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The Southern Israelite Page 67 Wasserman, the Great Story-Teller \ Characterization of Jakob Wassermann, Noted Novelist By THOMAS MANN Thomas Mann is one of the immortals of contemporary litera- , , , r ) lo i s expected at any time to receive the Noble Prize. His \j (l( ,ic Mountain,” his “Death in Venice” and other novels have ‘used him to a pinnacle in Germany rarely attained by any other f/r. In this character sketch Mann has described that great Jew- novelist, Wassermann, who has done much to elevate the stand ard of German letters. In the sketch Mann refers to an incident in which Mann and Wasserman were jointly named as u destroyers of German culture,” the first because he is a liberal, the second be lt < is a Jew.—THE EDITOR. nationalist association for the preser vation of onr culture; and on it the names of Wasserman and myself stood out boldly as those of despoilers of cul ture and destroyers of souls. I felt con siderably flattered by this juxtaposi tion, and regard it as an additional bond between us. As I mediate upon his artistry, that magnificent mixture of virtuosity and holy fervor, 1 can hardly avoid the danger of losing myself in contempla tion of the beautiful mystery of artis try in general, with its primitive quali ties and loftiness and the spirituality whose source is instinct. Nietzsche al ways seems inclined to regard acting as the paradigm of all art—which, for that matter, he sees in a more than pro blematic light, calling the artist “an ape vain and sensual beyond all meas ure.” And is it not true that precisely in its highest instances dramatic art re veals its fundamental primitiveness most clearly and naively? Its root, its instinctive basis is play-acting, mim icking, shamming, pretense; this is its indispensable essence—without it no actor can become great. But coeval with it is the intellectual element, the ambitious urge toward investing the primitive with dignity, toward the ful filment of a solemn mission of lofty meaning; and it is thus that elements truly deserving of recognition arise from the roots of apish mimicry. Here, however, we have the artist, the gifted entertainer who cheers the soul, in another form—that of the story-teller. I love this word, which can mean so much and such great things despite its simple and unpre tentious sound. But with the great story-teller we also have the primitive root, the basic instinct which we call play-acting in the case of the dramatic artist. Here, however, we style it the spinning of yarns. Without this, with out the fundamental instinct of spin ning yams no narrator can become great. I do not mean primarily the gift and joy of invention, the capacity for fabricating complicated adventures and webs of lies; all this is secondary. The important thing is something ele mental and personal, something con- this' positive “occasion 'for nected inton*ti°n, m.n- fication w« recently followed bv ' ner - The ar ‘ of narration .3 simply the “° ,her of a negative nature: The two art forcing people to listen regard- ; e close neighbors on a pros- W !* . ■ 111 j", . ... , l'« published not long ago. Who and what la Jakob Wasserman t ran st It pve- me particular pleasure to ir;! , „f onr Jakob Wasserman—my Jakob Wasserman. For he is my friend hit- always been fair and loyal to m ,. t a , | have been to him. He knows v attitude, and I trust that he never imibtcd me, not even when he was told • hat 1 then far away in America— in ,| on. i* made a wry face over some fvcptionally emotional note that he ,,d -truck. It i- natural that one should iiitkf a wry face over something one mint duplicate. But I would be in a wry >ad state indeed if anything of i- -nrt could ever make me forget my ulmiration; for I know only too well how much there is for me to admire in him. I mean hi- personality and charac- vr rather than merely his talent—his n-n|u!e. pcrscvcrant pursuit of his aim, incredible industry, his complete innocence of even the temptation to lc-ccnd to polemics with his oppon ent-. in- consistent adherence to his •i.aniier. the audacity of his fancy, profound seriousness and prolific pr< iductivcness. I>'t me recall our first meeting: It •k place at the office of the then new- tounded Simplicissimus, whose as- ■uite editor lie was. We were both very young at that time. I had i -tory published, and was calling r my honorarium—I must have been i pre—ed. Benevolently he handed : to tne—cash, ringing gold coins the ,1M ' of which 1 am afraid we shall ■v» r -ee again. This first meeting '-"ul,| have inspired me to think of ,l *'> ^ic legendary name that occurs 'Kasper Hauser,” IJuhttus. H* tween that day and the present ' ~"Ht career and my road. Our have been very different; our at- tud,- toward life are unlike; we do hv< in the same rhythm. Yet our ’ id- are parallel and somehow related, that one is tempted to compare '•cm. hor they are the roads of two ’•ntemporaries who are both German v-e!i-1- and who have found different *a\- ot solving the difficulties of the ,p rman >tory-teller. I would never have larv, l tu discuss the two of us in this • u ! *t had not he himself given me »ut orization in a beautiful public lrt °°ngratulation which he dedi- me "hen I was fifty years old "hieh he called me a brother AMERICAN GLASS COMPANY Structural Glass of All Kinds MIRROR MANUFACTURERS GLASS JOBBERS KNOXVILLE, TENN. ASHEVILLE, N. 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