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Glories of the Past Dept.: Michael J. Arlen on Losing the Novel Race
Filed under: The Katharine Wheel: On Fiction Tagged: Benjamin Chambers, Complete New Yorker, Dean Doner, Elizabeth Taylor, fiction, Florence Codman, Frank O'Connor, John Cheever, Kim Yong Ik, Michael Arlen, Michael J. Arlen, Nadine Gordimer, Parke Cummings, Penelope Mortimer, Peter Taylor, Robert Graves, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, S.J. Perelman, Sylvia Townsend Warner, The New Yorker, V.S. Pritchett, William Maxwell
The latest installment of a new column on New Yorker fiction, past and present, by writer and editor Benjamin Chambers.
It occurred to me that it would be fun to do occasional posts on fiction that appeared in The New Yorker 50 years ago. To start off, I simply did a quick scan of The Complete New Yorker (CNY) for fiction published in 1958, and son of a gun, I came up with a winner right away: Michael J. Arlen’s delightful “Are We Losing the Novel Race?” from April 19, 1958. (This particular Arlen, by the way, is not to be confused with his father, the popular Armenian writer mentioned in one of the earliest issues of TNY, who later made the cover of Time.)
“Novel Race” deftly and briefly satirizes domestic fears, post-Sputnik, that America was falling behind the Soviets—in this case, in the length of its novels. And even though I wouldn’t classify the piece as fiction, really, its winning, jaunty tone and well-deserved jab at Ayn Rand make it worth digging up.
In case you’re curious, here are a few other notable writers published in TNY in 1958: John Cheever, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Sylvia Townsend Warner, Frank O’Connor, S.J. Perelman, Penelope Mortimer, William Maxwell, Robert Graves, Nadine Gordimer, V.S. Pritchett, Peter Taylor, and Elizabeth Taylor (no, not that one, the other one). Familiar names there, definitely.
Some folks I didn’t recognize (though perhaps they were well-known in literary households then): Dean Doner, Kim Yong Ik, Parke Cummings, and Florence Codman. I look forward to digging in and reporting back. In fact, I think I’ll do a similar scan of fiction from 25 years ago, too. Stay tuned.
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Dashes, some say, “are particularly useful in a sentence that is long and complex.” Emdashes—like an em dash itself—provides a thoughtful pause amid the hubbub.
Emdashes, founded in 2004, is written and drawn by Emily Gordon, Martin Schneider, Pollux, Jonathan Taylor, and Benjamin Chambers, as well as occasional guest contributors. All posts before October 2008 are by Emily Gordon.
The site was designed by House of Pretty with illustrations by Jesse R. Ewing.
Additional drawings are by Carolita Johnson and Pollux (author of our web comic, "The Wavy Rule"). The Emdashes pencil logo is by Jennifer Hadley, based on a 1943 Dorothy Gray ad.
Other writing by Emily Gordon
- Reviews: theater writing (for Time Out Chicago)
- Profile: Valerie Casey, Designers Accord founder, is spearheading the design of sustainability (for SXSW World)
- Feature: Rea Irvin: visionary art director, bon vivant, New Yorker founding father (for Print)
- Slide show: the Coney Island Mermaid Parade (for NYCgo.com)
- Feature: Muslim immigration iconography in the Netherlands, and an interview with Ayaan Hirsi Ali (for Print)
- Review: King's Gambit: A Son, a Father, and the World's Most Dangerous Game by Paul Hoffman (for Newsday)
- Homage: Celebrating lindy-hop legend Frankie Manning (for NYCgo.com)
- Inquiry: Does a New Republic redesign mean a change of tune? (for Print)
- Interview: James Surowiecki on what's next for the wisdom of crowds (for Assignment Zero)
- Interviews: four up-and-coming designers under 30 (for Print)
- Profile: novelist and dance critic Laura Jacobs (for Newsday)
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