EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS:
The Man Who Created Tarzan
by Irwin Porges
Ballantine Books, New York ~ © 1975 Brigham Young University
Press
Foreword
by Hulbert Burroughs
Tarzana, September 1, 1975
The publication of Irwin Porges' biography of Edgar Rice Burroughs is
a timely milestone and the ultimate addition to the literature of Burroughsiana.
It not only marks the centennial of ERB's birth, but more importantly it
is the first and only true and definitive account of the life and work
of this remarkably successful author.
Mr.
Porges is the first and only researcher who was afforded complete and uncensored
access to all of the Burroughs family's personal files as well as those
of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. My editorial work on the manuscript involved
corrections, addition of interesting material unknown to Porges, and the
preparation and production of illustrative matter. No attempt whatever
was made to produce a sympathetic book. Cele Porges, Irwin's talented wife,
devoted nearly three years researching the voluminous archives at our company
offices and warehouse in Tarzana. The result is a fascinating and well-written
story of a man and his career.
Contributing significantly to this volume is the wealth of photographic
and illustrative material. Seldom has the subject of a major biography
possessed the combined talents of writer, photographer, and artist. Sometime
in the 1890s ERB became interested in photography and from then on recorded
the people and places in his life.
A major portion of the photographs in this book are from his own photo
albums and negative files. His pen-and-ink sketches and cartoons are both
humorous and documentary.
The sheer quantity of good pictorial material available and our realization
that only a very limited number could be included because of space limitations
presented a rather frustrating challenge. From thousands of photographs
and drawings I selected about six hundred for enlargement to 8x10 size.
I shall never forget the four days I spent with charming Kerril Sue
Rollins, chief project editor of the biography at Brigham Young University
Press in Provo, Utah, selecting and placing each picture on the appropriate
page of text and the hard and painful decisions we made in reducing the
number from 600 to about 270.
Had it not been for the firm hand and character of Kerril Sue, the book
might well have contained an extra fifty pounds of photos! We swore that
some day we would publish an ERB photo-biography.
I think my Dad would have been pleased with this book. Irwin Porges
has organized and presented a great wealth of material in a way that gives
the reader a real insight into ERB the man. I knew him, of course, first
as a father. As such he was an extremely loving and kindly man-perhaps
overly generous and protective. He set a strong example of love of country,
honor, and integrity, as well as loyalty to family and friends. Porges
has captured the true essence of ERB with all his strengths and weaknesses.
This book will be a prime, standard source for all future Burroughs
researchers.
I thank and congratulate Irwin and Cele Porges for their prodigious
effort in researching and writing this book. The good people at Brigham
Young University Press will always have a special place in my heart. Without
the sincere dedication of Gail Bell, Kerril Sue Rollins, Jean Paulson,
Mac Magleby, and the other great people of BYU Press, I doubt that this
massive volume could have been published.
We are all greatly indebted to Ray Bradbury for his splendid introductory
essay. If ERB were alive today, he would be especially pleased for the
many times Ray has so generously acknowledged his indebtedness to ERB as
the inspiration for his own highly successful writing career. I never cease
to wonder at the number and diversity of the minds that have been and are
still being influenced by the imagination of Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Most important, ERB is gradually receiving the critical acclaim he was
denied in his lifetime. No longer is Tarzan of the Apes considered
mere entertainment - for Tarzan is the "Naked Ape" the tribal ancestor
of Marshall McLuhan. And ERB's wild imaginings among the stars are no longer
beneath the notice of serious men ; they have become subjects for scholars
and an inspiration to a new generation of writers of imaginative fiction.
Burroughs is remembered as a modest man who never took himself or his
work too seriously. His friends recall his ready sense of humor, his great
love of the outdoors, and his unbounded pride in his country. One scholar
suggests that the very last line of the last Tarzan novel may be taken
as ERB's own unintentional valedictory to a very meaningful life: "Thank
God for everything."
August 8, 1991
Hulbert "Hully" Burroughs, eldest
son of ERB, died at age 81 of a heart attack
|
On
February 10th Edgar Rice Burroughs received delivery of his new aircraft
and on February 12th his diary entry was “Soloed Perfect. Got My Wings.
Great Thrill.” His son Hulbert also soloed and on February 15th the staff
and pupils of The Pacific School of Aviation held a Solo Dinner for Hulbert
Burroughs and his father Edgar Rice Burroughs at the Hollywood Athletic
Club 1934.
