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#1693: Willa Cather to Ferris Greenslet, January 24, 1945

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⬩W⬩S⬩C⬩ FG My dear Mr. Greenslet1:

Please consent to let these Spanish propositions3 ride for a time. I shall not make any arrangements without giving you fair warning.

I was very much incapacitated for two weeks by an ugly visitation of influenza, and my right hand4 has been bothering me a great deal of late. Dr. Ober5 keeps it tied up in a brace except for two hours every morning, when I am allowed to write. In spite of these inconveniences I have been working hard on a story6 which interests me very much, and I hope you will not find it necessary to bother me about Spanish translations for the next few months. Surely, the profits they offer are not large enough to tempt even an impecunious writer and a very thrifty publishing house. Just give me a little leeway and a little freedom from business transactions, and I may be of some use to you yet.

I had a Christmas so eventful that it nearly wrecked me; presents and letters streaming in from all parts of the earth. At first I tried to answer all the soldiers and sailors, but I found that I could not do that and write at the same time. The homesick Western boy in a foxhole, when there are a good many of him, becomes an emotional strain.

Cordially yours,Willa Cather