Since Henry Louis Mencken died at 75 nine months ago (TIME, Feb. 6), his prowess as editor, critic and scholar has inspired many a praiseful chorus. Last week Mencken's own voice floated out of the past to re-create his sparkle as a conversationalist and his flinty views on a range of targets—including his own craft. The Library of Congress issued two long-playing records ($7.50) of an interview made for its files by Mencken and the Baltimore Sun's Donald H. Kirkley Sr. Taped in June 1948, only five months before a stroke ended his career, the interview is the only record that...
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