It is as necessary as
food, and almost as valuable. But romance that pretends to be
realism, realism that fizzles out into sentimental romance--is
there any excuse for that? Even if it provides "heart interest"
and an effective climax?
The truth is, of course, that the Russian stories are based upon
life; the typical stories of the American magazines, for all their
realistic details, are too often studied, not from American life
but from literary convention. Even when their substance is fresh,
their unfoldings and above all their solutions are second-hand. If
the Russian authors could write American stories I believe that
their work would be more truly popular than what we are now
getting. They would be free to be interesting in any direction and
by any method. The writer of the American short story is not free.
I should like to leave the subject here with a comparison that
any reader can make for himself. But American pride recalls the
past glory of our short story, and common knowledge indicates the
present reality of a few authors--several of them women--who are
writing fiction of which any race might be proud.
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