Title: Arthur and Fritz Kahn Collection 1889-1932
Identifier: arthurfritzkahn_02_reel02 (find matches)
Year: [1] (s)
Authors: Kahn, Arthur and Fritz
Subjects: Kahn, Fritz 1888-1968; Kahn, Arthur David 1850-1928; Natural history illustrators; Natural history
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Contributing Library: Leo Baeck Institute Archives
Digitizing Sponsor: Leo Baeck Institute Archives

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ThiWay ofHesponst: MAirriN BUBKR ^»ytntious fronten ^M^ritiuf>s fJiteJ Ay ^\^HtH \. Cf/atzer • A gathering of sayings from Martin Buber's major works, V\ in which he bore witness to > * man's prcsent Situation, and ; traced—with passion and 1 precision—the path of individual response. "^From the heart and spirit of the great modern master of the wisdom about the seif and the ctemal mystery of the 'eternal thou*." —Reinhold Niebuhr "Martin Buber was the foremost Jewish religious thinker of our time and one of the world's most influential philosophers He served as a kind of patron saint for such towering Christian intellectuals as Paul Tillich, Reinhold Niebuhr, Jacques Maritain, and Gabriel Marcel.** —Thf New York Times $4.95 from your bookseilers, or from SCHOCKEN BOOKS INC. 67 Park Avenue New York. N.Y. 10016 m. Travcn, Continued By CHARLES K MILLER MEXICO crry. TRAVEN recently granted F^ an almost-interview" to tHe Mexican magazine Sicmpre! It was bis first press confronta- tion in 41 years of public fame and private seclusion. The long feature story was homey and sympathetic; it was gamished with photos of his library and the stairway to his study. There were reproductions of editorial letters and Statements from Traven. There were two photos of his wife, who has her own career as translator and busi- ness agent for his many editions in 30-odd langtiages. By request, there were no photos of Traven himself. Instead, there was a full-page shot of his bust as it is being executed by his old friend Federico Canessi. This is the bust that lifted the reclusive curtain—^for it was Seen and photographed by Tra- ven fans who had entr^ to Canessi's studio. Some of the photos leaked to the press and so forced an interview. B. Traven, bom in Chicago in 1890 as Traven Torsven, Is a soft-spoken and dignified man who does not and never did be- lieve in Interviews, i>ersonal Pub- licity for authors, or any cult of Personality. He told Luis Suarez of Siempre! little more than he has written f>epeatedly to the press since his sudden rise to fame in 1926: "My life belongs to me, my work to <the public." He stated once more that he was bom in the United States of Scandinavian parents; he ad- mitted that he has lived in Oer- many at times, but denied German ancestry. He described how the Third Reich had banned his books and confiscated his German eamings because of his novel "Governmenpt," an exposö of regional Mexican dictators. 11E defended "Rosa Bianca,'* which is the most important novel as yet written on the Mexican-United States "petro- leum Problem." And he said (that at one Üme he was ready to seil every book in his preci- ous library to help support the Loyalists In Spain's Civil War. Why all the mjrstery and si- lence ? He stated once more that overeager Joumalists and edi- tors had made the myth. He himself had intended none; he had intended only to preserve his own privacy. He spoke of his lovc for his adopted Mexico and said that modern Mexico (as op- poscd to the prc-Revolutionary MR. MILLER, « frcelance author now living in Meiico, it writing a study of the worfcs -of B. Traven.
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Pbotograph by Nadlne Markov«. Federico C«nctsi et work on « bust of B. Traven in Mexico City. Mexico of many of his novels) is solving its great social Prob- lems, such as that of the Tara- humara Indians in Chihuahua. Of course, he concluded, "I have the Mexican point of view." Does this interview mean a new Traven image? Traven on television, Traven on a lecture tour? Heavens, no! •*That*s it No more Interviews," the author decreed (according to his wife), as he rctumed to his study, to continue working on his 17th and 18th books. This casual interview may comfort far-off fans, for it is the first public pecp Into the au- thor's pteasant home. The news report included pictures of his handsome and devoted Mexican wife, Rosa Elena, with whom he will soon celebrate a l(Xth wed- ding anniversary. He is very fond of her two daugihters by another marriage. In his Mexico City house, Traven Hias a ttttle garden, a sunny terraoe—and two dogs, one a stray; for the multilingual writer who has hved and worked in many lands for many years, his present home, as well as a country retreat, comprise the peace he has always sought. The question is, Will the publte let him enjoy his wcU-camed privacy ? Traven'-s close friends, of oourse, have known his real name for many jreai«. as well as his business name (Hai CKn'es). They have always re- spected his wish for privacy. The present interview does not indicate a weakening of their loyalty, but is due to a dozen new Traven editions and in- creased Publicity in many na- tions. This season in Europe, two imauthorized and ungentle blographies are appearlng— botlh making much of his al- leged revohitionary escapades in vaiious plaoes in decades kmg gone, but not forgotten. Traven detests blographies, psychological criticlsm and "in- decent advertising" of books. "My private life would not dis- appoint my readers, but it is my own affair which I want to keep to myself," he proclaimed bcfore the publication of his first novel, *The Death Shdp," in 1926. He bclieves that readers ought to discover authors only in their published works, not at literary teas or on TV. As a philosophical revolutionist, a roving Thoreauvian and a be- nevolent anarchist, he sees little in modeiTi oivilization ito attract him, although he continues to travel, As I have written elsewhere, it is ironical that Traven, who writes of the Americas, is better known in Europe. In Germany he is often called "the voice of Mexico," but the Mexicans have yet to read five of his Important books on Mexico—^and readers in the United States have yet to see nine of his books. The Ger- mans claim Traven is one of them—but he denies it, and he has never written about the Germans, except by referencein "The Death Ship." It seems wise to regard him for what his books prove him to be, an inter- national author of obscure par- entage who found his voice and frecdom of expression in the Americas. That is the best we have done for him. Next best is to aUow him to enJoy the peace and privacy of his semi-retirement. No more Interviews! I THI NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVliW

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