost story published in the next six months.

The editors of Town Topics (2 West Fortyfifth street, New York) are always pleased to receive miscellany and short stories. Stories must not exceed 1,600 words.

Romantic Novels (Dell Publishing Company, 461 Eighth avenue, New York) wants first-person stories of romance, set amid romantic surroundings, like coast and island localities, "where romance rides high and the reader is transported into the land where love dreams come true. It offers the reader a complete escape from the dreariness of cities and town life, and takes him back to the great open spaces of palm trees and open water, where life is a thing of simple and perfect beauty." Short stories should contain from 4,500 words to 6,000 words; serials should he in six parts of 35,000 words each.

New Sensations (709 South Fifth street, Minneapolis, Minnesota) wants sensational news and sensational news pictures.

The American Boy (550 Lafayette boulevard, Detroit, Michigan) is in the market for plans to interest and help boys between the ages of twelve and twenty, brief accounts of

unusual boy activities, a limited number of timely articles carrying entertainment and instruction, and short novel items. It also uses short stories, not exceeding 5,000 words, and serials. Esca G. Rodger is now the fiction editor of the magazine.

The Independent Agent and Salesman (22 East Twelfth street, Cincinnati, Ohio) is well supplied with material, but is always on the lookout for good articles relating to directto-the consumer selling.

The Jewish Forum (2000 Broadway, New York) would like some studies in American Jewish history.

Good Hardware and the Progressive Grocer, published by the trade division of the Butterick Publishing Company, 912 Broadway, New York, want general articles, of between 1,200 and 1,500 words, preferably illustrated by photographs, diagrams, drawings, forms, advertising, or other material, dealing with successful stores, their methods, and the broader aspects and fundamentals of grocery and hardware retailing, such as credit, delivery, selling, turnover, etc.; shorter articles, of between 100 and 200 words, illustrated by photographs, drawings, or diagrams, describing stunts, ideas, plans, and methods used successfully by dealers; pictures of window and interior displays, unique stores or signs, and odd motor trucks. The publishers are always in the market for good trade jokes for the humor pages of either magazine.

Public Affairs (1336 New York avenue, Washington, D. C.) is not in the market at present, having enough material on hand for several months.

Judy's Magazine (1922 Lake street, Chicago) has enough material on hand for the next six months.

The International Studio (49 West Fortyfifth street, New York) wants some live articles on art, accompanied by photographs.

The Boys' Magazine (Smethport, Penn.), the Radigram (81 Nassau street, New York),

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