1931-03-13 — Page 2

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MRS. J. M. OXBERRY,

THE HONGKONG TELEGRAPH, FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 1931.

LECTURE ON WAR the Indelicate subjects forbidden

BOOKS.

MR. BOWES SMITH ADDRESSES ENGLISH ASSOCIATION.

LITERARY TASTE.

Members of the English Asso clation listened to a very interest- on "War Books," ing address delivered in the Cathedral Hall yesterday afternoon by Mr. A. M. Rowca Smith.

A discussion followed, in which further references to the subject

were made.

war

to the ears of the wedd-bred; theį

which should be sheltered from nice peojile and left to where it now belongs, to taverns and to rude minds. It is hardly a fit sub- jeet for print, except that harsh sort distasteful to the polite. Yet, in spite of the recent advice of gentle and wary editors and sensi tive booktasters, here is a publish- er who issues a huge book which! revels in what le tabooed."

Little did he realise that the author had given the publisher a substantial deposit and guaranteed him against loss!

The Middle Twenties. Thus we find, in the middle twen. ties, the only successful books- with the exception of a few out-

Sir William Hornell presided standing novels were the memoirs over a large gathering.

Mr. Howes Smith began by any- ing that a lecture on Army lang- uage tua he had heard it) would scarcely be suitable in a Cathedral |Bull; and that another subject on which he would have spoken feeling ly-"spit and polish"-might niso

of generale, admirals and states- men who felt It Incumbent upon them to explain to the world what they did, why they did it, and how much shorter the war would have hand. These books are an in- been if they had been given à free for teresting field of literature students of the war. With the

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Discussion.

Case of

One of the WGA

in the ranks und of great novel was "Tho publication of diplomatic corres-Thirdly, there are those who have, who were

xeen an opportunity for financial subalterns' narratives, he referred Sergeant Grischa." ou he nad pondence. official documents, re- Intal tur i doketatars.

"War Boska,gimental histories and the diaries gain in the demand for really sento, "A Private in the Guards" (by latest English war novels taken the title of

of these in high positions, we cansational books: many of them have Stephen Graham), "Tell England" "Medal Without Bur" by Richard these which usually referred in

now study the course of any battle harped on the vlees rather than by Ernent Raymond-which he Binkor, and it would not be sur entitled "Tell the Church of war literature. Having referred by to the far-fetched books diamles enormous output of

or phase of the war in which we the cormal life of the troops, dweit thought could have been more prisly if it took a fairly bigh place

Of the memoirs days to the

and noveis are interested. We can learn all on unsavoury and obscene details, memoirs, histories

and fal- and have occasionally wandered the big leaders he thought that ing them as rubbisi-Mr. Lowes- The World Crisis". by Winston Smith Uought that the great c.aze which have appeared in the past about the achievements few years in response to a revived fores of the staff, the personal from the truth.

The effect of the last-mentioned Churchil had to occupy pride of for war books was already on the

to wan "Those published quarrels and jealousies between public interest. during the war and shortly after various generals and statesmen. wards are for the most part forget and what was in the minds of the type of book on the younger genern-place. Having paid tribute

At the conclusion of the lectur of them deserve enemy commarsters at any given tion, unable to sift the true from "War Birda"-the diary of

the false, must sometimes have unknown American avitator who ten, and many

been to give the impression that was killed in August, 1918-ho oblivion. Prior to the Artustice, time and place authors were prevented from tell-

But serious works of this kind every man la khakl was a course went on to speak of Realistic War Mr. 11. C. Macnamara, Dr. al, 0. Front", the "Storm of rne saded interesting remarka at the war, by ing the truth censorship and by fears of beingly made their pul to a com and licentious blackguard, while Booke such as "All quiet on the Pfister and the Rev. Father G.

paratively small circle of apeclullst every girl who donned the uniform Western thought pacifist. Accounts of life readers; they were not meant to be of a nurse, a W.A.A.C. or an ambu-Steel", and "Goodbye to All That." and comments on Proprietress.

In the trepelo pa'lished at that

general literature but historical lance driver simultaneously discard.lle thought that "All Quiet" was about war which had

!! The war was rejec ed all moral sense and decency. Un-not such a masterpiece as many mentioned by the speaker. time

In proposing a hearty rote information, are it for present-day

Kreater count of their restraint and whole- readers by the absence of places names, lack of candtour amt eriti ar a theme by the authors of fortunately, the more scurrilous or British war books which, on ac-

general literature, except that farfetched the book, the

Hornell congratulated Mr. Bowes attention to the same extent.

Smith

his

cxcel- most when cism, and silence on most of

pertrasing contemporary, the appeal it makes with a certain someness, had not arrested public hanks to the lecturer, Sir William

Tales and Novels. life, they found it was an inevit-section of the public.

lent paper and for his great Lec- those aspects of War that

They

in delivering tho worth recording. rally

Thus we find that from the three nble feature in their background.

Speaking of really goed war service

Willam invited the Sir ture. abound in artificial cheerfulness. Then suddenly there came a re-i

types of authors-those who wrote

those

the who tales, Mr. Bowes-Smith referred to Belf-expression,

Privatee Wo", which treased optimism and patrioticvival: the Great War ne more! for

he tention of the meeting to sentiments, which were what the

to collect gold from thought was as true a picture of ook which Mr. Bowes Smith had public wanted to hear in thos, took its place as a central theme in wrote for propaganda, and those "Her

who wrote garbage, a very varied assortment the every-day life of the men in written and published as one of the ranks na could be wished for.he arst war hooks after the Great days: Many of these books must all manner of banks.

of literature was produced,

In the category of novels have been liflicult to write: but the fact that great pains were put

"The Spanish Farm" trilogy, by which Bome people intre them deus i make them really valuable,

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denly found to be easy to write

But

After the Armistice. After the Armistice, when the censorship was lifted, it was sud war books, and a great number of them appeared with a rush. within a year or so the publishers hecame wary of accepting any mar; they found that everylandy Was so heartily sick of the that their main desire was to for get it. They had had enough of it for four years, and nobody fuit any inclination to discuss the war, much less to read about it. There From 1921 was a sudden slump.

ewards, only exceptionally talent

War

Live.

The Revival.

only temporary.

came As

Ope

Outstanding Books,

(TO-DAY)

Was Var.

on

other books

not been

It was announced that the next

FRIDAY,

13th MARCH.

S. P. C. A. BALL.

Exactly how the revival about, it is diffeult to say.

The lecturer then proceeded to Mottram. year went by and the war receded more and more into the past, it deal with some of the outstanding thought the greatest English war meeting would be held on Tuesday, ld be viewed in better perange war books, first mentioning John novels. Of the early war novels April 7 at 6.30 p.m. in the Cathedral Those of the war generation Masefield's "Gallipoli" and Philip"Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse", when Mr. A. H. Fenwick

an almost equally. Myers,” realised that they had been privile Gibbs "Realities of War" Speak- had taken fis place among the would deliver a lecture on "F. W. ed to live irough the biggest ing of the books written by men alaasica, while event in history, an event compar- ed with which all such matters as fool taxes, test matches, murder mysteries and crossword puzzles were searsely worth a moment'a attention. They felt that life without war, or at least the image of war, was dull, and they experi enced a desire to dig up that dead past and live it over again. or two outstanding books came to the fore, everyone started talking about them, and we found our anti- ed writers and highly-placed per-pathy towards the subject had been sonages, engaged in writing their memoira could approach publishing firms with any hope of getting their matus-ripts accepted. It was about this time that had the presumption to bring forward my awn contribution to war literature, 11 anunted to 200,000 warda, and of course no publisher would look at it. However. I was so deter mined see it in print that I paid | the end of it myself! It could not have made its appearance at a worse time, feel sure that most of the critics, on looking at the title and the 400 pages of close

So much for the general public: prin. exclaimed "What, another! War Book!" and consigned it to as for the authors who were The wastepaper basket. One critic, cater for their taste, they may bej however, Way so amazed at the divided into three main categories, appearance in 1922 of a volumin- First, we have the thousands of ous war book by a complete nonen- men of all ranks who had served tity that he aprend himselt over in the Army, Navy or Royal Air a page of "The Athenaeum" In Force and who felt a natural urge recovering from the shock. That to transmit to posterity a pen- as H. A. Tomlinson, and one picture of the war as they saw it. quotation will sufflee to show the Secondly, there are the authors attitude towards war books in who wrote for propaganda, most of general at that time. "So great a them so pacifist in outlook that

they have hoped, by dwelling on! volume of matter for so low fure" he wrote, "a less starting the inanities and brutalities of than the detail that it concerns' war, to Imbue the younger genera- that war which to-day is one of tion with a hatred of militarism.

SALESMAN SAM

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Those of the post-war genera- tion, too.--the children of 1914- 1919 were beginning to enquire what it had all bren about. heard their fathers and brothers relating their experiences | and wondered whether they word really match hereus as they seemed. Their curiosity was aroused. They, too, were ready to devour war buske,

At the end of the twenties the War came buck into literature. The Authors,

ONE MORE WORD OUTA YA CAN'T LITTER UP THE SIDE||AN' I'LL RUN YA IN!! WALK WITH ALL THAT JUNK!]

GUZZ

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OFFICER, 1-

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