SPIRITUALISM AND LITERATURE

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 17019, 16 December 1920, Page 4

SPIRITUALISM AND LITERATURE

INTERVIEW WITH SIR A. CONAN DOYLE. - Sir \rtbur Conan Doric, the apostle of knowJedge, and a loading force in modern literature, arrived m Christchurcli yesterday to give two lectures on Spiritualism and tho latest research developments jnaldug for a new conception of matter. His features arc tolerably familiar to huglisii peoplo wherever located, not perhaps to much his personality. Ho is a big man. genial, affablo, mul cultured, apparenuv sleepy, but most mental > alert ind lias a pereomUity stnuigel> ivminiscent both in features ami manner of that of Sir James Carroll. When met by a "Press" wpresentative yesterday, ho was a««d to• W | somcthinß as to the probablo future de-j velopxnent of the English «°jrel. vV j seems to me," ho sajd, "that tho novelist in Knglnnd is becoming more and, more a man of affairs, , and the protagonist of some cause- ana i Dwkens were storytellers high-i est order, but a man liko is almost a prophet,.Kipling stands tor Un-, perialism, and Bernard Shaw for bocinlism, and aU that that implies. 1: think you will find that almost oven; man identifies himself with leadership, and that is something quito new, and 1 think it is along those hue? that the British novel will develop- The maUj of imagination will be recognised as a secr. a prophet, or a bard like tho nvm of old.'" ' **i A question was then put as ™> tue tendencies of English literature. 'There j are no outstanding tendencies as tar as I can eee," ho said. "I think wo are in «i transition stage. No big men. liave appeared now for somo time, but that is no proof they aro not coming. Always you get a trough between each wave. Barrie, Kipling, Wells, all those people, marked a regular wave, and] now wo are in a trough, and when the next wave will como we don t know. But tou will alwa'j3 hare to go.back to interest and to romance, ior people will not read unless the reading, interests them Romance and simplicity are required. Everything tends to become too complex, and people .become ro clever that no one can understand themi. You will find the same thine "with modem poetry. That is where Kipling did such good work. He brought poetry back so that . people could -understand what was borne talked about. • I ain reminded of the story of a North American trapper, who acted as guide to a literary tourist. 'Hβ was that clever,' the guide said afterwards 'that you couldn't understand what "ho meant.' I think that applies to a good deal of present day English literature." . o . In reply to another question, bir \rthur said he'had given up writing romances for the present, and perhaps altogether. "Spiritualism is bo enormous a subject," he said, "that it is {i life's work. I have thought, however, of writing a novel on tins subject. J knew before the war that tho Germans were going to attack our merchantmen with" submarines, and I wrote to the Admiralty, but got no satisfaction. I i then woW "Danger," winch was published in July before the declaration of 1 war, and every thins I said in the story actually happened." . .... Touching on his impressions oi Aew Zealand, Sir Arthur said that the booji lie pronosed .writingiafter the present, tour would deal with his whole travels entirely from a psychic point of view. The book would be called "The Wanderings of a Spiritualist," and would record also any material facts which came- under his notice as he passed along. -It would; however, bfe pretty superficial from that point of view, and ho did not. suppose more than two 'chapters would be devoted to New Zealand. He had been asked to lecture in America, but Sir Oliver Lodge had been there, and he took Australia and New Zealand, for those countries had 1 done so well, .and had lo3t so heavily in tho war, that he felt if ho could bring any consolation to the bereaved he owed it to them. # _ I *'T need scarcely mention," said Sir! •Arthur-in conclusion, "that I take no] money whatever out of this tour. We pay our own expenses, and if there is anything over it will go to the Spiritualist caiisc. We felt it would weaken our position if anybody could ever say wo took a shilling out of it. ,, ?