Times Literary Supplement

Courtesy of University of British Columbia

The Times Literary Supplement first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to The Times, but became a separate publication in 1914. Many distinguished writers have been contributors, including T. S. Eliot, Henry James, and Virginia Woolf, but reviews were normally anonymous until 1974, during which year signed reviews were gradually introduced under the editorship of John Gross.

Lowry refers to the publication in his novel Ultramarine when Dana tells Popplereuter; "What I could achieve would be that usual self-conscious first novel, to be reviewed in the mortuary of the The Times Literary Supplement, a "crude and unpleasant work", something of that nature, of which the principal character would be no more or less, whether in liquor or in love, than the abominable author himself. I fear, also, that the disease is a childish one, diarrhoea scribendi simply." (Pg. 90).

Ronald Binns in 'Lowry's Anatomy of Melancholy' comments on the above passage:

The voice speaking here seems to be less Dana Hilliot's than Malcolm Lowry's, signalling with defensive irony the autobiographical quality of this first novel and its author's acute self-consciousness of the literary weaknesses that can follow on from such transparently-personal inspiration. If the confession was meant to neutralize or provoke the critical response from that particular organ of the English literary establishment it failed, and the paper's reviewer merely noted that "Ultramarine reads less as a novel than as the first expansion of shorthand notes taken with a view to making a novel out of a new experience," finding much of the dialogue boring and concluding that "If the art of writing is imitation the author has mastered it; if reconstruction enters into it he has yet some way to go, for he has not attempted to fuse the objective and subjective elements of his narrative into a whole."  Canadian Literature, 64 (Spring 1975), pp. 8-23

Ultramarine was reviewed anonymously in The Times Literary Supplement, July 13th, 1933, p. 481

Mukden Daily News

Lowry refers to a newspaper called the Mukden Daily News in his novel Ultramarine: "Andy threw down an old copy of the Mukden Daily News; the native tore it into strips, set fire to them, swallowing them one by one, and produced the newspapers whole again, and folded, from his right ear." (Pg. 76).

Though Mukden (Shenyang) is in Manchuria, there is no evidence to date that the news paper existed. Lowry may be referring to the The Manchuria Daily News despite its name was issued twice a month published at least from the early 1920's and perhaps earlier. In 1931 it was acquired by a subsidiary of the South Manchurian Railway and was liquidated in 1945 at the end of the war. Some publications were printed in Dairen.

Honolulu Star-Bulletin

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin was a daily newspaper based in Honolulu, Hawaii. On July 1, 1912: The Hawaiian Star and Evening Bulletin merged to form the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Riley Allen became editor. Joseph Ballard Atherton and sons Charles H. and Frank Cooke became owners of the Star-Bulletin, the latter becoming the first president. Wallace Farrington became vice president and general business manager. In 1929, after Wallace Farrington completed eight years as territorial governor, Frank Cooke Atherton turned control of the Star-Bulletin over to Farrington, who was named president and publisher. Read more on Wikipedia

Lowry refers to the newspaper in his novel Ultramarine; "The Honolulu Star Bulletin says, "A name to conjure with". You see, unemolumented but monumental." (Pg. 95) Lowry has been attributed with "inventing" the word unemolumented (Supplement to the Oxford English Dictionary IV ed. R.W. Burchfield). Lowry is joking that he may be monumental but received no compensation or salary for his work. There is a latter echo in the 1940 poem "All I conjure of names from oblivion." (Poem 253 The Collected Poetry of Malcolm Lowry).