The
monthly magazine, The Smart Set, was founded by William D'Alton
Mann in 1900. Under the editorship of Arthur Grissom, the journal
concentrated on society news, gossip and literary criticism. However,
it soon began to publish the fiction of outstanding writers such as
Jack London,
Ambrose Bierce, Theodore
Dreiser, Floyd Dell and D.
H. Lawrence.
The standard of the journal improved under the editorship of H.
L. Mencken (1914-23). However, sales remained low and by the time
Mencken left in 1923 circulation had fallen to 25,000. The journal
ceased publication in May 1929.
(1)
Theodore Dreiser, letter to H.
L. Mencken about Smart Set (6th April, 1915)
I wish that I could say whole-heartedly that I liked Smart Set,
or that it has shown the kind of progress that I like in the last
six months. Under Mann in its profitable social days it had a glittering
insincerity and blasé pretense which I rather liked, shallow
as it was.
Why publish so many things in one number? Wouldn't it be better to
have one or two occasional very fine things than so many trivial ones?
When you started six or seven months ago I was hoping that along with
the touch that you now have - just a touch, however, - you would take
a tip from Reedy (John Reed) and the Masses, and do the serious
critical thing in an enlightening way.
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