In a letter to Robert Linscott, his editor at Random House, Truman Capote gives his own definition of success and confides his hopes that his current “love”—his book, Other Voices, Other Rooms—will be beautiful “because it seems important to me that people try to write beautifully, now more than ever.”
Probably May, 1947
Dear Bob,
Thanks for the letter, thanks ever so much, and I am glad you like the story: I am aware, of course, that there are faults in it, but as far as I am concerned I accomplished at least eighty percent of what I set out to do, and that is the most I can ask of so elusive a thing. It is not, for one thing, as concentrated as I should like it to have been, but [the] more or less poetic nature of the material defied that kind of diamond focus: I had to use a soft lens, a suggestive approach. I do hope it will have some success; that is, I hope that a few reader’s [sic] will know and feel a little of what I put into it, for I never want to perpetrate a fraud, and by fraud I mean anything that wastes a reader’s time. The reason it was turned down by Mlle. (for which I thank God!) is very complex, and very personal: I had a terrible argument with George Davis, in which he said, among other things, that I was a “prima donna” and etc.: all this merely because I would not consent to having the story cut, and refused to revise the more, as Mrs. Blackwell called them, “shocking parts.” Also, he had learned in some curious way that Marylou had read the story, and he thought this “shocking” too. The whole thing was reduced to the most disgusting and amateurish level, the sort of thing that I should never allow myself to be mixed up in. I was really very afraid, as you know, that they would print it, which would’ve been a tragedy from my point of view, so all in all I am satisfied with the results. I hope Marylou does not have any trouble, I mean I hope her business dept. lets her buy it. I haven’t heard from her as yet. And I also hope Rita [Smith] has learned a lesson, for all of this is her fault: her intentions were of course the very best, and I love her for her loyalty, but she does seem to have strange Ideas sometimes of what loyalty constitutes. I think she realizes now that she made a mistake. Also I wish you had read the story with a clearer mind.
I am working on the book and it is really my love and today I wrote two pages and oh Bob I do want it to be a beautiful book because it seems important to me that people try to write beautifully, now more than ever because the world is so crazy and only art is sane and it has been proven time after time that after the ruins of a civilization are cleared away all that remains are the poems, the paintings, the sculptures, the books.
LIFE was here all last week, and they took a great many pictures of me, and I hope some [of] them turn out well, though I don’t suppose they will use more than one, if that. Dear Bob, I do not suppose you will feel much like writing me a letter there on your vacation, but if you do, please do. I miss you.
always
t
FURTHER READING
Read here for the NYT book review of Other Voices, Other Rooms, the book mentioned in the above letter
Listen to Capote read from his novella Breakfast at Tiffany’s here.