Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 23

imii.i wi liuimujiw, im l.m mm. 1.1 i.ii.nwMi.njL.uuuwuwmiM DETROIT FREE PRESS Sunday, March 27, '615 ft ti If i nr? 3 kt, 30 PAGES A DAY lS5cOKS (2 MORE BOOKS 0 Cre Auth John or of 453 Books sey. TAii column is reserved for any and every kind of commentary about books and their authors. Story of an Outspoken Cat BY BARBARA HOLLIDAY FrM Prtst Staff Writer You see, this is the way it was with Mrs. Sullavan.

She was adventuresome in her youth, stately in her middle years and noble at the end as merciful an epitaph as most of us can hope for, and far better than most of us deserve. And so we have "Memoir for Mrs. Sullavan" written by Mrs. Lewis Untermeyer, wife of the distinguished author-poet, and magazine editor in her own right. There are two kinds of books about pets.

Bays a friend who makes a study of such things. The kind where the animals are euphemistically given the attributes of humans, and the kind where they are allowed to be themselves. Bryna Untermeyer, a first-class pet-watcher, has written an amusing, sometimes affecting account of a first-rate cat, which deserves a place in BY VAX ALLEN BRADLEY Frt Prass-Chicaao News Sarvlc NEW YORK You get the feeling after meeting white-haired John Creasey that here, perhaps, is the true uranium ore of the creative writing process. Split him like an atom and perhaps you will discover the source of all literary energy, the inner secret of productivity. Creasey at 58 is the author of 453 books, most of them mystery novels, which he has written under his own and a dozen other names since his first book was published In 1932.

An Englishman from Salisbury (and a Cockney, he boasts), he Is currently living in New York City where he has recently been chosen president of the Mystery Writers of America. While most of the writers we know find it difficult to produce more than a few hundred useful words a day, Creasey averages 7,500 30 typewritten pages every day, and at times has managed as many as 15,000. He works three to 18 hours a day at his typewriter- and says that once he sits down to the task he never lets up till his daily average la achieved. Over the last three decades in iimn -im mi -'iihi if- Creasey (left?) and Anthony Morton, who look alike for a very logical reason. the library of every aeluro-phile.

So, for those who have been suborned, abused, captured, alienated, fasci- MEMOIR FOR MRS. SULLIVAN, by Bryna Ivens Untermeyer (Simon and Schuster, 53.50). Mystery novelists John part of the same inner evil. What is it that brings out the worst in people? There must be a common factor. "It may be that what is happening to us is that the religious moralities under which we live create conflicts within us.

I don't know, but I am trying to find out why. There must be something that makes people behave In the for their consistently high quality and the diversity of situation, characters and plots which his agile mind invents. "The crime story," says Creasey, "is almost the only novel worth reading today because it deals with the fundamental conflict of mankind, the conflict of good and bad. At its best it is the morality play of our age." manner in which they do. I would like to see a perfect world, and the study of evil may show us how to achieve it." It Is this serious-minded approach to crime in his fiction that has led connoisseurs of the crime tale to rank Creasey among the most able practitioners alive.

His stories have generally been praised nated, enraptured and other wise reduced to utter Idiots by a small purring feline-meet Mrs. Sullavan. (Others, who wouldn't have a cat on the premises, are Invited to read at their own risk). The ball of fluff In the basket belonged to Margaret Sullavan that's right, the Movie Star. (This Is the way these things usually happen.

A person you admire or who Is a trusted friend suddenly becomes a dispenser of cats and you understand that to refuse the "gift" is to deny the friendship). Not, however, in the case of the Untermeyers. They wanted a cat. It was just that they both worked, they ART IN DETROIT Chicago's Matisse Shoiv: Depicting Radiant Truth The Bare Bones Of a McCullers Chronology 5- 12 hard-cover books published in America as well as 25 paperbacks. At the same tiine, his English publisher will be bringing out nine original hardbound books plus about 40-odd other new editions In paperback and hard covers.

Obviously he is looked upon by Sir Harold Wilson's government and the income taxers as something of an English national asset. He won't tell how much he earns. "Just say I average a lot of money," he laughs. Creasey came to the United States five months ago. His purpose, he says, was to get away from England so he could study the political situation at home objectively.

He has a theory that perhaps he can be a force for reconciliation of some of the political conflicts in England that he believes are hampering the progress of the British economy. His thinking along this line is vaguely linked to another concern of his, which is a study of the nature of evil. "I am interested," he says, "in the nature of human beings, in what is evil In the hearts of men. I have a deep conviction that the shocking mess in which the world finds itself today our political conflicts aA well as our crime rate, the war In Met Nam, the rioting in India Is all carson McCullers at age 23, haying just published her first novel, "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter." in 1957 and a flop; and "Clock Without Hands," 196L Mr. Evans clubs his reader over the head several hundred times with the information that Mrs.

McCullers writes of spiritual isolation and man's lonely search for love and that her books must be read as allegories. If you don't appreciate them, it's just because you find the message distasteful, but don't despair because he admits In a burst of candor that "Mrs. McCullers's is a very special sensibility with which many readers, even highly cultivated readers, are, for some reason, simply unable to establish a rapport." Along the way he vigorously rebuts charges of sensationalism that have been leveled against Mrs. McCullers's frequently freakish characters (one reader remarked of "Reflections in a Golden Eye" that "not even the horse was and of one characters in "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter," he reassures us that "almost every Southern town of any size contains such a madman." gallery inc. MARTINEZ SZYSZLO MOHALYI FILCER If- he has produced an average of something over 15 novels a year, and In one year 1949 he produced 23 books.

He uses 13 pennames and is translated Into 25 languages. As John Creasey, he has written about 180 novels. About 50 have been published under the pen names Michael Ilalliday, Anthony Morton and Gordon Ashe, and roughly 20 suspense books have appeared under the pseudonym Jeremy York. Some of his other pen names are J. J.

Marric, Kyle Hunt, Norman Deane, Tex Tiley, William K. Keilly, Cain Frazier, Peter Manton and Richard Martin. In America his Harper Row novels are under the name of Marric. He writes for Scribner as Creasey. MacMillan uses him under two other names; Holt, Rinehart Winston and Doubleday under still others, and Walker under two.

Creasey did not find It easy to become a writer. He has no formal education, other than attendance at London elementary school. He started to write at 10 and did not get his first story accepted till he was 17. In the years between he collected 743 rejection slips from publishers, enough to paper a room. His first novel was accepted when he was 23.

This year Creasey will have THE BALLAD OF CARSON MCCULLERS, by Oliver Evans (Coward-McCann, $5). hl3 post-war collapse into alcoholism and drug addiction which culminated in his suicide by sleeping pills in Paris in 1953. They had no children. Her works include, in addition to "Heart," "Reflections in a Golden Eye," 1941; "The Member of the Wedding," published in 1946 and later converted by the author into the prize-winning play; "The Ballad of the Sad Cafe," first published in Harper's Bazaar in 1943 and later reprinted in her collected works In 1951; another play, "The Square Root of Wonderful," produced Art on View And Upcoming EXHIBITIONS Graphics by Dean Meener af Lime Gallery, yis Mapie, Birminqham, Mar. 29-ADr.

30 Paintings ty William House at Rubiner Gallery, 621 S. Washinqton, Roval OaK, Mar. 29-Aor. 20 "History of Michigan in Paintings" by Robert Thorn at Bloomfieid Art Association, 151 S. Cranbrook, Birminqham, Mar.

27-Apr 3 "Selections from Institute Collections" at Detroit Institute of Arts, naileries 36, 37 and 38, April-June (Other qalleries closed for renovation beqmnlng Apr. 1) Water colors by Anatol liirs at International Art Center, 132 Madison, through Apr. 12 Paintings oy Wilfred Royal Hocking at the Studio Gallery through Thursday Drawinqs, paintings and woodcuts by Paul Robbert at Dow Memorial Library, Midland, through Saturday Paintings by Robert Goodnough at Gertrude Kasle Gallery, Fisher throuqh Thursday Buhalis-Fammel Exnibition of painting and sculpture at Les Galleries de Renee through Thursday "The Art of the City Dy ine Ann Arbor Mrt Association in the Rackham Galleries of the University of Michiqan through Friday 2th Annual Exhibition of Michiqan Academy of Science, Arts, and Letters at Community Arts Center Gallery, Wayne State University. Thursday throuqh Saturday Water colors, gouaches and acrylic paintinqs by Tom Anoerson at Montcalm Gallery, Greenville, throuqh Saturday. EVENTS Film on "Italy and Its Art" at Detroit Institute of Arts, 29 at 6 p.m.

No admission cnarge. forsythc Mexico Peru Brazil Mexico 201 Nickels Arcade Telephone 663-0918 1 little by little 1 works its way through the surface in hot luminous bursts. On the way Matisse reaches out. toward Impressionism, Seurat's Poin-tillism, and the glorious violence of Fauvism. The Fauve paintings stand out at once with their distortion of line and pure color.

Matisse is not recording anything he is transfiguring, he does not remember a person or an event, he is creating and presenting. His forms are simple, straightforward unbelievably alive. Ills interiors blaze with sunt light from doors or windows, the shadows are cool and both play off against acb other. He manipulates color with freedom that has not been excelled, governed soleiy by the patterning of the picture surface. This Is a magnificent 1 collection, spectacular in scope and filled with paintings, sculpture, drawings and gouache decoupes that have not been seen before.

It shows a Master in the a painter of peerless originality and fathomless depth, a nir-velously lyrical draughtsman, a sculptor whose work was consistent with his artistic principals a constant concern for balance, purity and clarity. studied law and returned from the university to work for several years In a provincial lawyer's office. Matisse was not a robust man. After an illness from which he recovered slowly, he began to copy landscapes with a box of colors bought by his mother for him to while away the time. "Guided, I know not why, toward the path of fine art, I felt a call to this form of activity." Suddenly the whole direction of his life changed from "nonentity to being, from uncertainty to certitude." The first painting which he thought had a life of its own was "Books and Candle" done In 1890.

The composition is a carefully thought out group of familiar objects painted in traditional technique. i "dark period" was a vain attempt to work under the discipline of uninspired teachers. Years later he still felt anger when he recalled them scathingly. This exhibition allows the viewer to follow the development of Matisse as a Modern Master from 1890 when he was 21, to the burst of spontaneity and energy of his final years. As one goes through the Retrospective the palette gradually becomes lighter.

The fire of a volcano seems to seethe within and 1879 BY MOKLEY DRIVER Free Press Art Critic "The artist puts the best of himself into his pictures so much the worse for those for whom this is not enough; in the last analysis, what the artist says does not really matter much." The radiant truth of this statement by Matisse i3 shown in a brilliant and unforgettable Retrospective of his work at the Art Institute Chicago through April 24. This exhibition originated at the 1 University of Mrs. Driver California at Los Angeles and inaugurated their new Art Center. It will go from Chicago to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston (May 11-June 26). It will not be seen in Detroit.

The greatness of Matisse has not needed confirming but this most extensive survey 345 works in all media offers the first comprehensive survey in the 12 years since his death. As a boy, Matisse showed no special interest in art. He First in Muwc since MONO Catalog Price 4.79 Daily Price 3 99 ljSM JpNDG at 1515 Choice FINAL DAYS mrdi of W0ims ssle Illustration by Barry Oallar tor "Memoirs for Mrs. Sullavan." were newly married, ensconced In a walk-up apartment, and a cat But this was such a kitten a Picasso cat, said Lewis-one half of its face velvety black, the other half-red orange. The dividing line was Just left of the nose with a devastating black patch under the chin.

"It was," writes Mrs. Untermeyer, "the most remarkable kitten we had ever seen, resembling no other cat on earth." (As you can see, Mrs. Untermeyer is a hopeless case which doesn't take one stripe from Mrs. Sullavan as she became known after it was discovered she wasn't a male by virtue of her suddenly becoming pregnant. Which is a frightfully involved way of putting it and typical of the explanations of all cat lovers.

It's the kind of language they speak.) Sullavan learned to commute weekends to the country without a demew (sorry about that it won't happen again) but in country or city, she soon developed, as well-loved cats do, a throat-chirring conversation which was perfectly communicative. "Sullavan was, to tell the truth, a compulsive talker. Her range of expression was astonishing; she was capable of chidings, scoldings, long narrative passages, and avowals of love. We would frequently carry on animated conversations which had all the inflections of talk." She also developed, or came by it naturally, a delicious personal scent, something like "an expensive mink coat belonging to a woman who used nothing but Chanel No. 5." On the other hand when it came to mice well, as so often happens with a lonely and well-fed cat well, they finally named Sullavan's pal Gilbert.

It was only with the greatest reluctance that they finally set the trap themselves this only after the pair started sharing the same feeding dish. How this family grew to include Bobo the clown, the Belly Who Walked Like a Cat, Cleo, the mentally retarded nymphomaniac, and assorted cat-loving Yorkshire terriers how the Untermeyers finally gave up permanently their pied-a-terre in town and moved to the country primarily because of the animals, all of this can only be understood and enjoyed by those with' the mystique. Give most of the credit (or blame) to Sullavan. Such a cat as Sullavan can Influence more friends (Robert Frost was the only one who refused to succumb) and convert more innocent victims into animal lovers than any number of tracts or tomes. And so it was.

Sullavan brought up her children In the most exemplary fashion setting up training courses in the living room ranging from catching frogs (live demonstrations) to mousery. As the animals multipled, the people adapted. An Ingenious direct-exit hatch (there's a diagram and full directions) encouraged neatness, self-reliance and group forays. As for Sullavan, she ruled over the menagerie like a stately matriarch, demanding and receiving her due as Number One Cat. And then there was the day Sullavan didn't return.

Don't ask why an animal can generate the same concern as a human member of the family. Some animals earn it. Not by fawning and boot-licking but by sheer magnificence of spirit and personality. The little drama at the end (Sullavan did make it home) Is simply and beautifully told. Sullavan, you can say, was a very civilized cat.

But the Untermeyers would say: Who was civilizing whom? BY BOBBY MATHER For the Free Pre is Book Page "The Ballad of Carson McCullers, An Intimate Biography" by Oliver Evans might more properly be called "My Infatuation with Carson McCullers, the Greatest Living Writer in America and Maybe the Whole World." I'm not sure what an "intimate biography" is, except that it sounds vaguely spicy. And I am not especially drawn to the writings of Mrs. McCullers, who is apparently Faulkner's daughter, Tennessee Williams's sister and Truman Capote's mother. But I am Interested In writers, and I would have to read her intimate biography with interest if Mr. Evans had chosen to write one.

Instead we have the bare bones of chronology, some travelogues and her truly distressing medical history (a heart damaged by rheumatic fever, resulting in three semi-paralyzing strokes caused by embolisms, breast cancer, a fractured hip and cases of pneumonia like other people get head colds), fleshed out with a minute scrutiny by Mr. Evans of her five novels, various short stories and two plays, and page after page after page of quotations from literary critics both here and abroad. Lula Carson Smith (she quickly dropped the Lula) was born in 1917 in Columbus, the daughter of a watchmaker-jeweler. At 15 she was already writing plays and short stories including one whose characters "compensated in distinction for what they lacked In they were Nietzsche and Jesus. At 17 she left her comfortable home to attend Columbia University, where she was a student in Whit Burnett's short story class.

And in 1940 she leaped to fame with the publication of her first novel, "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter." In 1939 she had married Reeves McCullers, a handsome Georgia boy. She divorced him in 1940, remarried him when he returned from World War and doggedly stuck with him through Annual FRAME SALE one nrr uo urr ARTut wmv com mv 6408 Woodward BOOKS OF ALL PUBLISHERS 5 USE YOUR I MICHIGAN BANKARD FOR BOOK ORDERS Books Mailed Free GORDON'S BOOKSTORE 1228 GRISWOLD Detroit 26 VSL-wSKTR. 352-7878 1 4-Day Event Woodward Only! of the Entire Catalog Ann Arbor, Michigan Weekdays 10-4; Saturdays 10-1 RECORDS STEREO Catalog Price 5.79 Daily Price 4.99 410 One Week-Special Sale Paintings Graphics Watercolors Sculpture Drawings The Nation9 THE WORLD'S GREAT ORCHESTRAS, GREAT ARTISTS I Flagstad, Price, Berganza, NiHson, TebakLi, Sutherlarid, Del Monaco. Siepi, London, Curzon, Kempff, Barkhaus, Vienna Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra symphonies, operas, recitals the entire London catalog at rare savings! BASKIN CCPELAND HILA1RE PASCIN BONNARD CULVER JACOB PICASSO BRACUE EYERGOOD JULES PORZANO CALOIR FLORSHEIM KOLLWITZ RASKIN CASSATT GAUGUIN LEVIN RENOIR CEZANNE GLOECKLER MAILLOL SEQUEIROS CHAGALL HARTLEY MIRO SOYER CHERNEY O'HIGGINS OLDS WILSON Best-Sellers AIRS ABOVE THE GROUND Marv Stewart THOMAS Shellev Mvdans NONFICTION IN COLD BLOOD-Truman Capote A THOUSAND DAYS Arthur E. Schlesinqer Jr.

GAMES PEOPLE PLAY Eric Berne THE PROUD TOWER Barbara Tuchman THE GIFT OP PROPHECY Ruth Montgomery. THE LAST HUNDRED DAYS John Toland Thedoor C. or en sen. THE PENKOVSKIY PAPERS Oleg Penkovskly YES CAN Sammy Davit Jr. A GIFT OF JOY-Helen Have with Lewis Funke IS PARIS BURNING? Larrv Collins and Dominique Lapierre This list Is compiled by Publishers' Weekly Magazine.

On alternate weeks the Free Press publishes a list- of the best selling books in Detroit. FICTION THE DOUBLE IMAGE Helon Mc-Innes. THE SOURCE James Mlchener. THE EMBEZZLER Louis Auch- Inc'oss -THOSE WHO LOVE-lrvlna Sone THE BILLION DOLLAR BRAIN- Len Deiahtoo THE COMEDIANS Grahsm Greene THE LOCKWOOD CONCERN John, DOWN STAIRCASE Bel Kaufman through April 2nd Hours 10 to 8:30 P.M. Garelick's Gallery 2020s uvmoi.

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