Charles William "Max" White: Auburn's Forgotten Literary Son - Part III

Max White Returns to Writing

In The Blazing Light, Max White's Third Novel

The movements of Max White immediately after his discharge from the U.S. Army late 1944 are not clear. He may have returned to New York City for a time, but an article published in November 1946 referenced Max setting up in New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana to write after his Army service.

Max's third novel, In The Blazing Light, was published in New York City by Duell, Sloan & Pearce on 18 January 1946. This book was based on the life of the Spanish painter, Goya, as described in a Kirkus Review [NOTE:  The year of publication given in the Kirkus Review appears to be incorrect from other sources]. Back in Auburn, The Citizen-Advertiser took note of the book's publication when the paper announced that well-known radio host, Mary Margaret McBride, would interview Max White on her New York City show several days later.

Max White, author of the recently published novel, "In the Blazing Light," which romanticizes the life of Goya, the great Spanish painter, will be interviewed by Mary Margaret McBride at 1 o'clock Monday afternoon over Station WEAF in New York. "In the Blazing Light" is the Auburn author's third novel. He is a son of Mr. and Mrs. William J. White of 139 East Genesee Street.

-- Thomas Tryniski (scan), Roger Post (transcriber), Auburn Author In Radio Interview (Auburn, Cayuga Co., NY, The Citizen-Advertiser, Saturday, 19 January 1946), Old Fulton New York Post Cards http://www.fultonhistory.com

How I Feed My Friends, A Cookbook By Max White

Max White departed from his previous work with publication of How I Feed My Friends:  One Hundred Sunday Night Dishes by Duell, Sloan & Pearce on 21 August 1946 in New York City. This book is described in a Kirkus Review. After the cookbook's publication, Max celebrated by hosting a Sunday night buffet of his own preparation, attended by literary notables such as Taylor Caldwell as well as by Clementine Paddleford, the noted Food Writer of the New York Herald Tribune. A pleasant gathering, one suspects, but possibly an astute publicity move as well! In Auburn, The Citizen-Advertiser published excerpts of Paddleford's Herald Tribune article.

Max White, Auburn novelist, son of Mr. and Mrs. William J. White of 139 East Genesee Street, is saluted as "Sunday Night Host" by Clementine Paddleford in a feature article on food in the Sunday magazine section of the New York Herald Tribune of November 24. In an illustration topping the article Mr. White is shown passing a dish of own concoction to such celebrated fellow novelists as Fannie Hurst and Miss Taylor Caldwell, among others. The party that the food specialist at the Herald Tribune writes about--she was among the score and more guests--was held recently in New York in honor of the former Auburnian's newest, a gayly written cookbook called "How I Feed My Friends, or One Hundred Sunday Night Supper Dishes." It was a Sunday night buffet party, with Max White doing the hosting, and also the cooking. . . . Of her Sunday night host the Herald Tribune food expert says: "A dozen years ago Max took a studio in Woodstock, N. Y., to finish a novel. With no restaurants in the town, it was cook or starve. He began cooking. His friends liked his chow so he made it a practice to have Sunday night suppers and entertain in the kitchen. Delighted guests pestered him to write out the recipes. He decided to put the best of the lot in a book. War interrupted both cookbook and novel and he forgot the whole business. Out of the Army, he set up for writing again, this time in New Orleans. Between bouts with a novel he wrote his cookbook."

-- Thomas Tryniski (scan), Roger Post (transcriber), Auburn Novelist Is Sunday Night Host and Cook for Some Literary Cronies (Auburn, Cayuga Co., NY, The Citizen-Advertiser, Tuesday, 26 November 1946), Old Fulton New York Post Cards http://www.fultonhistory.com

Max White Visits Auburn, New York for the Wedding of a Friend

The wedding of Mrs. Barbara Watson Chamberlain to Archibald W. Green on 10 June 1947 drew Max White back to Auburn to attend the social event. Barbara Watson Chamberlain was the widow of Rudolph Wilson Chamberlain, the newspaper editor who had hired Max, as Charles William White, back in late 1930 to be Associate Editor and Editorial Writer for The Auburn Advertiser-Journal. Rudolph Chamberlain had died in 1945. Max apparently remained close enough to the Chamberlain family over the years to be motivated to attend Barbara's remarriage after traveling from New Orleans. It is less likely, but possible, that Max was also acquainted with Lt. Col. Green from World War II service because both had served in North Africa.

It seems safe to assume that Max enjoyed a visit with his parents while he was Auburn. His father, William J. White, would die 2 years later. It is possible that this trip was the last time that Max and his father saw each other, so far as newspaper accounts can tell us.

The Midnight Gardener, Max White's Fourth Novel

Published on 4 August 1948 by Harper & Brothers at New York City, The Midnight Gardener was Max White's fourth published novel. The Midnight Gardener, based on the life of the French poet, Baudelaire, has a Kirkus Review. The Citizen-Advertiser ran a story on Max's latest novel and again included quotes from a review by the New York Herald Tribune, this time by Ray Pierre.

Max White's newest work is entitled "The Midnight Gardener." It is the story of Charles Baudelaire, nineteenth century French poet, depicting his turbulent life. It is described as a story of "genius and madness." Following are excerpts from a review by Ray Pierre in the book section of the New York Herald Tribune: "Max White's novels are no mere period pieces. . . . The hero of his latest book 'The Midnight Gardener,' is an even more tortured, complex genius, the poet, Charles Baudelaire. Mr. White delves beneath the outward symptoms of a disorganized life to reveal the emotional and artistic development of one of France's greatest poets. Mr. White's novel suffers from the very richness of his material. It is often repetitious, its dialogue is occasionally over-long and stilted, its descriptive passages fulsome. But despite these flaws it is noteworthy for it success in recreating Baudelaire as a living, suffering person.". . . Max White has been living in Paris and Rome recently and now is in New Orleans, with plans for another novel on the Harper fall list.

-- Thomas Tryniski (scan), Roger Post (transcriber), Max White's Novel on Life of Baudelaire, French Poet, Appears (Auburn, Cayuga Co., NY, The Citizen-Advertiser, Thursday, 19 August 1948), Old Fulton New York Post Cards http://www.fultonhistory.com

The preceding reference to Max White living in Paris and Rome before publication of The Midnight Gardener has not been verified with other references, unless it referred back to the period before the War.

The Man Who Carved Women From Wood, Max White's Fifth Novel

Harper & Brothers published Max's fifth novel, The Man Who Carved Women From Wood, on 14 September 1949 at New York City. A review of his latest work by Elise Beauchamp in the The Times-Picayune of that city was not favorable, not least because the reviewer believed that the book painted a false picture of New Orleans. In the words of Ms. Beauchamp, "It is shudder inspiring, to contemplate what the editors of Harper's must picture the city of New Orleans as being like." The reviewer also objected to "wooden" and unrealistic characters.

On the other hand, W. G. Rogers, although not enamored with the novel, reviewed Max's book in a more balanced way in The Ithaca Journal. Rogers found that, "White, whose previous evocations of creative workers have been very worthwhile, may again be interpreting the artistic spirit. But I think he's just having fun; it's an exercise in fancy, he lets his imagination run, and gleefully lifts his hands from the wheel."

The Man Who Carved Women From Wood has a Kirkus Review, which describes the book's characters in some detail.

Max White's Later Years and Unpublished Works

Max White's Travels (1949-1953)

Publication of  The Man Who Carved Women From Wood marked a turning point in Max White's career. Although he continued to write novels and plays, Max's later works remained unpublished and thus his movements and activities went largely unrecorded in the newspapers of the day. William J. White, Max's father, died at Auburn in August 1949, almost exactly 1 month before Max's fifth novel was published. Max was still living in New Orleans at that time. If Max traveled to Auburn for his father's funeral, it was not recorded in the Auburn newspaper.

The timing of Max's removal from New Orleans is not known. However, Max spent time in Italy, France, and Spain in 1951. When he returned to New York City from Le Havre, France aboard the Aquitania in November of that year, his address was listed as 247 Waverly Place in Manhattan. Presumably, he had taken up residence in New York City before his trip to Europe.

The Citizen-Advertiser published an article in 1952 that mentioned Max White among prominent alumni of the Auburn newspaper and its predecessors. The article referenced Max's travels in Europe and stated that he was then (1952) living in Colorado. But, by the time of his mother's death in September 1953, Max was again living in New Orleans. An Auburn newspaper article in 1954 refers to Max being in Auburn in 1953, presumably during his mother's illness or to attend her funeral.

Tyrone Power Buys Screen Rights to Max White's In The Blazing Light

Film and stage star Tyrone Power announced in May 1954 that he planned to make and star in, as the Spanish painter Goya, a film based on Max White's book, In The Blazing Light. This story was picked up by The Citizen-Advertiser at Auburn.

Tyrone Power, stage and film star, has announced, according to New York papers, that he is going to star in "In The Blazing Light," story of the life of Goya, Spanish painter, which he will produce independently in Spain next year. Based on the novel of the same name by Max White, Auburn author, the film will be produced by Mr. Power's Copa Productions. Mr. White left Auburn a year ago after having spent much time previously in Spain, France and Italy. He went from here to New Orleans, thence to California and at present is in New York City. . . . The New York Herald Tribune quotes Tyrone Power as saying: "I've always wanted to do Goya's life, because he was not only a great painter but also a great matador. The possibilities of excitement are tremendous. Also, we have the assurance of the Spanish government that we will have their co-operation in making the film.". . .

-- Thomas Tryniski (scan), Roger Post (transcriber), Auburn Author's Book to Be Filmed (Auburn, Cayuga Co., NY, The Citizen-Advertiser, Wednesday, 26 May 1954), Old Fulton New York Post Cards http://www.fultonhistory.com

Tyrone Power's plan to make the referenced movie does not seem to have been carried out in practice. He only lived another 4 years, during which time he starred in eight other movies. Copa Productions made only three movies, none of them In The Blazing Light.

Max White's Hobbies

We know from the reviews of  How I Feed My Friends that Max enjoyed cooking for, and entertaining, his friends. The critical review of The Man Who Carved Women From Wood by Elise Beauchamp in the The Times-Picayune contains the following passage:  "White may be an excellent cook and an interesting companion and possessed of a wonderful collection of rugs, but he certainly is an uninspired novelist. . . ." Here we learn that Max was a collector of rugs.

Max White's Unpublished Manuscripts

Max White's papers were donated to the Princeton University Library by Princeton graduate Thomas Colchie in 2014. Colchie is a literary agent, editor, and translator. The papers consist of manuscripts comprising Max's unpublished works and his correspondence. As may be seen, Max's manuscripts include seven novels and five plays, plus a number of shorter works. He apparently continued to write in his later years. Had even a small number of these works been published, the name "Max White" may not have sunken into obscurity.

Max White's Travels (1958-1978) and Death (1978)

Letters relating to a planned collaboration between Alice B. Toklas (Gertrude Stein's partner) and Max to write an actual autobiography of Alice (as opposed to the one Stein famously wrote) show that Max was living in Paris during the first half of 1958. Max cancelled a contract with the planned publisher of the Toklas book in June 1958 and returned to New York City. How long Max had been in Paris before 1958 is not certain. Max may have again returned to Paris after 1958. Don Skemer writes in the RBSC Manuscripts Division News that Max spent many of his later years in Paris. In the end, however, Max seems to have resided in Manhattan. Raymond Theodore White, Max's older brother, died at Auburn in 1975, at which time Max was listed as living in New York City. Max died on 31 January 1978 with his last residence listed as "New York, New York, New York," (i.e., Manhattan) in the Social Security Death Index.

I have found neither an obituary for Charles William "Max" White nor a place of burial.

Resources For Locating Books By Charles William "Max" White

Cornell University Library

• Title: Anna Becker; Author: White, Charles William, 1906-; Language: English; Call number: PS3545.H667 A8; Location: Library Annex https://newcatalog.library.cornell.edu/catalog/2362804
• Title: Tiger tiger; Author: White, Charles William, 1906-; Language: English; Call number:  PS3545.H667 T5; Location:  Library Annex
  https://newcatalog.library.cornell.edu/catalog/2362808
• Title: In the blazing light; Author: White, Charles William, 1906-; Language: English; Call number:  PS3545.H667 I3; Location:  Library Annex https://newcatalog.library.cornell.edu/catalog/2362805
• Title: The midnight gardener; Author: White, Charles William, 1906-; Language: English; Call number:  PS3545.H667 M6; Location:  Olin Library https://newcatalog.library.cornell.edu/catalog/2362806

-- Cornell University Library information provided by Linda Post Van Buskirk

Seymour Library

The Seymour Library in Auburn had copies of some of Max White's books in the era in which they were published. It is possible that these copies still exist.

Booksellers

Max White's books are available on the used books market. AbeBooks has most of them, as does Amazon. E-bay and Etsy have some as well.

Charles William "Max" White: Auburn's Forgotten Literary Son - Part II

Max White, Author of Fiction

Max White's Early Literature

Charles William White settled in New York City following his return from France in 1933. Charles must have been engaged in creative writing from this time forward although he may have begun even earlier during his stays in France and Spain. In either case, Charles had assumed the pen name "Max White" by 1934 and had gained publication of a group of his short stories that year. One of these stories, A Pair of Shoes, was chosen for republication by Houghton, Mifflin Company in Edward J. O'Brien's Best Short Stories - 1935. Other authors appearing in O'Brien's 1935 selections included William Faulkner, Erskine Caldwell, Sarah Haardt, William Saroyan, Allan Seager, Thomas Wolfe, and Morley Callaghan.

Max White Among the Literati and Artists

Charles William "Max" White (1906-1978)
Alice Neel, Max White, 1935, oil on linen, Smithsonian American Art Museum, © 1970, HARTLEY S. NEEL, Museum purchase, 1989.14

Max White was a member of the arts community in and around Greenwich Village, Manhattan, during the 1930s, according to Don Skemer of the Manuscripts Division of the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library. One of Max's friends was the artist, Alice Neel, who painted his portrait (above) in 1935 and another in 1961. Among other friends in later years were Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. Stein was enthusiastic about Max's literary work as indicated by her correspondence to Max in the Princeton archive of Max's manuscripts and correspondence.

Anna Becker, Max White's First Novel

Stackpole Sons of New York City published Max White's first novel, Anna Becker, on 15 February 1937. The book received a favorable review by Rose C. Feld of the New York Herald Tribune, parts of which were quoted in The Citizen-Advertiser.

Max White, a newcomer in the field of long fiction, has written a book that will place him in the forefront of the younger novelists. "Anna Becker" as a novel and as a heroine defies classification and is insistent in demand for speculative attention. Rarely are originality of plot, characterization and style so finely welded to make a powerful structure. The conventional-minded may find flaws in expression and unevenness in flow of narrative, but Max White has written no conventional novel and obviously has no use for conventional tools. . . . The book moves with the undertones of swift rushing water under ice. . . . With brilliant technique White builds his characters into persons with flesh and blood. Some will compare his style to Faulkner and some to Hemingway. It is neither. It is straight White, distilled out of complexity that finds expression on the page with confounding simplicity that may be mistake for naivete. "Anna Becker" is the story of a woman who is shocked into emotional and intellectual integrity by physical assault. . . . What Max White has achieved is making credible the development of a situation which in the hands of a tyro would have turned into an artificial melodrama.

-- Thomas Tryniski (scan), Roger Post (transcriber), First Novel by Young Auburnian Wins Exceptional Encomiums, Striking Originality Acclaimed (Auburn, Cayuga Co., NY, The Citizen-Advertiser, Monday, 15 February 1937), Old Fulton New York Post Cards http://www.fultonhistory.com

A Kirkus Review exists for this book as well. Anna Becker was published in England ca. July 1937. This month saw Max White traveling to Auburn to visit his parents at 139 East Genesee Street before returning to New York City where he was working on two more novels.

The Lady of Respectability, A Novella

Max White again visited his parents in Auburn in July 1938. He spent some or all of the winter of 1938-39 in California before returning to New York City where his novella, "The Lady of Respectability," was featured in the March-April 1939 issue of Story magazine as "the novella of the month." Max's short novel was about 50 pages in length. Later, in July 1939, Max again came to Auburn to visit his parents. He repeated this trip in June 1940 at which time he anticipated publication of his next novel in the fall.

Tiger, Tiger, Max White's Second Novel

Duell, Sloan & Pearce published Max White's second novel, Tiger, Tiger, in October 1940. Gertrude Stein, author of The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, was favorably impressed by White's work, as indicated in a Kirkus Review of Tiger, Tiger. At Auburn, The Citizen-Advertiser took notice of Max White's new novel.

In a review of the book published in Sunday's Herald-Tribune "Books," Florence Haxton Bullock referred to it as "a fascinating record giving the whole story--mental, moral, emotional, technical--of the growth of an artist." The review concluded by saying, "Here is an excellent novel of a painter's life, as earthy and detailed less exotic, but almost as dramatic as the novelized lives of Van Gogh and Gauguin."

-- Thomas Tryniski (scan), Roger Post (transcriber), 'Tiger Tiger,' New Novel by Max White, Reviewed in Herald Tribune (Auburn, Cayuga Co., NY, The Citizen-Advertiser, Wednesday, 16 October 1940), Old Fulton New York Post Cards http://www.fultonhistory.com

A much more lengthy review of Tiger, Tiger appeared in The Citizen-Advertiser the following month.

It may be superfluous to probe the meaning of an author's title, but when Max White chose 'Tiger Tiger' for his new novel of an artist's struggle to find his own true medium of expression, he invited conjecture. Mr. White . . . may have meant that Blake's tiger, "burning bright in the forests of the night," is "the relentless force of genius," as one critic suggests; but we prefer to believe that - the tiger is human nature, neither sentimentalized nor depraved but just it a-moral self, fierce with the lust of life, challenging mortal hand or eye to frame its fearful symmetry. This is where the artist comes in; for it is John Martin's struggle to frame human nature searchingly but without over-emphasis, to learn from other artists only to promote his own originality, that is the real story. The physical action, therefore, is subordinate to the inner progress. . . . it is the artist's pilgrimage, influenced but not conditioned by geographical change, that is the meat of the book. . . . Many of the pictures Max White draws are unforgettable, particularly those in the Spanish sequence, though one needs a hardihood to approach some of them, so cruel they are in their understatement of brutality. . . . And yet in John Martin one sees a great deal of Max White. An artist in words has chosen the symbols of another art to delineate the stages in his own creative development. . . . Max White's diction is like the brushwork of a modern painter, and he has cultivated it with the same fidelity. His sentences are uneven strokes, applied in different directions to his prose canvas. . . . the impact of the whole is undeniable. . . . the events which have a way of happening outside the will of the characters, the descriptions, three-dimensional rather than the flat posters of average fiction; even the characters most of them, especially the Spanish father and the French girl Claire, drawn with exceptional insight. . . . R. W. C."

-- Thomas Tryniski (scan), Roger Post (transcriber), 'Tiger Tiger,' New Novel by Max White Tells of Artist's Struggle (Auburn, Cayuga Co., NY, The Citizen-Advertiser, Tuesday, 12 November 1940), Old Fulton New York Post Cards http://www.fultonhistory.com

Charles William "Max" White, Soldier

Charles William White enlisted as a Private on 9 April 1942, possibly under the name Max White and presumably in the U.S. Army, about 4 months after Pearl Harbor. Details of his enlistment have not been found, but it probably occurred at New York City. A U.S Department of Veterans Affairs record under the name Max White, shows a second enlistment date of 9 September 1942, the apparent date of his commission as an Army officer, because other evidence reveals that by November 1943, Charles was serving as a Company Commander in North Africa. His rank and unit have not been found. Charles was released from the Army on 25 November 1944.

To Be Continued

Charles William "Max" White: Auburn's Forgotten Literary Son - Part I

Who Was Charles William "Max" White?

Points in time are always receding into history, some remembered well and others soon forgotten. The same might be said for writers. Some authors writing in the first half of the 20th Century earned enduring fame and some faded away. Charles William White, a native of Auburn, Cayuga Co., New York writing under the pen name "Max White," seems to have ended up in the latter category despite having a handful of his novels published by major houses.

Parents and Family

Charles William White was born on 6 June 1906 in Auburn, the son of William J. White and Nellie A. Post White, both of whom originally hailed from the Town of Fleming, Cayuga Co., New York. Charles had an older brother, Ray Theodore White, but no other siblings. At that time, Auburn was a thriving industrial city. Charles's father worked as a Foreman for D. M. Osborne & Company, a manufacturer of farm implements, which became part of the International Harvester Company in 1903. Charles's mother was a housewife. The family lived first at 20 Beach Avenue and subsequently at 89 Nelson Street before settling permanently at 139 East Genesee Street in Auburn by 1915.

Grade and High School Years

Charles appears to have attended the Evans Street School following his family's move to East Genesee Street. This school was less than a block from his house. Charles and Worden Gilboy sang two duets during an entertainment program presented to members of the Evans Street School Parent-Teachers' Association in May 1916. This early musical ability must have been followed by piano lessons for the lad because he gave a well-received piano solo at a Second Baptist Church reception in May 1920. During Charles's senior year at Auburn High School, he was a member of the Chorus for the Senior Playlet and appeared in a Nativity tableau during Christmas exercises. His piano lessons apparently had continued through his high school years because in March 1925 he performed at a Piano Recital presented by students of Miss Alice M. Jones during which he played Chopin's "Prelude, Opus 28, No. 5" and Sibelius's "Romance."

Little other information about the teen years of Charles William White appears in the papers of the day. He is mentioned in relation to the annual Boy Scout fund-raising campaign of 1921 as one of the Scouts who appeared in uniform at the Auburn Chamber of Commerce before receiving special letters to hand-deliver later in the day to start the campaign. Charles graduated from Auburn High School in the "General" curriculum ca. 25 June 1925. This curriculum may not have provided adequate preparation for college entrance because the School Board re-admitted Charles in September of that year to do post-graduate college preparatory work. He was again listed as a graduate of Auburn High School in 1926, apparently having successfully completed his courses.

College Years

Charles was admitted to Middlebury College at Middlebury, Addison Co., Vermont in the fall of 1926. He completed two years of study as a Freshman and Sophomore in the Class of 1930 at Middlebury. Charles then traveled to Paris, France, presumably during late summer 1928, to begin a year's study at the Sorbonne. He arrived back in the United States in July 1929 after having sailed from Cherbourg, France aboard the Aquitania. Charles soon returned to France for another year's study, this time at the University of Nancy at Nancy, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Lorraine, France where he received a Diploma in 1930. He again returned to Auburn in September 1930, having sailed from Le Havre, France aboard the Lancastria.

Charles William White, Newspaper Editor

Rudolph W. Chamberlain, Editor of The Auburn Advertiser-Journal, was given a year's leave from the newspaper in November 1930 to write a biography of Thomas Mott Osborne, who had been a prominent Auburnian. At this time, Mr. Chamberlain passed day-to-day editorial responsibilities at The Advertiser-Journal to Charles William White who then became the paper's Editorial Writer and Associate Editor. Charles's newspaper career probably didn't last beyond June 1931, however, because at that time The Auburn Advertiser-Journal and The Auburn Citizen were merged to become The Citizen-Advertiser, most likely rendering his Associate Editorship redundant.

Charles spent 6 weeks in Washington, DC between about the middle of August and the end of September 1931. A newspaper item documents the trip but fails to reveal its purpose. It may be presumed that Charles faced some difficulty finding employment in the depths of the Great Depression. He drops out of sight in Auburn after his Washington trip only to re-emerge at New York City when he returned from Cherbourg, France, again aboard the Aquitania, at the end of June 1933. Charles is known to have traveled in France and Spain during this interval. The duration of his travels and how he made his living during this time remains a mystery.

To Be Continued