In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

14 / William E. Woodward William E. Woodward (1874–1950), a historian and novelist, turned to writing after a successful career in advertising and pub­ lic relations. Admired during his lifetime by historically inclined Ameri­ can modernists for his ­ biographies of George Washington, Thomas Paine, and Ulysses S. Grant, Woodward is famous for writing debunking histories against the grain; he even coined the term debunk in his best-­ selling first novel, Bunk (1923). In 1912 he founded the Publishers ’ Newspapers Syndicate, a weekly book review page, and promptly hired Lewis to write the reviews. Woodward subsequently reviewed Elmer Gantry (1927) in the New York Evening Post and wrote a New Yorker profile of Lewis in 1934, “The World and Sauk Centre,” which effectively ended their friendship. Source: William E. Woodward, The Gift of Life: An Autobiography (New York: Dutton, 1947), 187–88, 197–98. One day I had a talk with Rodman Gilder, son of Richard Watson Gilder, the famous editor of the Century Magazine.43 I was telling him of my diffi culty in getting an editor when he looked blank a moment, as if in a state of deep reflection, and then he said: “Oh, my goodness, I think I know just the man for you. His name is Lewis. He’s a sort of editorial helper on Adventure, that little magazine published by the Butterick Company.” Naturally, I was interested, for I respected Rodman Gilder’s judgment. “Tell me about him, Rodman,” I said. “I’ve never heard of him. Lewis. Lewis. What’s his first name?” “They call him Red,” Rodman said, “but that’s a nickname. His name is­ Sinclair—or ­ Sinclair Lewis, in full. He’s a Yale man—worked his way through Yale. Comes from somewhere in the West, from Wisconsin or ­ Minnesota—I forget which. And can he write! Young fellow, about thirty. Lives on First Avenue, in the tenement district.” “Do you think he’d like the job?” I asked. “Listen, this Lewis chap has been knocked all over the lot by people who 44 / Sinclair Lewis Remembered think they are his betters. He’s had a hard life, and is dog poor, but he has ability. I’m sure he’d be a good man for you. Call him up and see him.” I called up the publishers of Adventure and asked for Mr. Lewis. They had to look for him, but eventually he came to the phone. I had him meet me at the Brevoort44 for dinner that evening. He was a lanky, blue-­ eyed, red-­ haired fellow with a rough face and as homely as a rail fence, but he had a winning smile and a cordial handshake. I liked him the instant I saw him and I spent an hour or more in telling him of the review syndicate, of the newspapers in it, and of what he would be expected to do. He listened, crumbling bread in his plate. I had hardly finished telling him of my plan when he began to make suggestions, some of which were brilliant. I got him, finally, to talk about himself and his antecedents , of his life as a boy in Minnesota, of the poverty of his youth, of his vari­ ous jobs, and of his constant and ardent desire to be a writer. “Would you really like to have this job as editor of our syndicate?” I asked. His eagerness seemed to wane a bit, and he sat a moment in a self-­ enforced silence . Then he said, “Yes, I think I’d like it, and I’m sure I could make good at it.” “All right,” I said, “the job’s yours.” “Yes, yes,” he muttered, taken aback, “but you’ve left out one very important item. How much are you going to pay me?” “Oh,” I said hastily, “I’d forgotten. I’m sorry. The job pays sixty dollars a week.” Lewis looked at me across the table in utter surprise. It showed all over his countenance. “Sixty dollars a week!” he exclaimed, and jumped up, almost overturning his hair as he rose. “Sixty dollars! Shake.” He reached across the table and seized my hand. “Shake on it. It’s a bargain. When do I begin?” [. . .] When I returned from my wedding trip around the middle of January in 1914, I found the business going along splendidly. Van Slyke45 was bringing in quantities of advertising, and ­ Sinclair Lewis was making the book-­ review page in our syndicate papers...

Share