THE RESOLUTE STEP INTO THE XXI CENTURY

A revelation made by the writer himself in the very beginning of his literary career is very characteristic: "Study of human nature is my greatest weakness. Not knowing God, I made man the subject of my religion and, of course, I quickly found out . . . how insignificant and how great he is!" And here is his humanistic, inspiring call to people at the end of his literary path: "And who is strong will serve the weak that they may become strong. He will devote his strength . . . to the making of opportunity for them to make themselves into men rather than into slaves and beasts."

There is plenty of evidence for the positive influence of the works of Jack London on the readers' mood and spirit. Such quality was noted by dozens of both foreign and Russian cultural activists and writers. One could make reference to Vasily Bykov, who called London an authority of young minds. One could quote such writers as Alexander Solzhenitsyn and Vladimir Karpov, or film director Eldar Ryazanov, as well as athletes and military people — in other words, those whose work requires them either to collect all their spiritual strength or let all their feelings show. Konstantin Paustovsky reveals how he used to cry during the harsh stories of Jack London. Andrei Platonov noted the similarity between the heroes of Hemingway and London — their behavior is relatively the same. "Behind rude words and deeds, behind unmerciful actions, hides a very human, kind, even sad, soul."

During the 1980s, there was an evident growth in the interest of the life and work of Jack London in the USA, even though such things as television, illustrated magazines, multifaceted, fast-paced life and stormy international events were allowing Americans less and less time for reading fiction. Almost every year, one after another, various collections of Jack London's works made their appearance: impressive, superbly published one-volume editions with facsimile illustrations from the years of his life, wonderful two-volume works and, published in large editions, inexpensive paperback books. In 1988, a three-volume collection of London's correspondence made its very first appearance.

American artist Robert Po showed a special initiative by creating a series of paintings based on the themes of such stories as "Strength of the Strong," "The War," "An Odyssey of the North", "Piece of Steak," and "The Red One." University academics initiated an extensive research and detailed study of the literary heritage left by the writer. We have already talked about standard biographical works dedicated to the analysis of the life and work of Jack London. A previously unpublished one-act play, Daughters of the Rich, found in the author's archives, caused a controversy. One of the American literary scholars presented a hypothesis that this play was not written by Jack London but authored by one his admirers from Glen Ellen, the actress Hilda Gilbert. It was further stated that this pragmatic individual convinced London to add his name as the author to ensure publication of this play, in which she herself was planning to play a leading part. To confirm his hypothesis, the scholar referred to Gilbert's letters and to her interview, published in 1913 and 1915. The self-promoting nature of that interview was evident, and the remaining letters of Jack London confirmed the opinion that Gilbert obviously exaggerated her close acquaintance with the writer. A note was found among her correspondence, addressed to Jack London, with a request to make some changes to the text of the play while she was rehearsing her part. The play was about to be staged in New York. As an opposing argument, James Sisson, who arranged for the play's publication, presented the following facts. First of all, the play was registered under the name of Jack London, in complete correspondence with American copyrights. Secondly, the copy of the play found in the archives has only the name of Jack London on it. It is, again, his name that appears on the title page. The play was staged and performed as a play by Jack London, according to the press at that time.

Sisson rejected another hypothesis stating that London, being a kind man, signed his name on several works written by other people. There is only one instance when this statement holds true: on George Sterling's request, London submitted his story, "The First Poet," under his name. However, Sterling was London's close friend and a talented poet. It should be noted, though, that in cases of co-authorship, London always indicated the names of his co-authors. This was the way he worked with Strunsky, and this was the case when he worked with Charles Goddard. London despised the dishonest intrigues of publishers and editors and was against attempts of "co-authors" to misappropriate someone else's works.

After the play Daughters of the Rich, another work, also recovered from the archives, was published. This drama, Gold, written in collaboration with Herbert Heron, was based on the themes of the Klondike stories. According to the newspapers, both plays were staged and performed by youth groups in California. The publications of two more multi-act plays were on their way. It looks like Russian fans will have an opportunity to read, and maybe even see on stage, some more of the "unknown" Jack London.

A hundred years ago, London's first story, "Story of a Typhoon off the Coast of Japan," was published. The beginning of the 1990s was incredibly favorable to the works of the American writer. Thematical collections of his sports-oriented and science fiction stories came out. For a collection titled A Relic of the Pliocene, I included such forgotten stories of utopian genre as "The Unparalleled Invasion" and "Goliah," as well as a few horror stories like "A Thousand Deaths" and "These Bones Shall Rise Again." The volume also included other science fiction stories that had been cast aside in previous collections.

It is characteristic that London tried to explain the world of the unknown from a viewpoint of common sense, using the facts of scientific discoveries and theories of his time. The writer had foreseen such things as the harnessing of the atom by humans, for example, and the creation of the laser beam. Such frightening themes as "plague of the 20th century" and the possibility of bacteriological war have also found reflection in the works of Jack London.

Almost 70 years later, such forgotten action novels as Adventure and The Mutiny of Elsinore have been republished. Single-volume editions of the writer's works are being published in various towns of the Russian Federation. The remarkable thing was that three Moscow publishing companies, together with Leningrad and Kharkhov publishing houses, each began publication of multi-volume sets of his works, taking the 1920s editions as a basis. Among specialists and readers alike, various suggestions were made about new translations of several famous works of Jack London. Some of the translations have become outdated and need sufficient revisions.

And so, the march of Jack London across Russia and the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States continues. Film versions of London's works, such as the movie The Sea-Wolf, have appeared on television again and again. The screenwriter, P.Todorovsky, and his co-authors have kept to a theme dear to London: the destruction of a despot, an amoral person. This movie, filmed in black-and-white, is full of dramatic appeal to keep one's spirits in the most hopeless circumstances. The leading characters of The Sea-Wolf, played by two wonderful actors A. Voznesensky and G. Finogenova, are the examples of courage and inspiring love. A mini-series of Martin Eden again appeared on television on three consecutive nights. Also, a radio version of the novel was broadcast by the great Russian bard V. Vysotlsky and the actor A. Ephros. The novel Hearts of Three was also made into a TV version. This novel was never made into a film in America. The Russian version, dealing with self-sacrifice and loyal friendship, is based solely on the novel itself, not on the film script. I thought the actors were very convincing and good choices. The lines of adventure and love are very authentic and touching.

The periodicals preferred publishing Jack London's works found more recently. Vokrug Sveta (Around the World) magazine, for example, published the action story,"The Devil's Dice Box," as well as several short stories from Jack London's Northern series, and the novel The Assassination Bureau, Ltd. In the meantime, Literary Russia featured articles on difficult problems the young writer encountered. Another newspaper, Nedelya, published Jack London's sweet but very unusual story, "The Handsome Cabin Boy." Such publishers as Knizhnoe Obozrenie [Book Review] and Rossiiskaya Gazeta [Russian Newspaper] also did not want to be left behind. Rossiiskaya Gazeta printed a section of Becky's memoirs as well as two stories by young Jack London. The Fabr publishers included twelve of London's stories in my translation of The Collected Works of Jack London, in 10 volumes. Finally, I have found and submitted to publication over 40 formerly unknown works of the writer, as well as articles and notes about my new findings and publications abroad. I counted them recently and was amazed — there are over 70 of them! Such zeal cannot have gone unnoticed by the interested readers of this wonderfully verbal artist and, probably, even furthered their interest.

There is something else I want to say to those Russian tourists for whom the name of London is sacred: When in California, always go to Oakland, to London Square. Professor of Moscow State University Evgenia Kuzmina, after visiting the United States in February of 1994, told me that another museum of Jack London was built. It shows the cabin from Alaska, "The First and Last Chance Saloon," and one other building, and combines rarities connected with London's life into one complex. Now, the entire corner is called Jack London Village. The saloon building, it appears, used to serve as a sleeping lodge for sailors and fishermen, and it was turned into a bar in 1883. It was here that Jack London made all the necessary arrangements for buying the Razzle-Dazzle and the Roamer, and it was here that he negotiated when building the Snark. London mentions this pub in his novel John Barleycorn and in his Tales of the Fish Patrol. The interior of the pub is kept the same as it was in the times of Jack. The clock on the wall has stopped at the time of the disastrous California Earthquake of 1906, and people like Robert Louis Stevenson, Ambrose Bierce, Erskin Caldwell and other outstanding writers used to come here often. Such were the last news.