THE LONDON MAGAZINE
SIR,—This is really rather ridiculous. Mr. Anthony Hartley, in his agreeably provoca- tive ' Review of Reviews ' in your issue of July 2 (which I saw rather late as I was on holiday), complains of eight names of writers appearing twice in the pages of The London Magazine in the course of six months, that is among sixty odd contributions (excluding reviews). If he had found two names appearing eight times, he might have had some cause for his complaint, but to refuse to allow an author who is writing well to appear more than once or twice a year, seems to me to be condemning him to the impossibility of earning his living or keep- ing his name in front of the public. If Mr. Hartley gets bored by reading Vernon Watkins or Paul Bowles or C. H. B. Kitchin more than once every six months, so much the worse, in my opinion, for him. And what about reading Mr. Hartley (and a number of others) every week in the pages of the Spectator? Personally, I like finding a core of recurring names in a periodical, because—if they are good—it gives it character, though I also like variety and innovation; but I seem to have a less jaded palate than Mr. Hartley. And if a new writer of really outstanding brilliance should come my way, I must warn Mr. Hartley I might print that writer's work every other month— or even more often. That seems to me the best way to help him; though Mr. Hartley, in spite of the fact that at the end of his review he appears to be very bitter at Mr. Priestley's suggestion that young writers may have difficulty in making their living, doesn't like it.—Yours faithfully,
JOHN LEHMANN
The London Magazine, 31 Egerton Crescent, S.W.3
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