Edith Hamilton, one of the most famous 20th century historians, has stated that a people’s literature gives more knowledge of them than any other factor. If this be true, woe be unto us. What will our grandchildren think of us?
We will have to admit that we enjoy reading the realist authors as much as anyone else. Still, the United States is rearing more realists than romanticists. We have been rearing plenty of John O’Hara’s and D. H. Lawrences. And they get all of the publicity! Why don’t we honor our other authors who have contributed so much to the American literary field?
The 20th century has seen such ubiquitous novels as PEYTON PLACE, TROPIC OF CANCER, THE CARPETBAGGERS, FROM THE TERRACE, and SOME CAME RUNNING.
Let’s hope that a thousand years from now people will not judge us from these “best-sellers”.
—Jo Anne Beall