State

Some Carolina Authors Ur. Lawrence calls to your attention some of the literary geniuses of North Carolina whose works attained national and inter¬ national THE aphorism that “the pen is mightier than the sword" is as real as it is rhetorical. The world empire of Alexander, called the Great, perished when he died miserably in a drunken debauch, but the works of Plato, Aristotle and Soerates still in¬ fluence the world. The sword of Caesar is less than rust, but his Commenta¬ ries are familiar to every school child. Elizabeth, great Queen of England, left no imperishable monument behind her, but the works of William Shakes¬ peare will his tongue and race sur¬ vive — for he was the one pure genius the English race has produced. The vision of the haughty Emperor Napoleon, who dreamed of world em¬ pire faded away when he perished miserably on the lonely isle of St. Helena, but the Code of Laws which he gave the French people still sur¬ vives, and also forms the basic law in our American State of Louisiana. Our own state has been prolific in literary genius. Limitations of space preclude even the mention of many illustrious names in literature, and those who are referred to must lie limned in the sketchiest of ragged outlines: HINTON ROWAN HELPER: He produced but one book; he is not read today, and but few Carolinians are familiar with either his name or his production. Yet authoritative his¬ torians are agreed that his “Impend¬ ing Crisis" did more to bring about the Civil War than any other book with the exception of “Uncle Tom's Cabin." Written just prior to the Civil War and denouncing the insti¬ tution of slavery as a moral and eco¬ nomic wrong, his book infuriated the people and the next legislature en¬ acted a statute making it a felony not only to circulate the hook, but even to possess a copy — tho only such in¬ stance in our history. FRANCIS FISHER TIERNAN: She was a native of Salisbury, a daughter of Colonel Charles F. Fish¬ er of the 6th North Carolina Regi¬ ment, the first Confederate Colonel to fall in battle in the Civil War, being killed at Bull Run within a few inin- rec'ognilion. By К. C. LAWRENCE utes after the engagement opened. She was a voluminous author, pro¬ ducing more than twenty novels, and in her day her romances had consid¬ erable vogue. Today her works are un¬ read. but she will ever live in the memories of Carolinians, because it was from her novel of the same name that the sobriquet “Land of the Sky" was taken — a phrase which is known throughout the civilized world. ALBION W. TOURGEE: lie was a Lieutenant of Federal cavalry «hiring the Civil War, and after the close of that conflict he settled ut Greensboro where ho became the most famous of the carpetbaggers, and where be was elected to the bench. 11c was a brilliant man, and although be was in high disfavor with our people because of bis political and partisan activities on the bench, yet lie rendered our people one real and lasting service. It was at his instance, while a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1875, that our state abandoned the common law system of pleading and practice and adopted the Code system, patterned after that of the State of Now York. Tourgee was a voluminous and magnetic writ¬ er, producing some twenty novels, all dealing with the Reconstruction era, and telling in livid and lurid phrases of the conflict between North and South. His best known work, “A Fool’s Errand" was widely circulated throughout the North and received warm praise from President Grant. WILLIAM SYDNEY PORTER: This world figure in literature, who wrote under the pen name of “0. Henry" is perhaps the best known of all* the authors of Carolina, as he was the master exponent of the short story, achieving an international rep¬ utation in that field. His works will be found in every public and in a ma¬ jority of private libraries, and all his productions possess the quality of per¬ manence. Although a Carolinian, our state was selected as the scene of only one of his more than two hundred and fifty short stories. Two of his best known collections of short stories were “The Four Million" and “Cabbages and Kings.” THOMAS WOLFE: This literary light, whose recent death saddened the state, had a national audience, and his works wore noted not only for the excellence of the literary texture, but also for the extreme length of his romances, lie produced numerous vol¬ umes, of which four will no doubt endure permanently, two of the best known being “Of Time and the River” and “Look Homeward Angel." JAMES BOYD: This adopted son of our sandhill section wrote with rare and compelling oharin, and the locale of his best known works is the soil of Carolina. Most of our people have read his “Drums,” a saga of the Revo¬ lution; and “Marching On,” an epic of the Civil War. Пе wrote other nov¬ els on historical subjects which had a wide circulation. He but recently died in the full flush of splendid man¬ hood. ere his genius had scarce bud¬ ded. THOMAS DIXON: This power¬ ful pulpiteer and playwright had one field which he exploited to the limit - the woes of the Reconstruction era. In his “Clansman," the “Leopard’s Spots," the “Man in Grey” and other novels, he depicted in lurid and vivid terms the vileness of the wreckers of Reconstruction, and under his power¬ ful pen the hooded Knights of^ the Invisible Empire or Ku Klux Klan, paraded before the eyes of his read¬ ers. His "Clansman” had an immense sale, especially throughout the South, and was a “best seller" for several years. From it was made the "Birth of a Nation,” universally conceded to be the greatest of the silent films. It was shown and reshown throughout the nation for many years, and no one who saw it will over forget Henry B. Walthall as the “Little Colonel” or Lillian Gish as the heroine. The venerable Dixon still lives in Raleigh, ( Continued on page twenty-five)