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AUTHOR TO HIS CHILD, by                    
First Line: When you were born
Last Line: One your mother will read with pleasure.
Subject(s): Novels & Novelists


When you were born
We called you,
"Little Poem."
Your mother liked
Gay verses --
But God wanted her
For part of His Great Poem. . . .

You were a funny little verse --
She would have liked you.

Then --
You were a Short-short.
An incident or two --
And yet, a story;
Complete, in your way.

Now you are grown.
Privately,
I call you a Novelette.
A story. . . .
But not fully characterized.
Plotted. . . .
But no counter-plots.

A few more years --
And you will be a Novel.
A Complete Book-length Novel!
. . . . . . . I hope I've helped.
I hope we've created
A good Novel.

One your mother will read with pleasure.





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