海角大神

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Clay Collins: That was the voice, recorded in 1962, of the late John Gould, a legendary storyteller and Monitor institution whose first essay appeared in the newspaper 80 years ago this weekend. If you鈥檇 like, stick around after the credits for a full reading of the essay. It鈥檚 called 鈥淟ong Pants and Longer Memories.鈥澨�

Welcome to 鈥淲hy We Wrote This.鈥� I鈥檓 this week鈥檚 host, Clay Collins. For decades, Mr. Gould鈥檚 essays ran in the Monitor鈥檚 Home Forum, a section that鈥檚 been a staple since our founding in 1908. The Monitor鈥檚 Owen Thomas joins us today. The Home Forum has been part of Owen鈥檚 editorial portfolio for about half of his 40 plus years at the Monitor. Welcome, Owen.听

Owen Thomas: Thanks, Clay. Good to be here.听

Collins: For listeners who don鈥檛 know, what is the Home Forum and what do you, as its editor, look for in a Home Forum essay?听

Thomas: The Home Forum has been a lot of things over the years. It started out as a collection of 20 short items. This is because the founder of the newspaper, Mary Baker Eddy, knew that readers liked short items. But it鈥檚 evolved significantly since then, to the point that now it consists of a personal essay, a language column, crossword puzzle, Sudoku, and the only labeled religious article in the newspaper. In a personal essay, I鈥檓 looking for stories that speak to common humanity. I鈥檓 looking for stories that talk about a revealing moment in someone鈥檚 life. They thought one way, and then this happened and they thought another way.听

Collins: I see. Now to Gould. John Gould was a New England writer, born the same year as the Monitor鈥檚 founding, 1908. You鈥檝e said that the more you鈥檝e learned about him, the more you realize that he鈥檚 really deserving of more attention than he鈥檚 been given. Tell us about him.听

Thomas: I鈥檝e been discovering John Gould for the past 40 years at least. I鈥檓 still learning things about him, about the incredible life he lived and how accomplished he was. I wanted to seize this opportunity of the 80th anniversary to call people鈥檚 attention to John Gould once again, because I think they鈥檇 really enjoy him. His motivation for writing began with his discovery of the goodness of humanity and the joyfulness of life that pervades all his columns.听

Collins: Looking over his hit list.... You know, he鈥檚 written 30 books. He was a speechwriter for a congresswoman.听

Thomas: And senator.听

Collins: And senator. Told L.L. Bean that, hey, you might want to create a catalog.听

Thomas: That鈥檚 right.听

Collins: Was an early adviser to the still-green Maine writer Stephen King, and a contestant on the guess-their-identity show 鈥淭o Tell the Truth.鈥� Amazing.听

Thomas: Yes. The Stephen King story is especially noteworthy. Stephen King got in trouble in high school and the guidance counselor basically said, go see this guy who鈥檚 editing the newspaper, or else! And so Stephen King showed up and he said later that John Gould taught him everything he needed to know about writing and editing.听

Collins: There was also a gentleness to his approach. And you said at one point that you learned something, through editing his work, about being an editor.听

Thomas: I鈥檝e heard other editors say this, that John Gould is someone from whom editors can learn. And I learned a critical lesson. It鈥檚 something that really stayed with me. It was in person, I was visiting him and he exclaimed at one point, 鈥淲riters just want to be loved!鈥� Writers just want to be loved. They want to be encouraged. If a writer knows you like them, they鈥檒l do anything for you, basically.听

Collins: Hmm. Can you talk about some stories of Gould鈥檚 in particular that really stand out, that really endure?听

Thomas: One particular story that I encountered, I was only 18 months into editing him at that point, my first stint and I got a column from the venerable John Gould. He鈥檚 this 鈥� he was in his, like, 56th year of filing these columns. It concerned a group of boys playing baseball by a railroad line. And this was back in 1918. John Gould was 10 years old. And they鈥檙e playing ball. And every day at 4:30, a slow train goes by. As the train pulls by, this one time, somebody hits a line drive and it heads right for the train and, by golly, the porter catches it. It was their only baseball. And so they鈥檙e out a baseball. They have to go get this, they have to go to L.L. Bean to buy a new baseball. Meanwhile, two weeks later, same train, same guy 鈥� [kids] playing baseball. And this time, the porter is in the vestibule, and he throws something to them. And it鈥檚 a baseball. It鈥檚 a brand new baseball. Not only that, but it鈥檚 signed by all the first-string roster of the Boston Red Sox, which includes George Herman Ruth, who at that point was a left handed pitcher. A pretty good one.听

Collins: In going over the body of Gould鈥檚 work, I was amazed by all the yarns about blueberries and bucksaws and $14 suits. It鈥檚 wonderful. It鈥檚 also, you know, delightfully quaint. And to talk about John Gould isn鈥檛 really just to celebrate some sort of 鈥済lory days鈥� of essayists and the Monitor. It鈥檚 really about, as you鈥檝e said, bringing him into the present.听

Thomas: Well, he is timeless. He welcomes you into his world and he treats everyone gently. And it鈥檚 wonderful to see him work. He can start on one theme and then take you around. He鈥檚 spinning you up in the air. He鈥檚 throwing you around. But then at the very end, he brings it all back and sets you down. And then you say, oh, I see where he was going with this. But he鈥檚 awfully good at that.听

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Collins: Thanks everyone for listening. To find a transcript of this episode in our show notes, including some links to Mr. Gould鈥檚 essays. Visit csmonitor.com/whywewrotethis. If you鈥檇 like, stick around after the credits for a full reading of the essay, 鈥淟ong Pants and Longer Memories.鈥澨�

This episode was hosted by me, Clay Collins and was produced and edited by Samantha Laine Perfas. Our sound engineers were Tim Malone and Alyssa Britton, with original music by Noel Flatt, produced by the 海角大神 Science Monitor. Copyright 2022.听

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