Please Continue: Literary Correspondence as Conversation

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In Summary

The letters in this exhibit span a century of English literature, from the 1880s to the 1980s, and each one was sent with the hope that it would bring a response in return, continuing the conversation. Because the fiction writers and poets who wrote this correspondence were all devoted to the craft of writing, their missives are works of art in themselves, albeit more personal and playful than their published volumes had the freedom to be. Each author’s epistles express personality not only through the chosen text, but also through paper color, handwriting, choice of writing utensil, and the many other physical details required to complete and mail a letter. The messages also hint at the lives on the receiving end of the correspondence, prompting us to imagine responses to the questions asked, praises doled out, and affections expressed.

[Letter from Elizabeth Spencer to David McDowell]

Tennessee author James Agee left behind an unfinished manuscript for A Death in the Family when he died at age 45, and David McDowell edited and published it in the hopes of helping support Agee’s family. The book won the Pulitzer Prize in 1958. The Agee book Elizabeth Spencer mentions in this letter to McDowell is probably The Collected Short Prose of James Agee, published in 1972.

Title	[Letter from Elizabeth Spencer to David McDowell]
Creator	Elizabeth Spencer
Date	December 18, 1974
Source	David McDowell Papers