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Showing posts from September, 2015

"There was a young lady of Guam" – A Poem On W. Somerset Maugham By Ogden Nash

Poem on W. Somerset Maugham
by Ogden Nash
Most interesting find today. The unpoetic Maugham was the subject of a poem, even only for the sake of rhyme. It was written nothing less than by Frederic Ogden Nash (1902–1971), an American poet who wrote over 500 light comic verses, a tribute to another prolific writer with a sense of humour.

Gods of Modern Grub Street - W. Somerset Maugham

Adcock & Hoppé - Gods of Modern Grub Street 1923
W. Somerset Maugham
Adcock, A. St. John, and Hoppé E. O. "William Somerset Maugham." Gods of Modern Grub Street. Impressions of Contemporary Authors. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1923. 213–9.
This is a book of essays by Arthur St. John Adcock (1864–1930), editor of The Bookman, novelist, poet, critic, journalist, lawyer by training, quite a versatile man though he advised against the diffusiveness of talents in others.

As …

Analysis: Modern Fairy Tale: "The Treasure" by W. Somerset Maugham

The Mixture As Before (1940) - W. Somerset Maugham
"The Treasure." The Mixture As Before. New York: Doubleday, Doran & Co., 1940. 59–84
Glenway Wescott's high opinion of this short story, "The Treasure," in his essay "Somerset Maugham and Posterity" got me curious to read it again.

Like the last story, "The Back of Beyond," that I talked about, "The Treasure" was first published in Cosmopolitan under a different title, "The Best Ev…

Analysis: Jumping Johnnies, Willie Maugham, and "The Back of Beyond"

Ah King (1933) by W. Somerset Maugham
"The Back of Beyond." Ah King. London: Heinemann, 1933. 220-268.
Last night I picked up "The Back of Beyond," a short story by W. Somerset Maugham, originally published under the title "The Right Thing is the Kind Thing" in Cosmopolitan, July 1931. Two years later, it became "The Back of Beyond" and was collected in Ah King.

It is a story with an intricate narrative structure, which teachers of creative writing or f…

Another Maugham Medallion

W. Somerset Maugham Medallion
Over a year ago I got a W. Somerset Maugham brass medallion, which was based on Yousuf Karsh's portrait of him. Since then I have seen other memorabilia of the same series.

Analysis: Photo, Writing, and Ars Rhetorica in "Virtue" by W. Somerset Maugham

Virtue by W. Somerset Maugham
"Virtue." Redbook 80.6 (1943): 36–7,80–1.
Do not mistake this "Virtue" with the short story "Virtue" first published in February 1931 in Cosmopolitan, which is collected in Six Stories Written in the First Person Singular of the same year.

This "Virtue" forms part of Maugham's WWII propaganda work, a duty that Maugham felt more and more a burden.

Nevertheless, it is interesting because of a nice photo by George Platt L…

"Somerset Maugham and Posterity" – Glenway Wescott

Images of Truth - Glenway Wescott
Wescott, Glenway. Images of Truth. Remembrances and Criticism. New York: Harper and Row, 1962.
I am going to talk about Wescott's book, or more accurately, a chapter from his book, with delight and indulgence: "Somerset Maugham and Posterity."

Glenway Wescott (1901–1987) was an American author, one of the expatriates in the famous '20s and someone who knew Maugham personally since they met in 1928; their friendship continued for years to come.…