H.L. Mencken

H.L. Mencken, short for Henry Louis Mencken, was considered one of the most famous newspaper writers of the Roaring Twenties.

Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, H.L. Mencken always knew he wanted to be a journalist. After graduating from a Baltimore private school, Mencken hoped to write for a newspaper, but was told by his father that he would have to go to college, or work for the family cigar business. After graduating as valedictorian of his class, he made his way to the Baltimore Morning Herald, where he was turned down for a job.

Mencken lingered around the Baltimore Morning Herald offices long enough to be given an assignment. He became the youngest reporter for the publication, at age 18.  He would write stories about crimes and politics.

After making his way from writer, to city editor, then managing editor, Mencken lost interest in the pressures that came with daily newspapers in 1904. A fire had destroyed a large portion of downtown Baltimore. Mencken covered the story for 72 hours straight. It was at that point he turned his career to commentary and criticism.

Mencken was probably one of the most influential critics in the 1920s. He wrote columns that criticized literature, politics, music, religion, and society as a whole.

After the Herald closed down, Mencken started working at the Baltimore Evening Sun. He wrote a column for this publication, titled “The Free Lance.” In this column, he published his opinions on certain topics, with little desire of whether his readers agreed with him or not. These opinion pieces are what made him the famous writer he is.

Mencken made another change in his career when he turned to writing books and editing satirical magazines such as The Smart Set and the American Mercury. Coedited with George Jean Nathan, the American Mercury was famous for Mencken’s cynical style. The magazine included commentary pieces about politics, the arts, and sciences.

The harsh commentary that entertained readers of the 20s did the exact opposite in the 30s during the depression. He left the journalism industry because his opinions were too bold for the public. Readers started to believe that Mencken was associated with the Nazi Party of Germany because he had such strong Pro-German views.

Aside from his reputation declining once he left the journalism field, people didn’t care for him or his works because he was eventually charged as a racist and anti-Semite. Years after his death in 1948, his diaries were released that held entries containing racial and ethnic slurs.

Even though his later life didn’t reflect him as a good person, H.L. Mencken remains an influential commentary writer of the 1920s who always spoke his mind regardless of what others thought of him.

Sources:

Ritchie, Donald A. American Journalists: Getting the Story. New York: Oxford UP, 1997. Print.

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