Evening Standard from London, Greater London, England • 10

10 Evening Standard, Saturday, October 23, 1937 MORE ARGUMENT ABOUT DAMON RUNYON ET that us there begin will quite be frankly another of by Damon saying Runyon's short stories in the "Evening Standard" on Monday Readers who like Runyon will be glad to hear it. Readers who don't like Runyon will prefer to have the bad news broken to them without any beating about the bush. And now let us examine some of the letters from readers on both sides in the remarkable controversy which has blown up around the work of this American humorist. Mrs. R.

Godfrey, of Bray-on-Thames, is one of those who dislike Runyon's slang and dialect phrases, "let us remember we are she writes. Let us speak English, and let us keep our own language -the most characteristic thing about us" pure But another Thames-side residentMajor Pollock, of Old Thatch, Bourne End -recalls the dialect of the "Brer Rabbit" stories, and says: Surely in the country which bred Chaucer, Shakespeare and Milton we can laugh at that which is being provided for our amusement without allowing the English tongue to become contaminated. "It has been my experience that the vast majority of people are extremely careful in the matter of their English, Ole Brer Rabbit had no effect upon us as children, then I do not think that Mr. Runyon is likely to cramp our style in middle age." Filled with Nausea And Mr. J.

F. Parry says: 'In writing of the underworld one must necessarily make use of the jargon and expres- And Bad News Dislike His sions which obtain there, and Mr. Damon Runyon writes of the American jungle. This is no reason why British people should not be enlivened by his racy slang. in reply to Mr.

H. K. Hales criticism Damon Runyon was published on the expression he is a young squirt' commonest at English public schools, at least it was in my youth, and also in my father's and grandfather's at Cheltenham College. The word too, is quite common in certain English circles." One of the most candid critics of Runyon is Mrs. Moggridge, of Wellington-square, S.W., who writes: Ever since these stories appeared, have been filled with nausea, repulsion and irritation, and am on the verge of cancelling the Standard (of which we have two copies daily in the house) and replacing it by some other evening paper.

"We have a beautiful and harmonious language. Would it not be better to train your readers know and feel its power force give them, day after day, the outrageous rubbish you print as a short story?" But if there are readers who like the "Evening Standard" and dislike Runyon, there are also those who like Runyon and dislike the Evening Standard." For example, Mr. B. Segal writes: I detest your paper's contributors politics and the policy, also most of your with exception of Low. But since Damon Runyon started writing have had to buy it every day.

Even when his for Readers Who Stories stories do not appear 1 feel it my solemn duty to buy your paper as a token of thanks for bringing so brilliant a writer to the notice of the British Rare Qualities Here is a selection of letters, pro-Runyon and anti-Runyon: From Mr. Norwood: Mr. BERNARD SMITH, especial claim road, South Runyon's literary eminence is the beauty of his style, but many other rare qualities. Who, since O. Henry, has written short stories with such deftly constructed plots? And what story-writer within living memory has given us such a wealth of vivid character studies? It is only three months since Mr.

Runyon's work first became widely known in this country, and already such characters as Harry the Horse, Spanish John, Little Isadore, Dave Dude, Good Time Charley, and Big Nig the crap shooter seem like old and valued friends. There is also, of course, the somewhat enigmatic personality of the narrator of the tales in many ways the most interesting character of all. As a journalist who has been writing book reviews regularly for more than five years I have found Mr. Runyon's consummate craftmanship and intense individuality most refreshing after so many works of machine-made competence. From Mrs.

GREEN, Seamore-place, Your reason for publishing these grotesque yarns must be the fact that the author is tine accepted humorist the other side of Atlantic. But does that" constitute a recommendation for teaching American gangster language to a general public already too prone to accept this form of degraded speech as humour? Are the Runyon stories to be taken as repre- From Mr. HAROLD GREAVES LORD, Carshalton: Tweether many writes who appreciate a genius. or in Irish, Welsh, English American idiom, to alter his work would be sacrilege. The majority of your readers possess a sense of humour.

Please allow the majority to dictate their tastes in London's principal evening newspaper. From Mr. J. P. LOVE, Chorley Wood: Let's have some English instead of mongrelese.

And finally for to-day, at any rate) some Runyon news from Mr. David J. Murphy, of Selsdon, Surrey. Mr. Murphy drew the attention of a City friend to the Runyon stories in the Evening Standard." Nearly everybody in that office now speaks Runyonese.

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purely sentative a stunt, modern exploited American by the wit? author Or are they of sake of originality? for the In either event, the underworld slang of country American, must be but as rich in equivocal phrases as any the accepted by reputable I have journals yet as to an find it being literary merit or legitimate humour. example of Deplorable W. From I have Miss LUCY always BALIAN, considered Lexham-gardens, Standard to of evening papers and Evening am thing so indeed deplorable disappointed the to present series. printing anyfind it Architects: Messrs. J.

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