Recently I watched a movie titled Genius. It’s about the friendship between Thomas Wolfe (Jude Law), a man considered one of the greatest American authors and Max Perkins (Colin Firth), a famous editor known for being the editor of Hemmingway and Fitzgerald.
Wolfe’s first book was turned down by every other publisher in New York when he brought it to Charles Scribner’s Sons. The enormous manuscript made it to Perkins’ desk and he recognized Wolfe’s genius.
The manuscript was way too long with many pages of description so Perkins worked closely with Wolfe to edit his book which eventually took the title Look Homeward Angel. It was published in 1929 and received great reviews, validating the author.
Wolfe wrote another book, On Time and the River, and brought it into Perkins’ office in four boxes. (It was 5,000 pages long). The two men worked every night for over two years to edit the book.
The many hours spent on the book put a strain on Perkins’ marriage. He explained to his wife that an editor gets an author like Wolfe once in a lifetime. That’s saying a lot since he was also the editor for Hemmingway and Fitzgerald.
The story asked many questions like what makes a good novel? How important is a good editor to a novel? Does the editor make the book better or just change it? Was some of Wolfe’s genius lost in the edits?
I wonder if modern books suffer because traditional publishing houses can’t afford an editor who would spend as much time as Perkins did editing Wolfe’s book.
Wolfe dedicated the second novel to Perkins. Later he felt that too much credit for the success of the book went to Perkins and he changed publishing houses. Wolfe died young with only two books published at the time of his death. Two more books were published posthumously by another publisher.
Wolfe’s genius has been somewhat forgotten over time, yet his legacy is his books. He has influenced other writers like the well-known sci-fi writer Ray Bradbury.
What drives authors to write? In the movie, Wolfe and Perkins are walking along a road in New York City. It’s the depression and World War 2 is on the horizon. Wolfe sees people in a long food line and wonders about the value of writing.
Perkins replies that early mankind used to sit around the campfire at night and off in the distance they’d heard a wolf howl. Someone in the circle would begin to tell a story to hold back the fear.
All stories aren’t told or written to hold back the fear, but they are an intricate part of our lives and a way to help us understand and cope with an ever-changing world.
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