A Calendar of the Letters of Willa Cather

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To Mariel GereMar. 12, [1896] from Red Cloud, Nebr.WCPM 

Feels exiled. Why doesn't Mariel write? Cooks sometimes to relieve boredom. Rides bicycle when weather permits. Planned and orchestrated a wedding breakfast for her [Cather's] cousin and Hugh Miner. Looked after the children the previous week while parents went to Hastings. Enjoys playing cards and going visiting with Douglass and Roscoe, when he comes to town. Has been reading Arabian Nights and Alice in Wonderland to James.   Willa   [Stout #22]


To Mrs. Alice E. D. GoudyMay 3, [1908], from Naples, ItalyWCPM 

Has just returned from a week in the Apennines. Spent two days in Pompeii and is enjoying the Pompeiian collection at the Naples Museum, also the beautiful Bay of Naples. The classical world seems close at hand. Has regained enough Latin to read Tacitus and Suetonius. Remembers seeing a picture of the bust of Caesar in a textbook when Mr. Goudy was her teacher, and now has seen it at the museum. Farmers working their fields just as in Virgil's Georgics. Goes on to Rome next week.   Willa   [Stout #137]


To Sarah Orne JewettMay 10, 1908, from Ravello, ItalyHarvard 

What a beautiful place! Camellias and roses in bloom all around. Room overlooks the Gulf of Salerno, as blue as the water in a [Pierre] Puvis de Chavannes painting. Yesterday a festival celebrating the arrival of the skull of St. Andrew in Amalfi seven hundred years ago, but enjoyment interrupted by the arrival of some people she used to know in Nebraska. [Alice] Meynell's essays about Italy in the book Jewett gave her are very fine, especially the essay "The Lesson of Landscape," but A. E. Housman writes with equal truthfulness, and she includes a transcription of his "The Olive," a poem he gave her that she has never seen in print. The "White Heron" and the Dunnet ladies [references to copies of books by Jewett] are always with her.    Willa Cather   [Stout #138]


To E. J. Overing, Jr.,  [President of the Red Cloud Board of Education] Apr. 30, 1909 [letter read at 1909 commencement exercises and published in the Red Cloud Chief May 27, 1909] ; WCPM , also Bohlke.

Had hoped to be there for commencement, but is leaving for London on business. Has kept up with Red Cloud schools through brothers and sisters. Remembers with love Mr. and Mrs. A. K. Goudy and Mr. and Mrs. O. C. Case. Mrs. Case, then Miss King, was principal when she first entered the school. Remembers her first teacher and some of her fellow pupils. Always tried to please Miss King, who helped and advised her all through high school—even tried to teach her algebra, an impossibility. Hard to believe it has been nineteen years since she graduated. Best wishes to the new graduates. They should try to live up to their teachers' goals for them.    Willa Cather   [Stout #159]


To Elizabeth Shepley Sergeant,  Tuesday [pm. Apr. 30, 1914] PM 

Thanks for the cheery letter. Is free of bandages now. Went to Atlantic City for a few days and got sidetracked from her [Cather's] story, but is back on it now. Writing a lot about the mechanics and politics of opera. Is getting acquainted with the Hoyts. Wishes events in Mexico would settle down so she could go see the cities there. Going to Pittsburgh soon.   W.   [Stout #280]


To Ferris GreensletAug. 22, [1916], from Red Cloud, Nebr.Harvard 

Has been in the Wind River Mountains in Wyoming. Has he seen Alice Meynell's review in the Manchester Guardian? Will have another book ready by the end of the year, probable title "The Blue Mesa." The book on the Southwest to come after that. Is shutting last year behind her. Glad to receive his check.   W. S. C.   [Stout #365]


To Ned AbbottOct. 25, [1922?], from New YorkWCPM 

If he weren't a friend from school, would refuse his request for biographical information. Suggests he talk with Mrs. Alice E. D. Goudy in Auburn, Nebraska, who was her high school teacher and knew her all through college. P.S.: Very proud of Newbranch's editorial. Prefers he not mention the McClure autobiography.  Willa Cather   [Stout #636]


To Alice Hunt Bartlett1925 pub. in part in Poetry Review of London, quoted in Bohlke

Does not regard herself as an "effective force in American poetry," as Bartlett said. Of her own poetry, believes "A Likeness," "A Silver Cup," "Going Home," and "Macon Prairie" are the best. The most popular is probably "Spanish Johnny."   [Stout #769]


To Alice Corbin HendersonNov. 8, 1927LincCity 

Gives permission to use "Spanish Johnny" but only as printed in April Twilights, not the garbled version in the anthology edited by Harriet Monroe. Is glad she likes Archbishop. Many people don't because they find it defies classification.   Willa Cather   [Stout #908]


To Dr. Merores [?]Jan. 16, 1933UVa 

Sorry to hear he began a German translation of Death Comes for the Archbishop without her agreement or a publisher. Arranging for translations is very complicated and time-consuming. Mr. Knopf handles it all for her. Interesting that he knows Mrs. Brandeis. Once knew Judge Brandeis fairly well, and his sisters Pauline and Josephine Goldmark are dear friends. Can't help find a publisher for his translation.   Willa Cather   [Stout #1150]


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