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Snoopy strikes a chord in every writer
Writersworld Newsletter - Issue No. 21
By John Jenkins
ANYBODY with a spark
of creative talent who can make millions
smile with the stroke of a pen - whether
with a drawing or a few words - deserves
the accolade genius. Such a man was
Charles "Sparky" Schulz whose humor
crossed international boundaries but
who was best loved throughout the
Americas and Britain.
As you can see from SNOOPY'S Guide
to Writing Life, deftly edited by
his son Monte and friend Barnaby Conrad,
there was much more to Schulz than
the ability to turn out a funny drawing.
He was a driven man. Driven to appreciate
the good things in life - music, art
and books. An enjoyment that was totally
catholic and eclectic without false
boundaries of pop and classic or pseudo-intellectual
analysis.
It is said that the Peanuts industry
coined 30million dollars a year. Good.
At a rough estimate that might work
out at 2cents a laugh for the millions
who smiled daily at the wry humor.
Cheap at a thousand times the price.
I love Charlie Brown and Lucy and
Linus but Snoopy, perhaps because
he yearned to be a writer, has always
been my favourite.
This book is the kind of volume that
you choose as a Christmas present
for a friend and then either keep
it yourself or go and buy another
one because you can't give away a
book which has been so obviously read.
For years a Snoopy mug stood on my
desk and I wish I had a £ or even
a $ for every cup of tea or coffee
it had held. It showed Snoops, as
he was known to my family, strolling
along with a set of golf clubs over
his shoulder, a cocky grin on his
face and the hint of a swagger in
his step.
The caption read: "I hate playing
with a good loser."
It all started when I came back from
a game uttering the same unsporting
phrase unaware that my kids were within
earshot. Their mother explained my
less-than-generous nature.
They found the mug, bought it and
gave it to me for Christmas. Perfect.
Generous tributes abound
in the book. Monte thanks his father
for introducing him to so many authors
and other good things in life.
His friend Barnaby, who knows there's
something of Charlie Brown in all
of us, quotes two revealing anecdotes.
Sparky was in the army as a machine
gunner driving into southern Germany
in a half track just before the end
of the war. Suddenly somebody shouted:
"Look over there, shoot him." But
as Sparky pulled the trigger he realized
he had forgotten to load the gun.
A moment later, before he could load,
a German came out with his hands up.
"I'm sure glad I hadn't been able
to shoot him."
And when Barnaby interviewed him for
the New York Times magazine he asked
the question which occurred to many
of us: "Do you think of yourself as
a frustrated writer?"
"No, I've always wanted to be a cartoonist
and I'm happy to be just that. Cartooning
is a fairly sort of proposition. You
have to be fairly intelligent - if
you were really intelligent you'd
be doing something else...you have
to write fairly well - if you wrote
really well you'd be writing books.
It's great for a fairly person like
me."
In the book, among the cartoons, are
some serious insights from 32 best
selling authors. Among them are Ray
Bradbury, William F. Buckley, Julia
Child, Sue Grafton, Elmore Leonard,
Danielle Steel, Ed McBain and Fannie
Flagg.
Sparky, who was often an honoured
guest and contributor to the world
famous Santa Barbara Writers' Conference
near his home in California, would
have liked that. He enjoyed his contact
with writers as much as they enjoyed
their contact with him.
SNOOPY'S Guide to the Writing Life,
Edited by Barnaby Conrad and Monte
Schulz is published by Writers Digest
Books at £12.99.
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