Leading Up To Thurber
A long-time habit of mine is re-reading (I’m tempted to call it re-studying as well). It began with comic books, and has continued on to this very day. I don’t re-read things I don’t enjoy — I just focus on the good stuff. In the small but excellent library of books devoted to The New Yorker‘s primary founding (or near-founding) characters, Scott Elledge’s E.B. White: A Biography is high on my list of re-reads.
I picked it up again the other day, knowing that I wanted to revisit the time period of White’s coming to The New Yorker.
Beneath my desire to go to that time was the anticipation of James Thurber entering White’s life, and then, entering The New Yorker. Mr. Elledge has done such a great job of framing the scene, without getting too weedsy about The New Yorker‘s actual beginnings (you want weedsy, then Thomas Kunkel’s Genius In Disguise is your book).
In my latest visit to Elledge’s book, I’m just at the point of White settling into writing “Comment” for The Talk Of The Town. Thurber is still off in the wings. It’s sometimes tempting to go into a “what-if” mode: y’know: what-if Thurber never found acceptance at The New Yorker. But I’ve learned there’s not much point to it. I usually come to that realization after a brief shudder.
In just a few pages Thurber will come into Elledge’s narrative.The New Yorker story will brighten a bit more, the pace quicken. Thurber has a way of increasing the wattage in any book.