Brother Barron (February 17, 1936) | Willa Cather Archive

#1297: Transcription of letter from Willa Cather to Brother Barron, February 17, 1936

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W S C February 17, 1936 Dear Brother Barron¹:

I have just come back from the North, and Miss Bloom³ has shown me your letter and explained that a manuscript came from you in my absence.

Just as she told you, we have to make an unfailing rule to return manuscripts unread, but from reading your letter I understand perfectly that your case was an exception, and that you were not trying to impose on good nature.

I have made rather strict rulings about manuscripts because there are at least five hundred thousand young people in this country who wish to become writers, and as this is a rather bold and forward age, they have no hesitation about sending their manuscripts along, asking for criticism and advice. That is the reason why I have had to make this rather severe rule. You will understand this, I am sure, and I send you my cordial greetings and good wishes.

Cordially yours, WILLA CATHER

Information about this letter:

Source File:: cat.let1297.xml
Letter identifier: 1297
Contents: Document is one leaf, typewritten on recto only. Document is a transcription of the original letter.
Person to whom letter was written: Brother Barron¹
Date letter was written: February 17, 1936
Place letter was written: New York, New York, United States²
Location of original letter: WCPM Collection, National Willa Cather Center, Red Cloud, NE

Person Annotations

0275

Barron, Brother. No further information is available about this person.

0102

Bloom, Sarah J. (1889-1961). Cather's personal secretary. Born in New York in 1889 to Russian immigrants Solomon and Bertha Bloom, Sarah J. Bloom worked for Cather from some time in the 1920s until Cather's death and continued to work for Edith Lewis on matters pertaining to Cather's literary estate thereafter. Bloom typed Cather's literary manuscripts and managed Cather's correspondence, typing dictated letters and sometimes responding for Cather when she was traveling. Bloom’s work for Cather supplemented full-time office employment in New York City (for many years she worked for the New York State Public Service Commission). She thus came to Cather and Lewis's apartment on weekends to take dictation, pick up and deliver typescripts, and deliver typed letters for signature. She died in New York city in 1961.

Place Annotations

New York, New York, United States