Among the Literati

Although it was pretty generally known for more than a month that William Soskin was going Hearst it was only a few days ago that he admitted there was more than a scintilla of truth in the rumor. The large-sized, bald, soft-spoken literary editor of the New York Evening Post who looks like one of the boys in the front row of a photograph of some 1904 college football team, has finally accepted the literary editorship of Mr. Hearst’s pet paper, “The New York American”. The change takes place on January 1st and with Soskin goes Miss Doris Schneider, who will be his assistant on the American.

Ever since the demise of The World, the American has made expensive gestures in the direction of the literati. A sustained attempt to attract the more intelligent reading public has been a constant undertaking. Names well-known to book and magazine readers have been added to the staff until today you will find it has one of the most entertaining pages of any daily paper. Soskin, who has done a fine job as book editor of the Post, will be expected to build an attractive book-reader following for the paper.

William Soskin comes well qualified to undertake such a task. Born in New York of Jewish parents he received his education at Columbia. He is thirty-five years old and has worked at many tasks. He taught English at the University of Wisconsin, worked in steel mills and on middle western papers. Eight years ago he came to the Post and finally became news editor. He replaced Bruce Gould as literary editor about five years ago. He dislikes literary gatherings but attends them, is an entertaining pianist, does not believe that publishers do all that they can to further the cause of literature, has not decided whether Communism and art mix, has little patience with authors who make a cult of obscure writing, has been married twice and has one son. His present wife is an artist and his first wife, who didn’t quite reach his shoulder was a school teacher.

Who Soskin’s successor will be is still in the rumor stage. Some thirty literary gents have nominated themselves for the job but at this writing only the name of Joseph Wood Krutch of The Nation is being seriously considered. Another possibility is that Julia Lit Stern, wife of the owner of the paper, might take over the job but a daily column is pretty heavy fare for a lady who has the diverse interests of Mrs. Stern.

NEWS OF THE WEEK

Dashiel Hammett, my favorite detective story writer, whose latest, “The Thin Man”, will be out in January has dedicated his book to Lillian Hellman, former wife of Arthur Kober, Hollywood scenario writer. Nat Ferber, ex-literary editor of the American and novelist, has been ill…. John Strachey, English writer and economist who is so often accused of being a member of our race, narrowly escaped deportation at the hands of the Canadian authorities when he spoke in Montreal a week ago…. Another batch of young aspiring publishers are scurrying around for jobs because of the amalgamation of the John Day Co., and Blue Ribbon Books. The firms knew of the merger a month ago but the help got the customary two weeks notice…. Charles Michelson, director of publicity for the Democratic Party, is a brother of the scientist of the same family name who won the Nobel Prize some years ago…. Sam Taub, whose rasping voice you have heard announcing fights over the radio is working on the sports page of the New York Express which appeared on the newsstands for the first time this week. Benjamin De Casseres is also writing for that paper.