Dear Mr. Auden, What kindness—that you should have defended not only my repudiated manuscript but my present booklet. I look forward eagerly to this review, which you too unselfsparingly wrote, I am sure, despite many pressures. Regarding my turned … Continued
In September of 1953, Lionel Trilling published his essay “A Triumph of the Comic View,” a very favorable assessment of Saul Bellow’s The Adventures of Augie March. Below, Bellow writes Trilling with his appreciation. TO LIONEL TRILLING October 11, 1953 … Continued
In the summer of 1935, F. Scott Fitzgerald traveled to Asheville, North Carolina, and took a room at the Grove Park Inn, a plush residential hotel. He was concerned about his lungs, and the mountainous region of western NC was … Continued
In 1920, novelist Arnold Bennett published a collection of essays entitled Our Women, arguing that men were cognitively and creatively superior to women. Bennett’s book, together with Orlo Williams’ The Good Englishwoman, were reviewed favorably by New Statesman columnist ‘Affable Hawk.’ … Continued
Throughout the 1930s and 40s, E.E. Cummings was one of Ezra Pound’s only political confidants. Their correspondence is an unsettling record of their flirtation with, and ultimate embrace of, anti-communism, anti-semitism, and (in Pound’s case, if not also in Cummings’) … Continued
Below, Marcel Proust shares with writer and critic Camille Vettard some reflections on his method and craft. The letter is dated to “early October, 1922.” Mon cher ami I should like to answer your questions at length, but I am … Continued
Below, Thomas Wolfe recounts for Aline Bernstein his (drunken, hapless, violent) experience of Oktoberfest in Munich, which resulted in “a mild concussion of the brain, four scalp wounds, and a broken nose,” as well the (ultimately unfounded) fear that he’d … Continued
Below, Paul Bowles writes to James Purdy about his summer in Tangier, which was spent “with the Beat nucleus throbbing in our midst.” TO JAMES PURDY October 3, 1961, Tangier Thanks so much for sending a letter in exchange for a … Continued
Below, Kenneth Patchen offers aspiring editor/publisher Jasper Wood advice on how to run a literary journal. October 2, 1944, NYC Dear Jasper Wood: What a wonderful letter! How is this for your magazine’s name: OTSOTA (ON THE SIDE OF THE … Continued
In this trailer, we go down to Maryland to spy on Elle Muliarchyk as she shoots portraits of Stephen Dixon for our October issue. Filmed at Mr. Dixon’s Baltimore residence. About the subjects: Stephen Dixon is a two-time finalist for the … Continued
