Typed note by Witter Bynner indicates that Roseboro' gave him the letters. Yes, certainly knows A Shropshire Lad. Don't her own poems show it? Traced Housman in Shropshire, where he seems unknown. Visited him in a boardinghouse in a dreary London suburb. He looked gaunt, seemed bitter, but is the only English poet now active whose work will endure. Though an instructor in Latin, he writes strictly from the level of a country boy. Willa S. Cather [Stout #88]
Hard to believe he [ Housman ] refused the money. What nobility! Still remembers, from when she paid that call along with two American friends, the holes in his shoes and in the carpet, couch with broken springs, his uneasiness. Manner stern and patrician. They all cried on the way back. [Stout #89]
Thanks for sharing what Miss Roseboro' said about the stories. Roseboro's own are a sentimental muddle. Best wishes for Dorothy's doctoral exam in May. Hopes to get to Vermont this summer. Will mainly be in New York near or with Edith Lewis. Hopes to finish novel there. Might take an English course at Columbia, if there is one in the summer. Isabelle still droopy from bad throat. Parents [Cather's] have just moved into a new, roomier house and want her to come help select furnishings, but she needs to finish the novel for McClure. Willie [Stout #97]
Thanks for the photo of herself. Is getting over the feeling of being disgraced with the firm. Can't understand why some people think she has done something terrible. Hopes to go to New York last week of March. Saw Paderewski perform. Has been feeling very low. Willa Sibert Cather [Stout #103]
Sending quotation from William Allen White. Please return it. Miss Lewis has had a relapse and they couldn't get a nurse. What is the doctor calling the bug he has? Sorry he didn't see Knopf. Viola Roseboro' has been telling her she can't find a copy of Ántonia. Stores in Chicago have been unable to get copies, and Brentano's says its order hasn't been filled. Willa Cather [Stout #495]
Has he recovered? Has been a hard winter. Sailing on May 19 if she can get a passport. Miss Roseboro' searched for four weeks before finding a copy of Ántonia for a gift. Willa Cather [Stout #503]
Had a wonderful voyage. Edith Lewis not so ill as usual. Enjoyed reading her novel on the way over. Several memorable characters and strong sense of community dynamics. Paris is lovely. Staying just across the river from the Louvre. Veterans in the park are a reminder of the price for such a beautiful civilization. Willa Cather [Stout #507]
Sending her an advance copy of the book, to be released December 7. Realizes she is not so interested in fiction any more, but much of this is not fiction but family stories and local stories, with an absolutely factual epilogue. Sorry not to have written sooner, but has been back from Canada only a few weeks and very occupied with the book. Easy to catch the manners of southern society, but the problem of evil in an intimate domestic setting difficult to catch. P.S.: House servants spoke one way to them and another way to each other. Willa Cather [Stout #1502]
Greatly appreciated her letter about the book. Writing it allowed recovery of early memories and escape from painful events. Glad it rings true to someone born a southerner. Willa Cather [Stout #1509]
Enclosing a letter written by Margaret Kennedy that Julian Street shared and did not want returned. Very tedious to have hand in splints here at the holiday season. Miss Lewis sends greeting. Willa Cather [Stout #1516]
