A good many harsh things are likely to be said about this collection
of humorous stories and I may as well get in first by saying a few of
them right here. Not all of them are likely to strike any given
reader as being humorous; certainly not all of them are humorous in
the same sense nor in anything like the same degree. Humor, from the
writer's standpoint, can hardly be defined except as a method of
presenting material; from a reader's standpoint, as anything and
everything conducive to good-natured laughter. Humor may be brief;
perhaps is better so; nevertheless I have aimed to include only
humorous writing which also tells a fully-rounded story--writing in
which the humor is incidental to the story unless you, the reader,
find it otherwise.
There is plenty of evidence that I have had further formulas. Some
of it is misleading. I did not, for example, consciously select a
humorous negro story, a humorous animal story, a humorous Jewish
story, and so on. With more truth it can be alleged that I made this
book by culling a specimen of the work of this well-known writer of
humorous yarns, and that one. Still, there are one or two stories by
less well-known writers. And it is perhaps natural in any department
to think of a few who are outstanding and to say, "The collection
won't be representative without a story by Blank." In the end you
match Blank's tale against one by somebody else and are not
thunderstruck if Blank's is the better. It is his faculty for being
better that has got him his fame.
That there is only one story by a woman is as much of a surprise to
me as it can be to anybody. Probably, if my task were perfectly
done, there would be not less than three.
I have, however, failed to include only one story which I wished to
put in. This failure was due to the author's refusal of permission,
for no given reason.
Of course there are hundreds and probably thousands of stories I have
not read, and there must be omissions which, apart from the element
of individual appraisement, are mistakes. I shall be glad to know
about these. But in suggesting them it is fair to ask you to bear in
mind that I have been concerned only with American writers or those
who, like P. G. Wodehouse, have as it were adopted us and been
adopted by us; and that I have dealt almost exclusively with stories
of the last two years. I have also avoided in the majority of cases
stories already published in book form.
Should this book meet with favor, another collection of the sort is
not impossible, and for that I shall value suggestions to improve on
the present volume. They should generally be:
Fully-rounded "stories" of usual length.
By Americans; especially by women.
Published in a magazine in 1926 or 1927.
As yet unpublished in book form.
I can think of no other specification except the fundamental
one--that the story should have made you laugh, early and often. I
hope some of these may do that.