H
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L
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M E N C K E N
By Bu rt o n Bg sc o e
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T H E AM E RIC AN C RIT IC
By Vince nt O su ll ivan
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BIBL IO%RAPH%
By F
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N E W %O RK
C
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H end e rs o n
AL FRED
A K NOPF
1 92 0
P o ur et re un
DE G O URM ON T
bon
c ri t i q u e
i1
fa u t a v oir
une
fort e
p ers onal it é
—RE M %
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I
Wh en H L M e ncke n unpacks his idi omatic b r asses tunes
up his v e rbal st r ings and get s in r e adin e ss his ph r asal wood
winds to orch e strate a fugue in damnation o r in prais e of
man god o r book hi s all too m e agr e audi e nce canc e l s all
oth e r engage me nts to be o n hand at the initial p r e sentation
The r e sult th at audienc e knows will be an e xperience of pur e
His musicianship i s unfailin g His p r og r am is
e nj oym e nt
u nsatisfacto ry o nly in its imp e rmanence T hough the th eme
he prop oses is inva r iably M e ncke n — M e nck e n ap r opos of this
—
he give s it infinite an d int r icate variations
o r that
It is th e n as an artist in wo rd s that M r Menck e n is fi r st to
be consid e red
He has the t r ue marks of a stylist :a rich and
vari e d vocabul a ry and an aptitud e fo r connotation The
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baldly obv ious the common p lac e in e xpression are to him
impo s s ibl e If he possesses an illusion it is that wo r d arrange
me nts matte r In the employme nt of hackn e y e d life l e ss simil es
down at the heel metaphors and s ho pw o m nouns and adj e c
t iv es
he s ee s a dull int e ll e ct plodding p ath e tically along
r e d ee me d only if it e xpr e ss w ith dubious clarity a ne w or vital
id e a Knowing that the styl e is the man and that any o ne who
has somet hi ng d e finite to expre ss give s to it naturally a fo r m
that commands atte ntion in itse lf he res p ects the ma nn e r as
much as the conte nt c ultivates the gipsy ph r as e in his own
compositions and values it in the work of oth e rs
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K680 3 9 3 5
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H L ME N CKE N
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He is distinctly awar e H e dwells in no ivo r y towe r aloo f
and auste r e The whole pro ce ss of daily life in this r e public
its utte rly serious conce rn with fallacies and foibles its flatu
l e nt p opula r idols its pueril e p r e ferences in lite ratur e art
p olitics amus e m e nts and moral s ch e me s its lusty and pr e te n
tious v u lg us its se lf styl e d int e ll ige nz ia all furnish him w ith
ammunition fo r his critical mit ra il le us e H e r e ads e ve rythi ng
th at has a b e aring upon the life about him from t he lat e st
bad nove l to the latest pap al bull and from handbills to d e ci
sions o f the S u pr eme Court His vivid co mb inations his apt
coinage s of words a r e tr ace able to a close obs e rvation and
appraisal of d aily a ffairs Add a nimbl e and ofte n g r ote squ e
imagination and you have the fo rmul a of his styl e
the most
vigo r ous the most ind ividual and the mo s t fr e qu e ntly imitate d
in this country H e owes much of it to his e arly studies of
N ietzsch e It has the slash the incisiv e ness and the gusto of
”
Will to P ow e r
It is the styl e of a satirist
the apot hegm atic
and humourist of a high o r d e r o ne equal to compact and devas
tating e pithets It moves w ith an irre gula r t empo repl e t e
with disson ances It i s imagistic colou r ful dynamic
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II
Ame rican lite ratur e has been and is singularly d e fici ent in
establish e d c r itic s who have anythi ng like a rational conc e ption
o f th e i r j obs The maj ority initiate in a f e w of the pat e nt
r ituals of A r istotl e and %uintilian don the forbidding r o b e s
and go ab out th e i r
o f high p r i e sts to S w ee t n e ss and Light
busine ss much as if the id e a w e r e to ke e p all they know to
th e mse lves
T he aesthetic c r it e r ia of th e s e N e o Bou s s e t s are the pulpit
crite ria of the e arly ni ne tee nth c e ntu ry Th e y are unaware
that psychologists long ago mad e a division b e tween e thical
values and re actions to aesth e tic stimuli O ne of the chie f
amon g them is a ghast at S ainte Beuve s ca tholicity of t as te and
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FA N FARE
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BURT O N RA S C O E
sh eds a righte ous t e ar of r e gr e t that the gr eat F re nchman was
not a family man and a S cotch P resbyt e rian Anothe r
who s e flare for discovering a new Balzac in e ve r y third p ot
boil e r who s e nds him a nove l and w hose g e nius fo r being
quote d on the ash cans of the p ublishing all e ys mak e him
probably the most siniste r d r awback to the advancement of
Ame r ican letters — this pro fe ssor in a work on the English
nov e l hangs an unb e coming and unnecessa r y halo above the
h e ad of Mar k T wain finds moral t r acts in ev e ry fiction and
l e aves out e ntir e ly two o r th r ee o f the really imp ortant nove lists
of the present day Criticism so p r actised b e comes an e xercise
in hie r oglyphics a re quiem hi gh mass at 4 o clock in the afte r
noon —anythin g save a sane intellige nt effo r t to get at a
write r s int e ntion and to j udge him as to wheth e r he has
achieved it w e ll or ill
”
A Book o f Pr efaces deal
T his effo r t Me ncken makes in
ing with Conrad D r e ise r and Huneke r wit h an added chapte r
”
on P u ritani sm as a Lite r a ry Fo r ce
It is a book of c r eative
criticism in a sense unusual in American l e tte r s It is an
assault upon the cultu r al pha r isaism which leads us to b ally
hoo third rate Russian French Italian Jap anese and Hindu
poet s and novelists iss uing them in translations with r oy
cr o f t ie b ind ings to l ie u nop e ned on libra r y tables
while men
nea r er hom e emin e ntly mo r e des e rv ing of a rtistic c onsidera
tion are neglecte d or what i s wors e pillo r i e d by smu g r evi e w
e rs
It is a work of appraisem ent and a pp r e ciation by a man
w ho can writ e coh e r e ntly and with eff e ct who knows sev e r al
lit e ratu r es and ye t i s not a don who has taste and disc rimina
tion and yet i s not a p r ig wh o can p ass j udgment on a w r ite r
and ye t not assum e that t he destiny of the rac e is thus d e t e r
min e d by his words and w ho can be a c ritic and yet be human
T o ge t the full force of his w r itings of cou r se one must at
lea s t know the A B C s of lite r a r y histo r y but one must also
know that this is the twentie th c entu ry A p edant will mis s
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6
H L ME N CKE N
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as many o f his allusio ns as will a parlour maid o r a chau ff e u r
H e has to be s u r e his sha r e of inte ll e ctual f o u rfl u sh; he t o o
is an Am e rica n H e shows at time s an off e nsive i nt e ll e ctu al
ar r ogance and a vainglo r ious trick of paradi ng name s of u nf a
milia r w rit e rs through the page s o f his discours e He has an
i nt o l e ranc e as d e finite in its way as the intol e ra nc e of the
M e thodi s m and P uritanism he fights H e has a s entimental
bias fo r the m e lancholy as against the j oyous temp e rame nt
At h e a rt he is a P ur itan as was N i e tzsch e and is S haw And
he has his r e gul a r fling at bo u rg e o is ie b aiting a pastime he
”
pleasingly alte rnates with badge r ing the inte ll e ctuals
It is
gre at fun for him and fo r his r ead e rs With an adj e ctive and
a noun he can strip a Chautauqua pundit of eve ry stitch of his
pr e te ntious accoutr e m e nts and l e ave him shive ring in the alto
g e th e r a p ath e tic and ridiculous sp e ctacl e
H e is at b e s t as a c r itic in d e aling with pros e
H e has littl e
pati e nc e with or appre ciation fo r p oet ry and with charact e ristic
impromptu he is like ly to consign to the li mb o of his e stimate s
along with a h ack ve rs ifi e r a p o e t of hi gh calibr e who s e
m e thods and aims he does not imm e diate ly app e rce ive It is
th is intol e rance th e s e sna p and final j udgm e nts this d e light
in an occasional display of cultural bij o u t e rie that l e ss e n his
statur e as a critic S om e of us hop e that in t he l o ng r u n he
will sh e d that fault and gai n a trifl e mor e of p oise and balanc e
without losing th e r e by his gem lik e quality of phra s e
T his co ns u mmatio n in fact he has in a large m e asur e
”
a chi e v e d in
A Book of P r e faces
His occasional sacrific e
of cl e ar p e rsp e ctive to the punge nt lin e is h e r e abs ent H e has
Dr e is e r and Hune ke r w ith an unwonte d
a pproach e d Conrad
chastity of critical mat e rials and give n an e quitabl e e stimat e
and a kee n analysis of the a rtistic aims of th e s e men H e
in s pires one with a d e sir e to find pleasure in th e i r w riti ngs or
if o ne is alr e ady familiar with th e m to ch e rish a mo r e intimat e
acquaintan ce with th e m T hi s is o f cours e the mission
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FA N FARE BY BU RT O N RA S C O E
7
have a mission
of the critic H e p e rhaps r e ads in Dr e is e r
and Conrad that w hich is not a habit he abominates in oth e rs
But that i s only one mor e evidenc e that th e re is no such thi ng
as pur e ly obj ective criticism A critic invariably tr e ats o f
hims e lf in consid e ring the work o f oth e rs and he is w o r t h
whil e only in s o fa r as he i s of inte ll e ctual int e r e st and c o u se
u
e
n
c
e
as
a
man
q
M e nck e n has root e d lustily fo r Dr e ise r e ve r sinc e the latte r
first a pp e a r ed upon t he lite rary sce n e H e e arly disc e rn e d in
the Indian an a ne w and vital f o r c e in Am e rican l e tt e rs a sin
c e r e a nd u nflinchi ng artist pl e dg e d to pr e s ent faithfully life
as he had s ee n it And when Dr e is e r was down and gasping
u nd e r the onslaught of public and p rofe s s io nal critics M e n cken
st e p ped in wi e lding his mighty cutlass d e capitate d som e half
doz e n of the mor e w e ighty anthrop ophagite s and drov e the
r e st to cover The fight is not ov e r but M e nck e n is holdi ng
th e m at bay and oth e rs have e nliste d in his a id H e knows
Dre is e r s faults of which ther e a r e many a nd he p oints th e m
out in hi s book but he al so knows D r eise r s m e r its
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III
I unbu r dened mys e lf of the forego ing dithyramb s in the
course o f an articl e in the Chicago S und ay T ribu ne d u ring
N ove mbe r 1917 Wh e n I came to write the pr e s e nt pap e r I
thought I should be able to sandwich that e arl ie r discourse
into this one I find th at it cannot be done It is couch e d in
a d e finit e key and te mpo which I cannot a t this mom e nt r e catch
a nd a pa r agraph f r om it j uxta p os e d with a p arag r aph I should
now w r ite must r esult in a f orbidding mixtur e of j e rky
rhythms But sinc e afte r thr ee y e ars the pa rt s I have
r e printe d still r ep r esent in essentials my impr es sions of Mr
M e ncke n s work I have d e cided to l e t th e m stand T he articl e
was hortato ry rath e r than e xp osito r y and its aim was to
inc re ase so fa r as p ossible Mr M e ncke n s a udi e nce He had
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H
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M E N CKE N
not at that t im e the f o llo w i ng he no w e nj o ys ; and his import
ance as a lite ra r y figur e w hil e j us t as r e al w as no t th e n so
appar e nt as it is now H e has me an whil e give n us an imp o rt
ant and vastly int e resti ng philol o gical w ork T he Am e rican
”
Language ; a ne w book of criticism
P r e j udic e s : First
”
”
S e ri e s ; an inge nious sa tir e
In D e fe n se of Women ; and
in c ollaboration with Georg e J e an N athan a satirical buff o o n
”
e ry
Heliogabalus and a study of the Ame ri c an mind in
”
action
The Am e rican Credo
H e has b e e n prais e d in the
M e rc u re d e France and in various oth e r co ntin e ntal revie ws
as w e ll as in such English p e riodicals as the Athe nce u m
With th e se increasing e vid e nces of for e ign favour the phenom
e non of ou r national lit e rary self consciousn e ss has again b e gun
to manifest its e lf and Ame rican critics and r e vi ewers who
we re forme r ly afraid to mention his name ab o ve a whisp e r
n ow warble ab out him dulcetly Eve n his most active oppo
witnessi ng the w hol e sal e d e se rt ion from their ranks
ne nt s
have tacitly admitted his victory
It must be fo r Mr Me nc k e n a sou r c e of amu sem e nt and at
the same time a little embarrassing to have among t h e se new
adherents me n to whom he is unalterably oppose d in idea and
in habit Fo r he wishes to function fr e ely to dance as
N ietz s che phrase d it with arms and legs T o this end he
r efus e s to frequen
t lite r a r y soci e ti e s d e clin e s to m ee t authors
and avoids contact with all public organizations and p e rsons
including eve n those who h ave his support He is inte r e ste d
not i n making conver ts but only in amu sing himse lf at the
fascinating game of j uggling id e as H e b e li e ve s and rightly
that the c énac l e is t he incubator of the c l iche that apostl e s
make the most p r ovoking thought a pl atitude H e is sc e ptical
of all things e ve n of the fleeting truth as he s e es it H e
b e li e ve s that nothing is unconditionally tru e and he is op pose d
to e very positive state m ent of truth and to e ve ry o ne who
states it All hi s work whether it be bu r lesque se r ious oriti
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BURT O N RA S C O E
m or m e r e casual controversy is always d irg c ted__agains t
T o e xp os e shams unma s k
th ing : e mpt y pret ensi on
o ne
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hypocrisy ridicul e sol emn d e lusio ns
this is at onc e his
c is
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vocati o n and his h o bby His w e ap on is adapte d to the en e my
And he love s t he fight its e lf not fo r the
and to t he fight
victory it brings the triumph of his id e as that it holds out as
stake s but fo r the stimulating e xe rcis e it e ntails the se nse of
str e ngth in logic the feeling of comp e te ncy in verb al pa rries
He has no doctrin e to spr e ad N on e
the sh ee r j oy of combat
of them seem to him w orth fighting fo r H e b e li e ve s that all
the larg e r human probl e ms are insol u bl e and that life is quite
me aningless a spectacle with out p u r p ose or moral
T hus a thoroughgoing sc e ptic he is ye t a man of s tr ong
i nt e llectual conc e pts and pr ej udices mostly n e gative And
in the statement of th e se concepts and pr e j udice s o ne finds
him most provocative N on e of them are esp e cially new
many of th e m a re actually axiomatic ; but his manne r of
e xpre ssing th e m t he e xampl e s he adduc e s i n support of them
I n an expansive moment he once
are unfailin g ly in t e r est in g
w rot e to me :
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I am agai nst al l th e ologia ns p rofe sso r s e dito rial writ ers r ight th i nk e r s
I am agai nst patriotism b e ca u se it d e mands t he acc e pt
and re fo rm e r s
a nc e of p ro po sitio ns that are obvio u sly i mb ecil e e g that an Am e rica n
Pre sbyt erian is the e q u al of A natol e Fra nc e Brahms o r L u d e ndo rff I
am agai nst d e mocracy fo r t he sam e re aso n : it is i ndisti ng u ishabl e from
l unacy T o me d e mocracy s e e ms to be fo u nd e d w holly u po n t he i nf e rio r
man s e nvy of his s u p erio r — o f t he man w ho i s havi ng a b e tt e r tim e
T hat is al so t he o rigin of P uritanism I d e t e st all s u ch thi ngs I
ackno wl e dge th at ma ny me n are my s u p er io rs and al w ays d e fe r to
th e m In s u ch a co u ntry as t he U nit e d S tat e s of co u rs e f ew of that
so rt are to be e nco u nt e re d H e nc e my appa re nt fo re ignne ss : most of
Bu t this is no t my fa u lt
I d be glad
t he me n I r e sp e ct are fo re ig ne r s
to re sp e ct Am erica ns if th e y w e re re sp e ctabl e G e o r g e Washi ngto n was
I admire him gre atl y
admi re m e a n thi ngs e g fe llo w s who thi nk
man I also d e t e st poltroo ns — that is me n
in combat
In my gladiato rial days o n t he
Baltimo re Sun I ne ve r atta ck e d a s i ngl e man who w as w i t ho ut means of
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H L ME N CKE N
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hitti ng back I co ntroll e d spac e that w as d e dicat e d to any o ne who
w a nte d to attack me
No man w as e v e r re f u s e d this spac e My o bj ec
t io n to Am e rica ns is that th e y lik e to fi ght w ith t he e ne my str app e d to
t he boar d
H e nc e t he p ers e c u tio n of G erma ns d ur i ng t he w ar t he
robb ery of h e lpl e ss ali en b u sine ss men t he Am e rican L e gio n t he Am er
ican Prot e ctive L e a g u e t he attack on S pai n t he w ar s w ith Nicarag u a
S anto Domingo e t c T his poltroo ne ry is not e ss e ntiall y Ame rican it is
simpl y d e mocr atic ; t he i nferio r man alw ays sho w s it
I am t e st e d by t he p re vaili ng d e finitio ns a bad Am er ica n I do not
b e li e v e this co u nt ry has t he glo rio u s f u t ure that p at riot e ers talk of
It w ill p robably re mai n s e co nd r at e fo r a lo ng w hil e
a m ere milch c ow
fo r Engla nd Most of t he Am e rican id e als so call e d that I k no w of
s e e m to me to be idiotic If th e y w e re so u nd I d p robably j ump i nto t he
ne a r e st r iv e r
T he so rt of co u nt ry th e y co nj u re u p w o u ld be simply a
paradis e of bo und ers fo rw ar d look e rs right thi nk e r s all so rts of st u pid
co w a rds I do not b e li e v e that civili z e d life is possibl e und er a d e moc
r acy
I am an e xtre m e lib er ta rian and b e li e v e in absol u t e ly fre e sp ee ch e sp e
c ial l y fo r a na rchists S ocialists and oth e r s u ch fools
O nc e those f e llow s
w e r e fr e e to gabbl e ad l ib d e moc r acy w o u ld be r e d u c e d to an abs u r dity ;
I am against j aili ng men fo r th e i r opi n
t he mob w o u ld go stark c r a z y
io ns or fo r that matt e r fo r a nythi ng e lse I am oppos e d to re ligio ns
b e ca u se all of th e m s ee k to th rottl e opi nio n I do not b e li ev e in e d u ca
tio n and am glad I ne v e r w e nt to a u niv e rsity B e yo nd t he ru dim ents
it is impossibl e to t e ach a nythi ng All t he re st t he st u d ent acq u i re s
himse lf His t e ach er m ere ly mak e s it diffic u lt fo r hi m I ne v e r l e arne d
a nythi ng in school
My sc e pticism is i ntol e rably off ensiv e to t he no rmal Am er ica n man ;
o nly t he man u nd e r stro ng fo re ign i nfl u enc e s s e e s a nythi ng in it save a
gross immo rality If t he notio ns of t he r ight thi nk er s are co rre ct th e n
s u ch s t uff as mi ne %and partic u larly s u ch st uff as I shall writ e h ere
aft e r ) o u ght to be pu t do wn by l aw I b e li ev e that in t he lo ng ru n
it w il l be p u t do wn b y l avL that fre e sp e e ch is too da nge ro u s to
d e moc r acy to be p ermitt e d Bu t I s ure ly do not complai n abo u t that
And
The P ur ita ns hav e a righ t to d e t e rmi ne t he l aw s o f th e i r co u nt ry
I re j e ct t he s entim entality that t he mi no rity also has rights
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I
H e r e i nd ee d w e have a man da ncing w ith arms and l e gs
And w hil e he d anc e s w e may be p e rmitt e d to take note s up o n
It will first be obs e rved that w hil e Mr
t he p e rforma nc e
M e nck e n fanci e s he is an ali e n he is actually as e ss e ntially
Ame rican %
as Vinc e nt O s ullivan has point e d o u t ) as p u mpkin
th
r
o
ntry
in
o
r
ld
could
such
a
man
be
w
t
h
e
n
o
ie
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FA N FARE
B%
11
BURT O N RA S C O E
ima g in e d H e is indub itab ly a natu r al p r o duct o f Amer ican
t r aditions Amer ican t r ainin g Ame r ican cha r acter
a prod
u ot perha p s of r eaction against these things but still plainly
a p r oduct
is delusion of nu Ame r icanism on the
Ame ricans who have r isen ab ove the mob is common
Th e r e is a notion among c r itics that Edga r Allan P oe i s
re se nt ative o f America
that he i s essentially French That
supe r stition has been admi r abl y ex p loded by Rem y de Gou r
mont who said of P oe :
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ca na rds so nt d e s ré c ré atio ns e t d e s e X périe nce s psy cho l ogiqu e s
C e p e nda nt o n y d é co u vre d e s trac e s d u go ut pa rtic u li e r d e s Am éricains
po u r la ré clam e l afiiche 1a p u blicit é barba re 1e j o u rnalism e e xt ra v agant
Po e e s t un Am éricai n bi e n p l u s re p ré s e ntatif d e l Amé riq u e q u E me rs on
Walt Whitma n Son e sp rit a d e s cfit é s p ratiqu e s D énu é d e
ou
litt érat ure i1 e fi t é t é nu e t onnant homm e d affaire s u m la nc e ur d e
”
p re mi er o rdre
Ses
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Much the same thin g and with equal truth ma y be said of
M r M encke n T h e r e is in his work a b e llicose e xtravagance
peculiarly American arising to meet a p e culiarly Ame rican
n ee d Just as I have long thought of Anatol e F r anc e as the
o nly living Ch r istian I think of M r Mencke n as p rob ably the
only living Am e rican p atriot It will be se e n that his inte r e sts
are
paradoxically enough e thical %
o r anti ethical if you so
choos e to call th e m ) His id e as are in the main id e as i n ant ag
o nis m to the limited outlook t he co rr osive comme r cialism the
puritanical bias the stultifying corr e ctn e ss of American life
conditions which make not only fo r the d e ath of the cr e ative
spirit i n the a r ts but actual ly r e nder life itself a drab and
c o w ardly preparation for death His criticism then is at
bottom a cr itici sm of id e as not of bo bks ; and what e ve r his
sc e ptical p r ofessions he cannot h e lp half h e artedly hop e that
through e ff orts such as his stupidit y narro wn e ss hy p ocrisy
and me an living will be i n some tr ifling way decr e a se d so that
inte llig ent and honest a r tists may live th e ir live s in Th e s e
S tates wi thout inte r fe r ence by the p olice T he a rtist in eve ry
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12
H L ME N CKE N
.
.
co u nt ry has ind ee d a di fficult time e nough The mili e u of
Baudelaire was as hostil e to him as the mili e u of Poe was to
h im ; the prosecution of Flaub e rt was as p e rsist e nt as the pe r
se c u t io n of D r eise r ; Huys mans and V e r lain e to
a
h
aring
e
t
e
g
denied them b y the r ep r esentative French magazines had to
give thei r stu ff as fill e r s fo r the back p ag e s of a financial re
v iew
But in this countr y alone it seems it is difficult for an
a r tist to get r ecognition even yea r s aft e r his death ; in this
country alone is the artist held i n almost unive rsal conte mpt
Mr Mencken s wa r upon this condition i s so insiste nt that it
takes on the natu r e of a be r serker rage H e is qui ck to r e cog
nize an a r tist and he fights for him usually by attacki ng his
enemies ofte n leaving to oth e r s the mor e acad emic work of
exp ounding the artist s virtu e s H e kn ows that the public
is always i n favour of the prosecution that it likes criticism
only in so fa r as it is a good show His o wn audi e nc e is small
and perha p s somewhat sup e r io r but it e nj oys a good combat
as much as any othe r and he invariably provid e s it
As a c r itic of defi nite books pa rt icularly of novels and
essays , he is p r obabl y as often right as is any man who e ngage s
in that most subj ective of all vari e ti e s of c r e ativ e writin g
criticism H e has good sense his taste s are e xc e ll e nt his dis
As a critic of po e try he is I think
ce rnme nt of values keen
p r obably the wo r st i n the world P o e try e ve n mo r e than
p ainting is his aesth e tic blind spot : hi s favourite p oem i s
”
Lizette Woodwo rth Reese s T e ars and he once mad e i n all
se ri ousness the astoundin g st atem ent that no one e ver wrot e
good p oetry after the age of twenty fi ve I n po e try he pr e fe rs
the sentimental — if he ca r es fo r it at all which is not often
But we must take the bitte r with the sw e et S ainte B e uve was
n oto r iously in e pt i n his r e ma rks on Fla ub e rt Balzac and Bau
d e lai r e :Brune ti er e was an anachronism b e longing r ightly to
t he seventeenth c entury ; Lemaitr e was to o classical in his
tastes ; Anatole Fr ance r idiculed the S ymb olists as dis e ased
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FA N FARE
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13
BURT O N RA S C O E
p oets ; Remy de Gou rmont was anti p ath e tic to any one who
professed Ch ristianity ; Georg Brandes has anti social and p e ssi
mistic prej udice s ; Jame s Huneke r choosing al w ays to wr ite
sympath e tically and illuminatingly up on subj e cts which inte r
est him is p r obabl y as nea r a n app r oach to a p e rfect c r itic
as we have had
I wish to r ecu r again to M r Mencken s style befo r e I pass
on to his biography Acad e mic tradition in England and
r esisted
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l
at ica
aft e r th e y have p assed out of
the comm on speech Anglophile t r aditionalists have even
insiste d upon the abandonment of Ame r icanisms which have a
peculia r ly America n savou r The conservato r s of co rrect
—
usage i—
n the United S tates co m
Hie
—
e ni ba lme
d speech of the t e xt books any use of the rich and
sprightly words of eve ryday commerce a b reach of tast e and
t he write r the re o f u g lgar i e ll OM
e t should you ask th e m
if M Anatole F r ance of the Acad émie Fr angais e is a gr e at
stylist they would unquestionably answe r in the a ffi rmative
And M Anatol e F r ance of the Acad émie Fr angais e e mploys
slan g the idiomatic e xpres sions of the str e ets and j ou rn alistic
coinage wheneve r he feels lik e it — which is ofte n :I counted
”
tw e lve instances i n one page of M Berge ret a P aris
T he
numb e r of slang expr e ssions w hich became the common p r op
e rt y of novelists and academicians in Franc e during the war
was so large that a sp e cial dictionary o f th e m wa s bro
out
Mr M e ncke n has always been a littl e s u s pec
Am e ricans of the p r ofe sso r ial so rt for doing what the mo re
important Fr e nch w r it e rs have always don e This most vigo r
o u s o f Ame r i c an w r ite r s has been patroniz e d as not e xactly
nice
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14
H
L
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.
M EN CKE N
IV
He n r y Louis Mencken was born in Baltimor e on S e pte mb e r
1 2 1880
O n his fath e r s side he i nh e rits Frisian S candi
navian S axon P olish S cotch Irish and English b l o od and
on his mother s sid e he is lowland Bava r ian and H e ssian with
p r obably s ome French a dmixture The Mencken family was
first hea r d o f i n O ld e nbu r g ; the nam e is Fr isian The family
e a r ly mad e its way i n t he Hansa towns and produced com
me rcial magnates diplomats theologians , doctors of law
p rivy councillo r s and p r ofe sso r s I n the seve nte enth c entury
two Menckens cousins emig r at e d to S axony attracted by the
university at Leipzig and founded the S axon branch of the
family O tto Mencke n toward the e nd of the c e ntury e stab
l is he d the Acta E rud it o ru m the r e the fi r st learn e d r e vi e w in the
Holy Roman E mp ire His son Johann Bu rkhardt wrote in
1 71 5 a b ook that was famous on the Contin e nt througho u t the
”
eighteenth centu r y
De Cha r latan e r i e E ru d it o riu m a fu r
ious attack u p on p r ofessorial b ombast L iide r M enck e n w as
an acad emic magnifi c o in Le i pz i g in the time of Johann S ebas
tian Bach — a celeb r ated j ur ist and profe sso r of law An
as t as iu s Ludwig M e ncke n was a p rivy councillor to Fr e d e rick
the Great His daughter Wilh e lmina Luisa was the moth e r of
Bismarck The f amily went to pieces during the N a p ol e onic
wars M r M e ncke n s g r andfathe r l e ft L e ipzig to s e ttl e i n
Am e rica i n 1848 He was not a r ev olutionist r e fuge e ; he
cl e a r ed out be caus e he thought the r e volution would succ e e d
M r Me ncke n s fath e r was i n t he tobacc o busin e ss in Balti
mor e T he youn g Mencken attend e d Kna pp s Institute a pri
vate school and was graduate d from the Baltimo r e P olytechnic
at the e arly age o f sixteen His fath e r w anted him to e nt e r
his business a nd o ff e red to send him to John s Hopkins Unive r
s it y which o ff e r he declined on t he gr ound that if he w e r e
destined fo r business it was a waste of time to a ttend a unive r
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BURT O N RA S C O E
His fath e r died wh e n he was e ightee n and shortly afte r
w ard M e ncke n got a j ob as a r e p o rt e r on t he old Baltimo r e
He was suc ce ssively S unday e ditor city
M o rning H e ra ld
and at 2 5 yea r s managing edito r of that n e wspap e r
e ditor
In 1 906 he became editor in chief of the E ve ning H e ra ld and
w h e n the H e ra ld su s p e nd e d w e nt to the Baltimor e Su n serv
ing variously as S unday e dito r dramatic c r itic and editorial
I n 19 1 1 he sta r ted hi s Fr ee Lanc e column i n the
w rit e r
E ve ning Su n and r an it until 1 9 1 6
It had a l o cal suc
c e s s and mad e him the town anti Christ Th e r e has neve r
b ee n anything quite like it in any oth e r Ame rican n e wsp ap e r
H e had an absolutely fr ee hand and he told the ho r ribl e truth
as he saw it
H e began wr iting a monthly lite r ary a r ticl e for the Sma rt
Se t in 1908 I n 1914 he and George Jean N a t han and t w o
associat e s acquired the magazine H e is unmarried and live s
with his mothe r and sister i n Baltimor e
s ity.
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THE
A M E R I C A N C R I TI C
B%
1
V IN C E N T O S U L L IVAN
’
In the United S tates at p r es e nt ther e is a vast d e a l of what
may be call e d acad emic criticism Consid e rabl e kno w l e dge
is ofte n a t the bas e of it ; it is no t e cc e ntric it is w e ll b ehave d
it is prud e nt it is the output of a citiz e n who has a r e putatio n
f o r d e co ru m to k e e p up it is writte n and punctu at e d car e fully
and p ub li s h e d luxuriously It is not e asily t o be distinguish e d
from the mass of the sam e kind of writi ng publish e d in oth e r
lands The worst thing about it is that it is vacuous by di nt
of resp e ctability Its bland imp e rsonal pr e s e ntations som e
tim e s ha ughty urbane at tim e s often ir r itabl e and al w ays
dogmatic have absolutely n o e ffect on the po e ts and novelists
of the United S tates S ome o f them may r e ad it some of
th e m may eve n beli e ve i n it But influ e nce th e m it do e s not
It couldn t It is too life l e ss
Among all this criticism th e r e i s one c r itic His nam e is
H L M e nck en H e may provoke animosity he may rou s e
prote stations e ve n ve h e m e nt but he is r e ad he is atte nd e d to
With foundations p e rhaps solid e r tha n any sol e mn profe s s or
of th e m all he is not s ol e mn H e is not bor e d : wh eth e r or
not he approve s of the Am e rican w e lte r it do e s not bor e him
A criticism by him is as
H e attacks his mat e rial with gusto
absorbi ng as a w e ll pla nn e d sho r t st o ry J u st as much art
go e s into it B e sid e s he is g enuin e ly Am e rican
only out o f
t he S tat e s could j ust th at acc e nt that way of looki ng at things
come S uch w e ekli e s as the N e w Rep u bl ic and som e of the
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R e p ri nt e d from t he Lo ndo n N e w
van and Mr % K Ch e st er to n
1
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Wit nes s
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16
by pe rm i ss io n of Mr O s ulli
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BY VI N CE N T O S ULLIVA N
17
oth e r critical pap e r s publi s hed i n Ame rica have no thing s pe
T h e y might be the work o f
c ifi c all y Am e rican about th e m
the staff of t he Londo n Spe ct at o r or N at io n transp o r t e d to
Ame ri c a and set to w r iting on Ame r ican topics But M r
M e ncke n do e s not d e rive fr om England or from anywh e r e
U S A He is as peculiarly Ame rican as
e lse but the
pump kin pie or a Rike r H e geman d r ug sto r e In this s e nse
he is the fi r st Am e rican critic except P oe Fo r Lowell E P
Wh ippl e W C Bro w nell and so many others what are th e y
afte r all but products of Europ e an and chi e fly English cul
tur e w ho have continued the Europ e an t e s ts on the Am e r ica n
%
body e ven as H e n r y J am e s did so mistakenly
Mr M e nck en t e sts Ame rica by America T o say t r uth he
tr e ats Columbia rather r oughly H e takes liberti e s with he r
Oh Lo r d yes he tak e s all the lib e rti e s i n the wo r ld H e r
house is his o wn you s e e If he sometime s t akes he r on his
kne e and tr e ats her to a li ttle b oisterous fondling e re long he
has he r up and hits he r a sh r ew d whack ove r the shoulders o r
a b ox on the c ar But b ehind it a ll o ne fee ls there is con
s id e r abl e a ff e ction :it is i n the manne r of H im who chasteneth
because He love th
”
His book Prej udices :Fi r st S e ri e s I ha ve found the most
inte r e sting book of c r iticism which has app e ared since George
”
Moore s Imp r e ssions and O pinions
S om e of the subj e cts
a re not so important as Moor e s
but that is not M e nck e n s
fault :you don t find V e r laines a nd D e gas e s and M ane t s and
Antoin e s Th eatre Lib r e fr e sh and unknown eve r y day
M e ncken take s wha t is und e r his hand and without Moor e s
mate rial make s his b ook as inte r esting as M oo r e s N ot that
his styl e or me thod res e mbles Moor e s i n the l e ast H e is
mor e like W E H e nl e y in these and he is most like himse lf
One has to be an American or at least to know American
conditions ve ry w e ll to e stimate at its j ust valu e criticism so
obviously f earles s and sinc e re In r eading Pr ej udic e s as
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18
TH E
AMERICA N CRI T IC
i n mos t o f Mr M e ncken s books you g e t no t o nly a vi e w o f
Am e r ican lit e ratu r e as it e xists at pr e s e nt but vi e w s o p e n
ing o n al l sid e s int o Am e rican life
N o cou ntry is so mu ch
in n ee d j ust no w of impartial criticism fro m t he ins id e as the
Unite d S tat e s S uch criticism as the Fr e nch and Engli s h have
give n th e mse lve s almost sinc e th e y b e cam e articulat e Ame rica
has n e ve r had T h e re has b e e n a v a u e b e li e f that it was
to Show
6 f fhe American stat e
Wh at
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Dicke ns and it was accordingly disco u nte d In Europ e
the n ov e l has b e en a gr e at i nstrum e nt of critici s m but it is
only quite lat e ly w ith T h e odore Dr e ise r S h e rwo o d And e rson
Abraha m Cahan and o ne or t w o oth e rs that the Ame rica n
nove l has com e t o a nything like f rank and sinc e r e
Am e rican life — the life l e d by the millions
S uch nov e lists have ha d to make th e ir way pai nfully ag
furious o pposition ; fr om no autho r iz e d sou r ce have
r e c e ived any h e lp
Alon e among the critics M r Me ncken fought th e ir battl e s
for th e m against o btus e ness a gainst mali gnity and hypocrisy
and against that t e pid s e ntime ntalism w hich is I d o b e li e v e
t he nation a l vice ; and if thi ngs are today a littl e mor e e asy
for the nove list who w ish e s to be ve r acious it is chi e fly to him
that thanks a re due — to him and to Dr e i s e r who has had
church and b e nch a nd bar polic e and law and ord e r and m o st
oth e r phantasms and formulas mobiliz e d against him for
nigh on twe nty ye ars and has r e fu s e d to be bulli e d and cow e d
One has to be an Am e rican to e s timat e p rop e rly the i nnova
tion of Dr e is e r and his co u rage f o r lift e d out of the Ame rica n
atmosph e r e th e r e is nothing v e ry startli ng about his n o v e ls
a li s ts )
and a Euro
h
his
liation
r
ally
is
to
t
Fr
e
nch
N
atur
e
ffi
e
a
%
p e an of some cultur e r e ading th e m w ould fi nd th e m the
e xpr e ssion o f a h e althy mi nd not i n the l e ast a narchic or r e v o
l u tio nary, and with nothing particula r ly ne w abou t th e m
as
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19
BY VI N CE NT O S ULLIVA N
’
but th e i r s u bj ect matt e r
j ust that r e nd e r i ng of plain Ame r
ican life which I have spoke n of
But it is im p ossible to r e gard th e m thus calmly in America
as Mr M e ncke n who has had to give and take many a blow
in Dr e is e r s cause knows well T h e r e Dreise r is a banne r fo r
al l thos e who want to do something e ls e th an p r oduce pal e
nove ls fo r pink p e opl e like those o f the Ha r old Bell Wr ights
Mr
the Gen e S tratton P o r te r s a nd the S ydnor Harri s ons
M e ncken writes : It i s not the artistic m e rit and dignity of a
nov e l that makes for its succ ess in the United S tates T he
criterion of truth appli e d to it is not the c r ite r ion of an a r tist
but that of a n e wspap e r editorial writer ; the que stion i s n ot
Is it i n a ccord with the p r ofound e st impuls e s and motive s of
%
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humanity but Is it i n accord with the curr e nt pishp osh
What b e sides the a ll p e rv adi ng s e ntime ntalism goes to d e t e r
min e the j udgment o f the e dito r ial w r ite r and of a perhaps
mor e influ e ntial p e r son wh e n it comes to b ooks the municipal
libra r ian I do not pretend to kno w My own b oo k
T he
”
Good Girl which has led a blame l e ss and qui e t life in Eng
land for seve n or e ight ye ars — only the othe r day I had a
l e tte r f r om an a ge d lady i n Brighton who told me she had
—
e
fi
r ad it twic e with great pro t
was b a r r e d out of the public
libraries of N e w York and Boston and d oubtl e ss other cities
w h e n it was published i n my nativ e land
A fe w y e a r s ago
a ne w edition was issued by a Boston p ublish e r and the p oo r
old bo bk was tr e ate d c r u e lly in the p r ess for ind e c e ncy immo r
ality and the whole orch e stra ; and it is s till ba r r e d from the
p ublic librari e s As Mr M e ncke n says : A lite ra r y c r afts
”
man in America is neve r j udge d by his wo r k alone
T her e
m u s t be something on the sid e S arah B e rnhardt o r M me
M e lba o r some body e qually comp e t e nt must look on the work
and pronounce it good T he late Th e odore Roos e ve lt was a
gr e at r e sourc e His opi nions might afflict the j udicious but a
book to which he gave clea r ing pa p e r s sailed trium phantly
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TH E
20
AMERICA N CRI T IC
ove r the sto r my seas o f the dep artment stores and ancho r ed
the haven of the munici p al libra ry
Against pat riot ee ring against fr aud and violence and tyranny
disguised as fr e edom against the hand of the opp r esso r
w r apped in the cap of lib e rty against wo r ds tha t are froth
against a c r afty hypocrisy which is the death of all o r igi nality
in a r t against uniformity against the dead level against erect
ing the m e dioc r e opinions of the maj ority into canons of art
against a mean flatte ry of the mob and playing down to it
against these Mr Me ncke n has always nobly and brave ly con
tend e d and doubtl e ss will cont e nd for many years mor e fo r
he is still a youn g man and these e vils are like ly to last ou r
tim e I n fact a sensible
not cont end
i nst
them in the hope
i n the world and will mw l yj emain i n some sha pe o r
n o but i n the hope of mit igafing {11313
fill the wo r ld_ is d one
T h e r e i s no ques
than is some e ncou r agement for this
tion that owin g to the camp aigns of M r Mencken and one or
two o the r s the Amer ican poet and nove list and to a certain
ext e nt the d r amatist is infinite ly fr ee r to d e ve lop his work
l ogically and ve ra ciously than he was ten years ago
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
F C H E N DE RSON
B%
I
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B OO KS BY H
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L
M E NCK E N
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I
Ve ntur e s into Ve r se B e i ng Various Ballads Ballad e s Ron
deaux T riol e ts S ong s %uatrains O d e s and Round e l s All
rescued from the P otters Fi e ld of O ld Files and h e r e Giv e n
Dec e nt Burial %
Pe ace to T h e i r Ash e s ] By H e nry Louis
Mencken With Illustrations 81 O ther T hin gs By Cha r les S
Pu bl is hers D e v ic e )
Go r don 81 John S i e ge l %
Marshall Beek
Gordon N e w York Londo n T oronto S ydn e y Baltimo r e
Fi rst %
and Last ) Edition MCMIII
46 p p
X 4 78 ; brown p a p e r
with re d and white lab e l
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from t he B oo kman L ife L e s l ie s We e kly t he N e w E ng land M ag az ine
t he N at io nal M ag az ine and t he Baltimo r e M orning H e ral d
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Geo r ge Be rna r d S haw
His P lays
By
Hen r y L Men
D e v ice )
cke n
Boston and London
John W Luce
%
Co 1 905
1 07 pp 7% x 5143 ; blue cloth with white r ed and black
lab e ls
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C ON TE N T S : Pre fac e By Way of Int rod u ctio n T he S haw Pl ays T he
Nove ls and O th e r Wr iti ngs Biogr aphi cal and S tatistical S hak e s p ea re
and S haw
N O TE :T he table of co nt ents m entio ns Majo r Barb a ra bu t t he l ast pl a y
act u ally d e al t w ith is John B ull s O th er Isla nd
%Out of p rint ]
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BIBLI O GRAP HY
22
III
The
Fr i e d r ich N i e tzsch e By H e nry L
Fo u r l ine q u o ta t io n fro m Scho p enha ue r )
M e ncken %
Pu b
%
l is he r s de vice )
Boston Luce and Compa ny MCMVIII
xiii % 32 5 pp 8 x
maroon cloth with gilt stamping ;
front p ort of N ietz sche by Ha ns O lde
Philoso p hy of
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C ON TE N T S : Int ro du ctio n I Ni e tzsch e t he M an : Bo yhoo d and Yo u th
T he B e ginnings of t he P hilosoph er Blazi ng a N ew P ath T he Proph e t
of t he S u pe rman T he Phi losoph e r and t he M an II Ni et z sch e t he
P hil osoph er :Dionys u s v s Apollo The Origin of Mo rality B eyond Good
and E vil The S u p er ma n E t e rnal R e c u rre nc e
Christianity Tru th Civili
z at io n Wom en and Ma rr iag e Go v e rnm e nt C r im e and P u nishm e nt E d u
catio n S u nd ry Id e as Ni e tzsch e v s Wa gne r III Ni e tzsch e t he Proph e t :
Ni e tzsch e s Origi ns Ni e t z sch e as a Te ach er Ni e tzsch e and His Critics
IV Books and Articl e s Abo u t Ni e tzsch e
N O TE : The titl e is i nco rrect on t he b ack th u s : T he Phi losophy of
Ni e t zsch e And re printe d
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London T Fishe r Unwin MCMVIII
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Ni e t z sch e omitt e d t ho u g h not d el e t e d from t he tabl e of co nt ents
The s ame
Boston Luce and Comp any 1 9 1 3
Thi r d Edition
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C o N TE N Ts :S am e as abo v e , bu t w ith v ar io u s change s in t he t e xt , a
Pre fac e to t he T hir d E dition add e d Ni e tz sch e ’as a T e ach er and Books
and A rt icl e s abo u t Ni e t z sch e omitt e d Ni e t z sch e s O rigi ns and Ni e tzs ch e
and His C ritics re wr itt e n
H o w to S t u dy Ni et zsch e and I nd e x adde d ,
and f ro nt po r t of Ni e tz sch e omitt e d
N O TE :T itl e on b ack corre ct e d
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A D r ama Without Wo r ds By H L Men
The A r tist
T it l e page
cke n John W Luce Company Bost o n 1 9 1 2 %
in bo rd er by F Ba rro s )
33 pp 6 x 4 % ; b r own mottled boa r ds da r k brown stamp
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N O TE : R e p rint e d from t he B o he mian
aft e rward pr i nt e d in t he Smart Se t fo r
B url e squ e %cf VI )
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T he
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M ag az ine fo r De c , 1 909 ; a l so
Au g , 1 9 16 , and in A Bo ok of
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A S atir e i n One Act
no t ic e s )
N ew York 1 9 17
x 8% ; pap e r
Arti s t
The
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1 2 pp
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By H L M e ncken
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N O TE :An acti ng e ditio n fo r t he u s e of th e atre s p re s enti ng
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A Littl e Bo ok / In C M a j o r / By H L M e ncke n / %
O pus
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N e w York Joh n La ne Company MCMXVI
7 9 pp 7 % x 5; r e d cloth with gilt sta mping
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C ON TE N T S : A co l l e ctio n of
Smart Se t
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A Book o f / Bu rl e s q u e s / By H L M e ncken / %
O pus 1 2 ]
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Autho r o f A Littl e Book i n C Maj or etc
N e w York
John La ne Company MCMXVI
2 53 pp
7 % x 5; re d cloth wi th gilt stampi ng ; folding
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C ON TE N T S : Pre fato ry not e D e ath : a P hilosophical Disc us sio n From
t he Pro gr amm e of a Co nc e r t T he W e ddi ng : A S tag e Di r e ctio n The
Visio na ry T he A rtist :a D ra ma Witho u t Wo r ds S e e i ng t he Wo rld From
t he M e moi r s of t he D e vil Lita ni e s fo r t he O v e rlook e d As e psis :a D e d uc
tio n in Sc he rz o Fo rm T al e s of t he Mo ral and P athological E pit hal am
iu m P o rt r aits of Am e r ica ns P ano r amas of P e opl e T he N e w S o u l e A
G e ne alogical Cha rt of t he Uplift
N O TE :T he A rtist w as p ri nt e d s e pa rat e ly in 191 2 %cf IV ) S e e i ng t he
Wo rld is a slightly r e vise d v e rsio n of Pre fac e in t he S ocratic Ma nne r
in E u rop e aft e r
%cf Il a )
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A Book of B u rlesqu e s By H L M e ncke n %
Pu bl is he r s
d e vic e )
P ubli s hed a t the B o rzoi N e w Yo r k by Alfr e d A
Kno p f
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C ON TE N T S : S am e as abov e bu t w ith a ne w p re fato ry not e with E pi
thalami u m P o r traits of Am erica ns T he N ew S o u l e and a G ene alogical
Char t of t he Uplift omitt e d and w ith The Ja zz W e bst er T he O ld Sub
j e c t V e rs Lib re and H o meo p at hics add e d
N O TE : The Ja zz We bst e r The O ld S u bj e ct and H o meop at hics are
c hi e fly tak e n from A Littl e Book in C Majo r %cf V ) In a f e w copi e s
p 1 98 omitt e d
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P e opl e and Typographical Error of a Hop e ful Charact er Ve neratio n
P o rt rait of t he M e thodist H e ave n P atriotic Not e and Lit ur gical add e d
to H o me o p at hic s
N O TE :On re v ers e of titl e :N ew r e vi se d e ditio n S e co nd p rinting A pril
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Pu b
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l is he r s d e vice )
N e w York Alfr e d A Kn opf MCMXVII
2 83 pp 7 % x 5; blu e cloth with gilt stamping
A Book of P r e fac e s
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P uritanismas a Lit era ry Fo rc e
Drie s e r,
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S e cond %
Revise d ) Edition
288
Jam e s H une k e r
Out
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C ON TE N T S : S am e as abov e bu t w ith vario u s cha ng e s in t he t e xt Pre f
Pre fac e to t he S e cond E ditio n add e d and I nde x adde d
ac e omi tt e d
,
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sa
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Thi r d
Edition MCMXX
C ON TE N T S : S am e as above bu t w ith
.
,
p re fac e
ne w
.
VIII
Damn % A Book of Calumny
l is he r
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d e vic e in
N ew
o ra ng e
ink )
Pu b
By H L M e ncke n %
Philip Goodman Company
York N in e te e n e ighte en
103 pp 7 % x 4 % ; light blu e cloth
C ON T E N T S : P at e r P atr i ae The Rew a r d o f
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S U B C ONS C IO U S ME N C K E N
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A n I nd u c t i v e S y nt hes is by M c K e e B a r c la y
%
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26
BIBLI O GRA P HY
P athological Effe cts Christianity T he E thics of Wom en T he Tr ans
val u atio n of Val u e s T he F u tu re of Ma rriage The Wa r and Marriage
,
,
,
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Apo logia
N O TE : Erro r in p u blish er s nam e
Pp i l i p co rre ct e d to P hilip
,
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titl e pag e
on
O nc e re pri nt e d
.
%Ou t
.
T he
sa
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p rint ]
.
Pu bl is he r s d e vice )
P ublished at the B o rzoi N e w York
%
by Alfr ed A Knop f
7 % x 5; dark blue cloth with gilt and bli nd stamping
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C ON TE N T S : S am e as a bo v e
N O TE : T hir d Pri nti ng on slip o ve r
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The
American Language A Pr e liminary Inquiry into the
Deve lopm e nt of English i n the Unite d S tat e s
By / H L
Pu bl is he r s d e vice )
M e ncke n
N e w York Alfr e d A
%
Knopf MCMXIX
3 74 pp 9 14 x 6 14 ; dark blue cloth with gilt stampi ng
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C ON TE N T S : Pre fac e By Way of Introd u ctio n The Be ginnings of
Am erican T he P eriod of Gro w th Am erica n and English T oday T e nd en
ci e s in Am erican T he Commo n S p e ech Diff e re nc e s in S p e lli ng Prop er
Nam e s in Am erica Misc e llane a Bibliogr aphy List of Wo rds and P hras e s
G e ne ral Ind e x
nu mb ere d co p i e s p r i nt e d from ty p e
N O TE : E dition l imit e d to
i ncl u ding 25 signe d b y t he a u tho r
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Pre j udices First S eri e s By H L Me nck e n %
P u bl is he r s
d e vice )
P ublish e d at the Borzoi N e w York by Alfr e d A
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C ON TE N T S : Criticism of Criticism of Criticism T he Lat e M r W e l ls
A rnold Be nne tt The D e an Profe sso r Ve bl e n The N ew P o et ry Mov e
m e nt T he H e i r of Mark Tw ai n H e rmann S u d ermann Ge or ge Ad e The
B u tt e Bas hkirt s e ff S ix M e mb e r s of t he Instit u t e T he G e ne alo gy of
E tiqu e tt e The Am erican Magaz ine T he Ulst er Polo ni u s An Unh e e d e d
L aw Giv e r T he Bl u shf u l Myst e ry G e o r ge J e a n Natha n P o rt r ait of an
Immo rtal S o ul Jack Lo ndo n Amo ng t he A v ata rs Three Am erican
Immo rtal s Ind e x
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BIBLI O GRA P HY
N O TE : A f e w sli gh t chang e s
Janu a ry 1 920
The s ame
re v ers e of titl e : S e co nd Pr i nting
On
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N O TE : On re ve r se of titl e :T hir d Pr i nting Ap ril
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Pu bl is h
S e cond S e ri e s By H L M e ncke n
%
P ublished at the Bo rzoi N e w York b y Alfr e d
Pre j udic e s
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d e v ice )
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A Knopf
2 6 5 pp
x 4 78 ; blue cloth with gilt and blind stam p
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C ON TE N T S :T he Natio nal L e tt e r s Roos ev elt :An A u topsy The S ahar a
of the Bozart T he Divi ne Afll at u s E x e u nt O mne s S ci e nti fi c E xami na
tio n of a P op u la r Vi rt ue T he Alli e d A rts T he Cu lt of Hope The D ry
Mill eni u m App e ndix on a T end er T h e m e Ind e x
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B OO K S BY H L M ENCK E N AND O TH E R S
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M e n ve rs us The
Man A Corr e spond e nc e B e twee n / Robe r t
S ocialist and H L M e ncken Individual
N e w York H e n r y Holt and Com
d e vice )
Rive s La M o nt e
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pany 1 9 1 0
2 52 pp 7 % x 4 3/4 ; re d cloth with gilt stamping
C ON TE N T S : I nt rod u ctio n six l e tt er s b y La Mo nt e and six re pl i e s by
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IIa
Europ e afte r
By H L M e nck e n George J e an
N athan Willard Hunti ngto n Wright with D e corations By
T ho mas H Be nton / %
P u bl is he r s d e v ice ) N e w York John
Lane Company T o r onto B e ll Cockburn MCMXIV
222 pp 7 % x 4 7/8 ; y e llow cloth with blu e and gilt stamp
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CON TE NT S
:
Lo ndo n P aris
,
Pre fac e
.
in t he
Soc ratic
M anner,
Vi enna
,
M unich, Be rl in,
BIBLI O GRA P HY
28
N O TE :Nathan wrot e P a ris and Be rli n Wright wrot e Vi enna and most
of Lo ndo n and M e nck en wrot e the Pre fac e M unich and t he fi r st and
last pa rts of Lo ndo n
%Ou t of p rint ]
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IIIa
The P rofe s s ion
of Journalism / A Coll e cti o n of A r ticl e s
on N e wspap e r Editing and P ublishing T ake n from the
Atlantic Monthly Edited w ith an Introduct ion a nd N ot e s
by / Willard Grosveno r Bl e yer Ph D
Autho r of N e ws
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pap e r Writing and Editing and T yp e s of Ne ws Writing ;
P r o fe sso r of Jour nalism i n t he University of Wisconsin
l
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N O TE : N e w spap e r Mo rals by H L M e nck en p p
from t he Atlant ic M ont hly fo r March 1 914
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52 6 7 ;
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IVa
H e liogab alus A Bu ff oone r y i n Th r ee Acts by H L
M e ncke n and Ge orge Jean N athan %
P u bl is he r s d e vice )
N e w Yo rk Alfr e d A Knopf MCMXX
1
blue
cloth
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gilt
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1 83 pp
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nu m b er e d copi e s
N O TE : E ditio n l imit e d to
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Jap an e se boa r ds with pa r chment back gilt stamping
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29
BIBLI O GRA P HY
H L Mencken %
P u bl is he r s d e vic e ) N ew Yo r k /Alfr ed A
Knopf 1920
1 9 1 pp 7 % x 5; black cloth with gilt stampin g
C ON TE N T S : Pre fac e T he Am erica n Cre do
N O TE :T he Pre fac e b y M e nck e n ; t he Cre do by Natha n
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A Mod e rn Book of
C r iticism Edited with an Int ro d uc
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Ludwig Lewisohn Litt D
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Boni an d
v
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Live right N ew Yo r k 1 9 1 9
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Homil e tics of C r iticism The C r itic s Function and The
P uritan and Am e r ican Lite r a t u re by H L Mencken pp 1 6 7
1 73
The Mode r n Lib r a r y
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M E N C KE N
lb
Gist of N ietzsche Ar ra ng e d by H en r y L M e ncke n
Author of
F ried rich N i e tzsche
The Philosophy of
D evice )
Boston John W Luce
Com p any 1 9 10 %
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A Doll s House N e wly translate d
from t he d e fi nit iv e Dano N o rw e gian text ; Edited with
intr o duction and note s by Henry L Menck e n John W Luce
81 Company Boston London
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Be n K u t che r s
Illustrat e d Edition of A Hous e of P ome
granates and the st o ry of The N ighti ngal e and the Rose
by O sca r Wild e with an i ntroduction by H L M e ncke n
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York
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BIBLI O GRA P HY
by Jacob S F as se tt Jr and Franc e s L Phillip s %Pu blis he r s
N e w Y o rk Alfr e d A K no pf MC M XX
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MCMXIX
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and blue and black lab e l
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III T he Antichrist By F W N i e tzsch e T ransl ate d
from the Ge rman with an introduction by H L M e ncke n
MCMXX
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Muir
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W e Mode r ns : Enigmas
sa
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Gu e sse s
By Edwin
MCMXX
244 pp gr ee n boards with black cloth back black stamping
and gre e n and black lab e l
Int r odu ction p p 7 2 1 by the edito r
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T al e s
of M e an S treets By Arthu r Morrison Introduction
by H L M e ncke n %
Pu bl is he r s d e v ice )
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right Inc P ub lish e rs N e w York
1
2 51 pp
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Introduction pp v—ix by the edito r T he Mod e rn Libra ry
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BIBLI O GRAP H Y
IV
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All it e raric u s ,
SO M E C RI T ICI S M O F H L M E NCK E N
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April 1 7 1920
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