Akins, Zoë (1886-1958). American poet, playwright, and screenwriter. Akins’ friendship with Cather started in 1909, when she submitted verse to McClure’s magazine, which Cather rejected, advising her to stay with playwriting. Akins subsequently moved from her hometown of St. Louis, MO, to New York City and achieved success as a playwright. She moved to California in the 1930s, adding screenwriting to her accomplishments. Her play The Old Maid (1935), an adaptation of an Edith Wharton novel, won the Pulitzer Prize for drama. In 1932, Akins married Captain Hugh Rumbold, a British theatrical designer and director; he died eight months later. Cather and Akins carried on a lifelong correspondence, with Cather writing affectionate letters that included both commentary on her own works and criticism of Akins’.

Johnson, Burges (1877-1963). American editor and anthologist. Born in Vermont, Johnson graduated from Amherst College, Amherst, MA, in 1899 and received an honorary Litt.D. from the college in 1924. After careers in journalism and publishing in New York City, Vassar College appointed him professor of English and head of the Publication Bureau in 1915. He held a similar position at Syracuse University from 1927 to 1935 and was chair of the English department at Union College until his 1944 retirement. In addition to many anthologies of humorous verse, Johnson published books on writing, including Essaying the Essay (1927), Written Composition in American Colleges (1936), and The Art of Fiction: A Formulation of the Fundamental Principles (1939). Pat Knopf, son of Alfred A. Knopf, attended Union College in the late 1930s, which may have made Cather willing to respond to Johnson’s queries.