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PORTLAND SUNDAY TELEGRAM AND PRESS HERALD Mar. 23, 1930

Kenneth L. Roberts, Who Wrote Arundel, Was First Encouraged To Write Book By Col. Roosevelt [bold]

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Was Enthusiastically Urged To Lay Aside All Work And Start At Once Upon The Great Undertaking

[image - Kenneth Roberts sitting on a bridge, with a fishing pole]

By Robert B. Beith [italic] Most people believe that Kenneth L. Roberts, staff corre-spondent of the "Saturday Evening Post" and author of "Arundel", a novel of early Maine, is an adopted son of this State along with his neighbor and Friend, Booth Tarkington. The fact is, Mr. Roberts was born at Kennebunk about 45 years ago and save for his extensive journalistic and war ram-blings has always lived in that vicinity. At the present time, though now in Italy, he maintains a home at Kennebunk Beach and most every Summer finds him there or someplace in Maine. [PT written across section]

His First Historical Novel [bold] Though he has been well known as the author of several travel books and "Antiquiamania," an amusing satire on the collection of antiques as well as of innumerable articles appearing in the Saturday Evening Post. Mr. Roberts reached the greatest peak of his fame only recently when Doubleday, Doran & Co., published his magnificent his-torical novel, the first he ever at-tempted. He has been writing something or other since college days when he was editor-in-chief of the Cornell Widow. Upon graduating from that university; he took the steps followed by many of America's foremost writers and joined a newspaper staff. For three years, from 1905 to 1908 he served as a re-porter, columnist and humorist for the Boston Post. That led to the maga-zine field and Mr. Roberts was a mem-ber of the editorial staffs of Puck and Life until the war came. Then he enlisted, was commissioned a cap-tain in the Intelligence Section and sailed abroad with the Siberian Expe-ditionary Force. After the war he ce-came a staff correspondent for the Saturday Evening Post and since that time has written many hundreds of thousands of words for that magazine. "Arundel" was really launched many years ago while Mr. Roberts was with Life and Puck. It is an interesting story and should appeal to the hun-dreds of Maine people who are now reading the book. It seems that one day Mr. Roberts came across an inter-view with Theodore Roosevelt in which the President spoke of some reading he had recently done. "I got a whole lot of entertainment out of one other book," Roosevelt said in the interview, "the title of which I have forgotten. I can't recall even the author's name, but the story was mighty good." Verses Addressed to Roosevelt [bold] After reading those remarks, Mr. Roberts wrote some verses addressed "To Col. Roosevelt: A Letter of Pro-test."

I had intended, sir, to write A book--a novel, say--this Summer: Something exciting, gripping, bright: In short, a hummer.

But, sir, your statements in the news Have filled my heart with hesitation And made me think I'd better choose A new vocation.

In fact, to all us writer chaps Who'd fain be Tarkingtons or Trol-lopes. Your words are worse than thunder-claps Or numbing wallops.

For how can we preserve our poise And keep undimmed the flame Am-bition If we're to be denied the joys Of recognition?

No book can possibly succeed Unless the public knows its title And author too. These things, in-deed, Are almost vital.

For with his book unsought, unsold, The author cannot know Fame's blessing; And that, combined with lack of gold, Is most distressing.

And if you, sir, forget these things, Won't lesser minds forget them also? Indeed they will! "Tis that which stings, And stirs my gail so!

So, speaking for the writing crew, I pray that henceforth you'll be heeding The author and the title too Of what you're reading.

These verses appeared in the New York Evening Sun on April 14,1918.