[name blotted out; possibly Thomas Masaryk] has just sent some nice pictures of Bohemia. Is sending some for her and Irene and several to be framed for Annie Pavelka. Enclosing a check to buy some tulips for mother. Enjoyed Mary Virginia's visit. Willie [Stout #820]
Did not forget their commencement. Has shown their pictures to friends in Pasadena and New York as examples of the fine Bohemian boys in Nebraska. Has had a commencement of her own—honorary degree at Princeton. Met the Lindberghs. Sorry not to stop when she came through, but will be there before another year goes by. Willa Cather [Stout #1058]
Please destroy her letters to Annie Fields. They are not genuinely characteristic in tone, since she was never comfortable with Mrs. Fields on paper, though she was in person. P.S.: No, please send the letters; will decide whether to return any to him to retain. Willa Cather [Stout #1084]
Please have Mrs. Burden [storekeeper] pack up a box of Christmas groceries for Mrs. Lambrecht and purchase some good coffee for Annie Pavelka. Has sent Annie a check and some discarded clothes. Is sending a check to [name blocked out]. But the spectacle of poverty may be even harsher in the city. Willie [Stout #1205]
International Mark Twain Society has voted My Ántonia a silver medal, but must go to St. Louis to receive it. She might enjoy reading enclosed report done for the Society. Please don't show people in Red Cloud who are spiteful or would gape at Annie Pavelka to see how dissimilar Ántonia is. Why won't people believe fiction is not a direct portrait of real people? "Two Friends" not about Mr. Miner and Mr. Richardson, but the emotional response to them felt by a child. It recreates a memory. Similarly, Ántonia sums up emotions about immigrant people she knew there. Mr. Sadilek's suicide was the first thing she heard about upon arriving in Nebraska. Her fiction has always been a precise representation of her feelings, never faked or exaggerated feeling. P.S.: Enjoyed seeing Irene when she was in New York. Willie [Stout #1214]
Sorry to hear he has had influenza. Has three questions:(1)Is he still interested in doing a subscription edition? Appreciates his not persisting about it during the past year when she was so weighed down by other cares. (2) Is it true a garage now stands on the site of Annie Fields's house at 148 Charles Street? (3) Is he willing to grant permission to reprint the preface she wrote for Mayflower edition of Jewett? Wonders if it is even wise to try to talk about Jewett these days; her language and sensibility almost archaic. Nervy young people of Jewish and Greek extraction associated with New York University have imposed their language instead. But gets letters now and then from people who are interested in Jewett. Willa Cather [Stout #1301]
Has not been well the past few months, but has appreciated her letters. Glad she could get a washing machine with the $55 sent at Christmas, but wants to pay the other $10 it cost. Please call it "Willie's Washer." Always liked Willie better than Willa. Sending a box of clothes, some worn very little, for herself or her daughters. Willa Cather [Stout #1318]
Yes, may keep her name on the roll of PEN, but does not care to meet visiting dignitaries or go to meetings. Writers should spend their time writing instead of talking about it. Was pleased by his review of Katherine Anthony's book on Louisa May Alcott. Glad to know he is as tired of Freudian extremes as she is. Annie Fields once asked her to destroy some letters that included some from Alcott. They seemed cheerful, friendly, and practical, with no trace of trauma from having dealt with naked men as a nurse. Wishes now the letters were still in existence to refute the likes of Anthony. Willa Cather [Stout #1400]
Will consider placing Jewett's letters there when ready to place them at all. They are personal letters and mean a great deal to her. Allowed Mrs. Fields to use letters that seemed to have a public interest, because she was convinced they provided good advice to any young writer. Willa Cather [Stout #1556]
Sorry not to have written in so long. The world is all in distress, everyone's lives disrupted. All the young people in her family caught up in the war. Mary Virginia and husband, Dick Mellen, at Camp Carson in Colorado, and her brother at a camp in Arizona, one of the least attractive spots in the state. Enjoyed having Mary Virginia in town for a visit recently. Another niece's husband is commander of an aircraft carrier in the Pacific. Everyone lives in suspense. Will paste their Christmas card with picture of Beacon Street into Annie Fields's Memories of a Hostess. Doesn't understand why Boston has messed up the area around Trinity Church. Spent last summer in Maine; very comfortable in spite of poor food. Wishing them a happy new year. Willa Cather. P.S.: Has sprained right hand again and is back in Dr. Ober's brace. [Stout #1657]
