Аннотация: The Tale of the memoirs of writers in the Gorky's cafe-library
The Tale of the memoirs of writers in the Gorky's cafe-library
Weather stood hot. During walk on the city Jack London and John Steinbeck have seen the Maxim Gorky's cafe-library and have decided to spend in it several minutes.
They have sat down for one of little tables and have taken couple of cups of green tea.
Guy de Maupassant, who also before visit of cafe-library was seeing the city, already sat at this little table.
Writers looked at the visitors of library, reading books ... The filled library has brought them into slightly romantic mood.
- The fear of communism replaces to the average American inhabitant ability to think, - Steinbeck philosophically stated. - The rich hate the poor and taxes. Young people hate a conscription. Democrats hate republicans and vice versa. And all together hate Russians. Children shoot at parents, and parents are ready to drown the puppies if parents know that will escape punishment. [Translation from Russian] [Hereinafter the translation from Russian - mainly]
- An Old Soldier's Story! - Jack London commented.
- I joined the letter of cultural figures who asked the Paris authorities to impose a ban on the construction of the Eiffel tower. Known anecdote that I allegedly hid from the "ugly skeleton" in a restaurant at the top of the tower, because it was the only place in Paris, where the Eiffel tower is not visible, - Guy de Maupassant expressed his opinion.
- "I don't know what to think about John," - my mother lamented. - "He will be either a genius, or a baby's dummy", - John Steinbeck has added.
- As that in the evening my mother Flora, - who was perfectly remembering that my father wrote books, - has entered to me with "The San Francisco Call" (newspaper) and has begun to persuade me to write something and to send to the competition announced by the newspaper. Several seconds I hesitated. But here in my memory surfaced Typhoon, from which "Sophie Sutherland" had to fight off near the coast of Japan. Sitting down at the kitchen table, I began to write a story. I wrote quickly, smoothly, almost without effort. The next day the story was finished, improved as far as there was enough ability, and is sent in the editorial office "Сoll". This story was awarded by the first prize - twenty five dollars. The second and third prizes were received by students of the California and Stanford universities. About it my biographer Irving Stone has written.
- My mother Laure Le Poittevin since youth knew Flaubert, - Guy de Maupassant has joined in memoirs. - After the study period I have become frequently to communicate with Flaubert who became my the literary mentor.
- I have left secondary school in 1919 at the age of seventeen years, and for me there was a question what to do next, - John Steinbeck has continued the memoirs. - For myself I have resolved to become a writer, already saw myself new Jack London of whose books I was fond at this time.
Jack London has smiled.
- Generally, I have spent at the university six years - from fall of 1919 to spring of 1925 (leaving without a degree), - John Steinbeck has continued. - During this time I have mastered approximately Three-year course, best of all I have acquired lectures on the theory of literary styles and on literary skill and tried to put the knowledge into practice, creating small stories for the university almanac. I very was proud these small stories. My first steps in a literature field didn't please my parents. They adhered to the look expressed by the philosopher pragmatist R.W. Chambers: "Writers not in honor at business people, as all know that literature is a happy find for all those who aren't adapted for the real work". [Translation from Russian]
- More than six years, I, who was close to Flaubert, wrote, rewritten and tore up what I had written; but in print I decided to appear only when Gustave Flaubert recognized my works as quite Mature and stylistically complete, - Guy de Maupassant recalled.
- The brother of my mother Joe Hamilton, the rich businessman, helped me get a job as a reporter in the New York American (newspaper). Twenty five dollars a week - a salary of a beginning reporter, when the excellent beefsteak at good restaurant cost thirty five cents, seemed to me the fabulous sum. I badly knew the city. By means of the uncle have charged to do me a newspaper reports from the courtroom. But for such responsible business I had neither an experience, nor knowledge, nor the necessary acquaintances.
Soon I from the newspaper was dismissed, and I have told friends that I have achieved the first success - I was thrown out on the street from the leading newspaper of the famous magnate Hearst. Now I can be engaged in the real literature.
In the summer of 1926 I appeared in the parental house in Salinas.
The mother-in-law of my friend has acquainted me with the rich friend who has offered me paid work, in the summer - as the driver, and in the winter - the watchman at her country house. I have agreed, and have worked two winters and two summers in this manor. Work was pleasant to me, in the winter I lived one, at me was rather free time for occupations literature. In the house there was a good library, and I with interest studied works of the Ancient Greek historian Herodotus.
I started working on my first novel, which was devoted pirates. I called the novel - "Cup of Gold".
In the spring of 1929, I left my place as a watchman, worked on a fish farm for a while, and then moved to San Francisco and got a job as a warehouse worker. I have finished working on "Cup of Gold". But seven publishers, one after another, rejected my novel.
"We suffer a defeat after defeat. - I wrote in the letter to the friend, also beginning writer. - And I don't think that in someone from us enough forces have remained. We still try to punch the head a wall of the English-language novel and we lick our scratches like wounds received in an honorable war... What a great amount of work it takes to write one novel". [Translation from Russian]
At the beginning of 1929 the telegram has come from New York: the Robert M. McBride & Co. has accepted "Cup of Gold" for printing and was ready to pay advance payment to 200 dollars on signing the sent contract. The same sum was due to the author after a release of the novel from the press.
The process was started...
"Cup of Gold" was published in August, 1929. Circulation in 1500 copies has dispersed, - aided by a bright dust jacket with a portrait of a pirate: many bought the book as a Christmas gift for children.
- My literary career has begun successfully, - Guy de Maupassant has noticed. - My works made great success; my earnings reached 60 thousand francs a year. I considered my duty financially to support mother and family of the brother.
- I worked very much, 15-17 hours a day, and wrote about 40 books during my not the very long writer's life, - Jack London remembered. - Gradually, thanks to high fees, I became a wealthy man. My honorarium was up to 50 thousand dollars for one book. It was a very large sum of money.
- I have begun to think, - Steinbeck has noticed, - why individual aspirations of the individual so often come to collision with moral values of bourgeois society. Why an individual appears actually one-on-one with a huge machine of private business and the capitalist state based on him.
I have been working hard on my books for several years. Two have already been published in prestigious New York publishing houses. And who reads them, these one and a half thousand copies, who needs them? [Translation from Russian]
In the train on the way to New York one of publishers - Mr. Pascal Covici - has read "The Pastures of Heaven". The book very much was pleasant to him. He has found the literary agency, knowing my affairs, and has received the manuscript of "Tortilla Flat", rejected earlier by several publishing houses. The fate of the book and, as it has appeared subsequently, my personal destiny has been decided.
In May, 1935 the "Covici-Frid" publishing house has published the illustrated edition of the novel "Tortilla Flat" which has at once attracted attention both critics, and the reading public: the book was included in the list of best-sellers and stayed in it several months. I have for the first time received very decent royalties for the literary work. The known Hollywood film firm "Paramount" has acquired performing rights of the movie to be based on this my story.
I have resolutely put aside chapters, written earlier, and have begun absolutely new book which receives the name "The Grapes of Wrath".
"The name of the book is pleasant to me more and more, - I admitted in a letter on September 10, 1938."
In March, 1939 "The Grapes of Wrath" was published, in currents of the first two months more than 80 thousand copies of the book have dispersed, she has headed the list of best-sellers of 1939 and was among ten books which are in the greatest demand in the following, 1940.
"The Grapes of Wrath" have become a phenomenon of social and political life of the country. In influence on public opinion, this book was compared to the novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and the novel by Upton Sinclair "The Jungle". In 1940, I was awarded the highest literary award of the USA - the Pulitzer prize - for my novel "The Grapes of Wrath".
Success of the novel "The Grapes of Wrath" has drawn attention of figures of Hollywood to the book. They begun to put the movie according to the novel.
And meanwhile ill-wishers organized the real surveillance of my personality. Each word, told by me, was altered and distorted. Therefore I preferred not to leave borders of my small ranch. "Knowing that constantly watch me, I just don't leave, don't go to anywhere, - I in the letter complained to my friend. - Knowing that each my word can be published, I tell nothing to nobody"..
I have gone to Mexico.
In Mexico I with interest and amazement watched those efforts which are made by a Hitlerite propaganda machine in the countries of Latin America.
"... It is interesting to watch efficiency of plans of Germans, - I wrote to Pascal Covitchi at the very beginning of 1941, - which is effective from the point of view of machine logic, but which (I suspect) is self-destructive from the point of view of the mechanism of human beings... And therefore I will observe how these plans of Germans will fail...". Understanding possible serious consequences of this activity for the USA, I have reported about it in the personal letter to the U.S. President F. Roosevelt. Soon the President has invited me for a short conversation. [Translation from Russian]
"The New York Herald Tribune" has appointed me as its military correspondent in Europe and has taken the necessary steps to get for me the accreditation of the us military Ministry. As it turned out later, during the inspection it was concluded that I am a suspicious and dangerous person. In 1942 I sent a special letter to the Minister of justice F. Biddle!
It turned out, three dossier was drawn up! Later they were declassified!
Jack London and Guy de Maupassant looked at Steinbeck with interest and curiosity.
In 1943, after persistent and determined efforts of the newspaper's editorial office, I was given the necessary accreditation, and in June 1943, I went to England on a military transport ship.
Having lived among ordinary soldiers, having participated in battles, I have known war. "In fact, there are two wars, and one of them is not like the other, - I wrote in July 1944 in the "Time" magazine. - There is a war of maps and of the organization of the rear, campaigns and ballistic calculations, armies, divisions and regiments - this is the war of General Marshall. There is a war of a longing for home,... tired, aggressive ordinary people who wash their socks in their helmets, complain about food, whistle after the Arab girls, however, after any girls, and wade through this such dirty business that this world seen, and do it with humor, dignity and courage is a war Ernie Pyle".
- During the Franco-Prussian War I served as a simple soldier! - Guy de Maupassant has noticed.
In early 1945 my new novel "Cannery Row" was published, - John Steinbeck continued. - One of the most wealthy and prosperous heroes of the story, Doc, watching a life around him, asks a difficult question: "The qualities that we admire so much in people - kindness and generosity, frankness, honesty, understanding and responsiveness - in the conditions of our system are invariably the causes of failure. And those traits, to which we treat with disgust, - the roughness, greed, stinginess, selfishness and narcissism - they always lead to success. And people, admiring the positive qualities, still prefer the benefits achieved thanks to the negative features."
Over time, the local Monterey authorities accepted my book and in 1953 with great pomp renamed the seaside Avenue into the Cannery Row Avenue.
I decided to postpone the work on the novel and make a trip with my wife to Europe. We visited Denmark and Sweden. I was surprised by the popularity of my books in Europe. We were welcomed by such a crowd - which would have gathered in new York, if the famous young actress suddenly announced that she would appear at the city's largest railway station "Grand Central" naked.
In February 1947, the "The Wayward Bus" was released. The initial circulation was 160 thousand copies, the book club distributed another 600 thousand. And despite all this, I have to borrow money to pay off income tax).
- I lacked money constantly, - Jack London noted. - Written so...
- In the spring of 1947, "The New York Herald Tribune", - John Steinbeck recalled, invited me, together with photographer Robert Capa, to make a trip to the Soviet Union and write a series of reports for the newspaper. In addition to the Soviet capital, I visited Kiev, Stalingrad and Georgia, visited factories, collective farms, theaters, talked with many people.
- Alexander Dumas (father) visited Russia with pleasure! - Guy de Maupassant has noticed. - He interestingly described its journey!
- In may 1948, Ed Ricketts, my best friend, died in a car accident, - John Steinbeck sighed. - In additives, my wife left in August.
"My life has made a full circle, and inside there are twenty years. It's amazing! What a wonderful time and what a sad end. I went back to that little house again. He hasn't changed a bit, and I wonder if I've changed myself... Sometimes I panic, but I think it's quite normal. And sometimes I feel like nothing ever happened. As if it was time before I knew Carol. A thick fog has fallen, you can feel it on your face. Near the reef the bell tinkles on the sea buoy. And, of course, the only proof that life is still beating in me will be whether I will be able to start my work again."
I decided to write a screenplay about one of the main figures of the peasant uprising in Mexico, Emiliano Zapata, who died at the hands of reactionary mercenaries in 1919. The film was directed by Elia Kazan, a well-known theater and film Director, whose film "Gentleman's Agreement" was recognized as the best film of 1947. The consent of Kazan immediately solved all of the problems of relationship with a Hollywood movie company willing to Finance the film. Work on the screenplay progressed successfully, and in the spring of 1949 it was completed.
The Film "Viva Zapata!" was enthusiastically welcomed by the audience and criticism. The thin understanding of the ordinary person was complemented by brilliant acting performance by Marlon Brando in the role Zapata and Anthony Quinn in the role of Pancho Villa. Subsequently, Anthony Quinn for this role received the highest award of American cinema - "Oscar".
During my stay in California, I was acquainted with a young woman, Elaine Scott, the daughter of the petroleum producer from Texas. We liked each other, Elaine divorced her husband and married me. In early February 1951, we moved to a new house in new York. On the third floor there was a working room for me, and I immediately started working on a long-delayed novel.
In November 1951, the manuscript of the novel was sent to a publishing house, it received the biblical name "East of Eden." Sending the corrected version to the publisher, Elaine and I went on a long trip to Europe. We returned to new York in early September 1952. By this time, the first edition of the novel "East of Eden" - 110 thousand copies - was already printed and sent to the bookstores of the country.
"East of Eden" is a traditional family novel. The action in the novel is centered around two families - Samuel Hamilton and Adam Trask.
Murder, bribery, slander, and blackmail were the paths that led to wealth in America. Honesty and diligence do not lead to anything here. Samuel Hamilton was known for his honesty and worked hard all his life. But he has died as a so poor man, as poor man in youth he has on foot come to these regions.
These years I have ceased to deal with problems of modern American society and have addressed deep history - I seriously studied legends about the English king Artur and knights of the Round Table. I have spent many months in Europe, being engaged in the researches and getting acquainted with works of the European writers.
I shared my thoughts in a letter to Elizabeth Otis on June 17, 1954: "We are interested in recreating and glorifying of the old times. It seems that we want to show a past that probably never existed. History of childhood, "frontier", novels about someone's old aunts and the like."
In the spring of 1956 I have got a small lodge in the small village of Sag Harbor located on the bank of the gulf on the easternmost tip of Long Island.
I have again gone to Europe to continue studying of legends of the king Artur. In September, 1957 I have visited Japan where I participated in PEN club meetings.
I have shared the thoughts in the letter to Adlai Stevenson on November 5, 1959: "We can't count that we will raise our own children decent and honest people if our cities, our states, our federal government, our private corporations - in short, if literally all offer the highest awards to those who have wallowed in barratry and corruption. Everything from top to bottom decayed, Adlai. Perhaps, nothing will help us any more, but I am still so silly and naive that that I am ready to try to undertake something". [Translation from Russian]
In the fall of 1960 I have gone by the truck, which was specially equipped for such trip, to a travel over the country. I have passed more than ten thousand miles on roads of thirty four states of America, talked to hundreds of ordinary citizens, observed life of the American remote place.
In the summer of 1961 "The Winter of Our Discontent" has come out. The thirst for money, spirit of money-making and a profit gradually corrode souls of people, corrupt them, turning them into swindlers and bribe-takers.
I, meanwhile, have been busy over "Travels with Charley: In Search of America".
"I look for and I look for words to describe decomposition. Not disintegration, not decline, but simple rotting. It seemed that it occurs just owing to the inertia which has bothered to all. Nobody stands up for our ideals, but almost everyone is dissatisfied with everything on light. Blacks hate white. White hate Blacks. Republicans hate democrats though and it is difficult to distinguish them from each other... Everything is kind of captured by some disease, epidemic of degradation and decline... Eventually our nation has turned into the nation of a unsatisfied individuals". [Translation from Russian]
Success of the published "Travels with Charley: In Search of America" has surprised me as have surprised me and positive, generally, reviews of the book.
In the fall of 1962 I was awarded by the Nobel Prize in the field of literature. In the decision of the Nobel committee it was emphasized that Steinbeck is awarded for his "the realistic and full of artistry works differing in the humour penetrated by kindness and social understanding... His sympathies always on the party oppressed, offended and distressed. He likes to oppose simple pleasures of life to rough and cynical aspiration to a profit".
Along with "The Grapes of Wrath" among achievements the novel "The Winter of Our Discontent" and the story "Of Mice and Men" were noted.
The Nobel Prize laureate John Steinbeck has stopped being the average American...
Both John F. Kennedy, elected the president in 1960, and Lyndon B. Johnson, who has held the presidency after tragic murder of J. Kennedy, were remembering about me.
According to the offer of the White House I have again gone to the USSR within the program of cultural exchanges between both countries. In the fall of 1963 I with the wife have visited Moscow, Kiev, Leningrad and Tbilisi.
After the Soviet Union we have visited Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia.
According to the proposal of the president L. Johnson I have gone to Vietnam and have spent one and a half months there. I admitted subsequently: "I don't understand how I have got mixed up in this discussion. I know at all no more, than all those who make these mistakes".
John Steinbeck took a printout of his biography, - biography, placed in one of the Internet libraries (the author of the biography isn't specified) and read:
"In the fall of 1967 Steinbeck has undergone a heavy operation. Then one by one two heavy heart attacks follow, in December 20, 1968 John Steinbeck has died. The best works by John Steinbeck are read and re-read in many countries of the world also today. They still attract readers with the uncomplicated simplicity, the realistic image of reality, kind humour, invariable sympathy to unfortunate and oppressed, devotion to democratic ideals".
Having completed his speech, John Steinbeck has thought.
- In Wikipedias written that I in 1905 have got the ranch in Glen Ellen (California) which repeatedly I broadened in the next years. "Having been fond of agriculture, London actively introduced the newest methods of managing on the earth, trying to create "an ideal farm" that eventually has led him to many thousands debts ..."
- This is what they says about me, said Guy de Maupassant. - "To restore the disturbed peace of mind Maupassant not help any secular successes or cooperation in Revue des Deux Mondes, nor success on stage Gymnase Comedy "Musotte"or receiving an academic award for the Comedy "La Paix du ménage".
In December 1891, nervous attacks led him to attempt suicide. In the hospital for the mentally ill... Maupassant first regained consciousness, but then the seizures began to repeat more often.
Guy de Maupassant died on July 6, 1893 from progressive brain paralysis, not having lived just a month before his 43th anniversary'.
There was a pause in the conversation.
In the silence the writers heard a loud voice of Maxim Gorky. He was talking to someone on the phone.:
"Afraid of wolves - in the woods do not go!"
The writers smiled and switched to green tea.
August 9, 2018 20:10
Translation from Russian into English: August 13, 2018 - August 14, 2018.
Владимир Владимирович Залесский 'Сказка о воспоминаниях писателей в кафе-библиотеке Горького'.