A Calendar of the Letters of Willa Cather

36 letters found

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Results 11-20:

To Cyril Clemens,  Nov. 21, [1934], from New York ; WCPM 

Will not be able to go to St. Louis for the dinner. Still loves Huckleberry Finn as much as ever. Medal can safely be sent to her.   Willa Cather   [Stout #1240]

To the Very Rev. Francis R. Lee [Dean of St. Mark's Pro-Cathedral], n.d. [Nov. 1935?] pub. Hastings [Nebr.] Daily Tribune Dec. 2, 1935, quoted in full in Bohlke

Please convey greetings to Bishop and Mrs. George Beecher on the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of his consecration as bishop. Wishes she could be there on November 30. He has affected the lives of many people.   [Stout #1277]

To [Burges] Johnson,  Jan. 12, 1939 ; Amherst 

Gives permission to quote from anything in Not Under Forty and conditional permission to quote from letter to Pat Knopf explaining reasons for structure of The Professor's House. Prefers the distinct separations of that form to the mixture of unexpressed feelings typical of modern fiction, though it could have been done that way. Outland's life had become as real to the professor as his own; he became part of the old house. Glad Pat is studying with him.   Willa Cather   [Stout #1433]

To Carrie Miner Sherwood,  Mar. 22, 1941 ; WCPM 

Keeps thinking about her and wishes she could write a real letter, by hand. Was saddened by Mary's telegram telling of Walter's [Carrie's husband's] death, but had heard how ill he was. Also heard how beautifully she was taking care of him. Remembers first seeing his picture in her watch case when she was going away to school at St. Mary's. Has spent a great deal of time alone this winter enjoying precious memories like that. Sees very few people besides Mary Virginia and Yehudi Menuhin and wife. Will write again soon. Hand is improving since going to Dr. Ober, a surgeon from Boston. Enjoys remembering evenings she spent with Carrie and Walter ten years ago, when they both gave her good advice.   Willie   [Stout #1534]

To Mrs. George Whicher,  Apr. 22, 1942 ; PM 

Was in hospital with a bad throat and high temperature when her letter came. Right hand doing well now, under Dr. Ober's care. Did she get to hear Jack sing at St. Paul's Chapel March 15? Was in the hospital then, so couldn't go. Surprised to hear Jack is studying law, though his innate brightness will surely enliven the level of law practice in this country. Life is so hectic nowadays, with the stressfulness of world events. P.S.: Understands she met Sigrid Undset at Mount Holyoke. Glad American readers have been willing to read Undset's Return to the Future in spite of its praise for Japan. Undset liked the cleanness and elegance of the Japanese, in contrast to the dirtiness of the Russians. Gunnar's Daughter [translation of "Fortӕllingen om Viga-Ljot og Vigdis," published by Knopf in 1936]probably her best book. W. S. C.  Willa Cather   [Stout #1578]

To Sigrid Undset,  Mar. 31, [1943] ; Oslo 

Thanks for sending her retelling of the story of Thorgils and Thorfinn [Bulletin of St. Ansgar's Scandinavian Catholic League of New York no. 41, Feb. 1943: 1–6; summarizes the medieval Icelandic Floamanna Saga, about hardships endured by early settlers of Greenland and the hero Thorgils's miraculous suckling of his orphaned infant]. Has read it twice. The courage and trials of the early Norse explorers seemed to exceed anything in human experience. Wonders why God lets the long battle in Africa go on.   [Stout #1625]

To ?,  n.d. note written on a printed page showing pictures of Clement C. Moore and his house, with the beginning of the poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas"; PM 

Was Moore a real person, then?   [Stout #1815]

To Mary Virginia Cather,  Good Friday [April 18, 1930] , from the Grosvenor Hotel, New York ; UNL-Rosowski Cather 

Heard St. Matthew's Passion yesterday, on Holy Thursday.�Glad she went to Wyoming; had a wonderful visit [with her brother Roscoe and his family].� Is going to Dr. Wade's church [Church of St. John the Evangelist] today; spoke with him this morning on the telephone.� Will telephone Mary Virginia.� Knopfs sent a beautiful plant for Easter.� Stenographer coming tomorrow to help her answer her accumulated mail.� Enjoyed seeing her [ mother ], Elsie, and Douglass, and will think of them on Easter. [P.S.] Dear Sister, might have left some things in the writing table in her cottage—please look.� Found Elsie's scissors in the bottom of her sewing bag.� Feels like such an bad guest!  Willie 

To Elsie Cather,  June 11, 1908, from Rome, postcard ; UNL-Rosowski Cather 
Image of front of postcard showing the dome of St. Peter's cathedral, Rome, Italy
Front of postcard #1855

Image on the postcard is the dome of St. Peter's cathedral from the Roman gardens, where she first saw it.� Likes to sit by the fountains and watch the sunlight reflect off the columns.� Listening to the fountains one can learn more than Puck of Pook's Hill, for modern Europe and the modern mind were made here.� St. Peter's and the Vatican defined western civilization.   Willie S. C. 

To Ethel Garber Cather [sister-in-law],  July 23, 1930, from Paris; postcard showing the St.-Martin's Gate in Paris ; UNL-Rosowski Cather 
Image of postcard showing the St.-Martin's Gate in Paris, France
Front of postcard #1876

Going south soon to see friends near Marseilles. Sends love to Jim and children.   Willa Cather 

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© 2004-2019, Willa Cather Archive. Andrew Jewell, editor. Updated July 2019. The Willa Cather Archive is freely distributed by the Center for Digital Research in the Humanities at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. UNL Logo