Identifier	mcms051
Title	Student's test of H. L. Mencken's for Associated Newspaper Bureau School of Journalism
Transcript	ASSOCIATED NEWSPAPER BUREAU SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM World Building, New York STUDENT'S TEST . Name in full: Henry Louis Mencken Address: 1524 Hollins St., Baltimore, Md . Please answer following questions: Age? 19 Occupation? Clerical work in factory Time to devote to literary work? 4 hours a day What education? Graduate, at head of class, Balto Polytechnic Institute. Supplemented by home study What experience in travel? Small, with the exception of a western trip when very young Extent of reading heretofore? A systemic study of English literature Kind of writing you prefer? The work of modern writers of fiction: Thackeray, Kipling, Davis (when at his best) and Tennyson's poems What experience in writing? Have written short stories and some doggeral on topics of the day, but have made little effort to sell Anything published? The doggeral aforementioned -- in newspapers Do you wish to become an all-around journalist? Yes special writer? correspondent? critic and reviewer? story writer? what? Do you write easily? Moderately Do you expect or hope to make journalism or literary work your means of livelihood, or to make it a means of general culture? Expect to begin as a reporter and after that trust to hard work and luck for something better GRADES ON WORK SUGGESTIONS, ADVICE, ETC.
Creator	Associated Newspaper Bureau School of Journalism
Subject	Correspondence schools and courses Journalism--United States Mencken, H. L. (Henry Louis), 1880-1956
Description	Document showing the first page of H. L. (Henry Louis) Mencken's "student's test" for the Associated Newspaper Bureau School of Journalism. Completed but never sent, this document provides a glimpse into the 19-year-old Mencken's aspirations for a career in journalism. Even in his responses to the questions on the first page of this "test", Mencken's energy and impatience are evident. By the time he filled out this application ("age: 19"), he was already working evenings for the Baltimore Herald newspaper, probably only part time since he lists his occupation as "clerical work in factory" (i.e., the cigar factory formerly owned by his father) and claims to have only "4 hours a day" to devote to literary work. Mencken was familiar with correspondence courses, having already successfully completed a course in writing from a Cosmopolitan-organized correspondence school; the course had changed his writing style from "stilted" and "bookish" to more direct and simple. (Editor's note: Sections of this test such as GRADES ON WORK and SUGGESTIONS, ADVICE, ETC. are not included in the transcript, since these sections of the test were not completed.)
Publisher (Electronic Version)	Enoch Pratt Free Library
Holding Institution	Enoch Pratt Free Library
Date Original	1899
Date Digital	2010-11-17
Type	Text
Format	Digital reproduction of 1-page document, 31 x 22 cm
Source	H. L. Mencken Room; Scrapbook F178, page 81
Relation	Is Part Of the H. L. Mencken Collection Is Part Of the Maryland Digital Cultural Heritage Program
Coverage	1891-1900
Rights	This item is owned by the Estate of H. L. Mencken. Permission to publish or reproduce this item is required and must be obtained from the H. L. Mencken Estate. For more information, please call 410-396-5430 and ask to be connected to the Mencken Room.