Guide to Reading Letter Transcriptions
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| Textual Feature | Appearance |
|---|---|
| passage deleted with a strikethrough mark | |
| passage deleted by overwritten added letters | |
| passage added above the line | passage with added text above |
| passage added on the line | passage with added text inline |
| passage added in the margin | passage with text added in margin |
| handwritten addition to a typewritten letter | typed passage with added handwritten text |
| missing or unreadable text | missing text noted with "[illegible]" |
| uncertain transcriptions | word[?] |
| notes written by someone other than Willa Cather | Note in another's hand |
| printed letterhead text | printed text |
| text printed on postcards, envelopes, etc. | printed text |
| text of date and place stamps | stamped text |
| passage written by Cather on separate enclosure. | written text |
Thank you for your letter of September 16th. I do not think you quite understand my
attitude. I have no strong feelings against school anthologies as such and I
couldn’t possibly, therefore, give you the sort of reply to your letter that your
second paragraph indicates you would like to have from me. The simple fact is that
for purely personal and private reasons I have always been unwilling to have any but
a certain very small proportion of my published writings reprinted in any anthology
whatsoever. The only exceptions constitute the following short stories3:
As I am willing to allow this position to rest as a purely personal
idiosyncrasy, I do not see how I can possibly explain it in terms of the last half
of your letter. I am not seeking even “the very finest kind of dignified
advertising”, and I do, frankly, find myself rather surprised at your
bewilderment.
I trust, therefore, that you will accept this letter in the friendly spirit in which
it is written, and not try to read between the lines what isn’t there or to ascribe
to me motives which simply do not operate. exist.
