J. D. Salinger_ A Life - Kenneth Slawenski [55]
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By September 1944, Salinger had submitted his short story “I’m Crazy” to Whit Burnett, who must have been appalled to receive it. The first story narrated by Holden Caulfield, it was certainly one of the “six chapters” Salinger had completed for the book promised to Story Press. Burnett knew this and, upon receiving “I’m Crazy” as a separate short story, must have seen his hope for a novel fade before his eyes. Salinger had to be aware that he would have this reaction. He must have known too that Burnett could never publish the story.
There are two possible reasons why Salinger submitted “I’m Crazy” at this time. Unsure that he would survive the war, he may have sought the assurance that Holden would have his say regardless. It is also likely that Salinger presented the story in reaction to Burnett’s June reversal on the Young Folks anthology. Burnett was not alone in possessing options that could be withdrawn. Salinger was the source of his longed-for Holden Caulfield novel and held complete power over that prospect. His submission of “I’m Crazy,” with the implied intention of releasing his novel chapters as individual stories, might force the editor to reconsider publishing the collection.
Burnett was holding “I’m Crazy” when Salinger readdressed the anthology issue in his exuberant letter of September 9. Without this knowledge, Salinger’s attitude regarding the collection might appear ambiguous; but the submission of “I’m Crazy,” together with the letter’s enthusiastic tone and three-page postscript, leaves little doubt that he was asking Burnett to reconsider publishing the collection. War or no war, he said, he was continuing to write, and between April 14 and D-Day had completed six stories.* Even on the front lines, he had begun another three. Of these new stories, Salinger was confident enough to include them in a list to be used if Burnett reconsidered publishing the anthology. Of the stories already completed, the list included “The Long Debut of Lois Taggett,” “Elaine,” “The Young Folks,” “Last Day of the Last Furlough,” “Wake Me When It Thunders,” “Death of a Dogface,” “The Children’s Echelon,” “Once a Week Won’t Kill You,” “Boy Standing in Tennessee,” “Bitsy,” “Two Lonely Men,” and “I’m Crazy.” Of the three unfinished stories, Salinger had titled only “The Magic Foxhole.” He was unsure whether to name the second story “What Babe Saw” or “Oh-La-La.” The third story was not named at all, and he simply called it “Another piece untitled.”
Within weeks, Whit Burnett had recommitted to publishing the Young Folks anthology. He detained “I’m Crazy” until October 26, by which time Salinger had returned to combat. In a short note sent to Harold Ober announcing Story’s acceptance of “Once a Week Won’t Kill You,” Burnett stated that he was “returning the other story of his which we have been holding. I’M CRAZY.”19 Salinger’s second unfinished piece would not be named either “What Babe Saw” or “Oh-La-La” but would be published in 1945 as “A Boy in France.” The unnamed story was either “This Sandwich Has No Mayonnaise” or “A Young Man in a Stuffed Shirt,” an unpublished war story later rejected by Burnett and since withheld by the author.
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Of all the stories of J. D. Salinger to remain unpublished, perhaps none is finer than “The Magic Foxhole,” the first story he wrote while fighting on the front line. Based upon Salinger’s own experiences during D-Day and succeeding encounters and the only work in which Salinger depicted active combat, “The Magic Foxhole” is an angry story and a strong condemnation of war. It is a story that could have been written only by a soldier.*
Its message countered the propaganda common in 1944 with a frankness that could have been interpreted as subversive. After