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 Mark Twain to Norman Hapgood]

The black edges on this paper show that this was a piece of mourning stationery, signifying that the Clemens household had suffered a loss. Twain’s response suggests that Hapgood, author of Literary Statesmen and Others: Essays on Men Seen from a Distance (1897), was worried that he had offended the humorist. With great sincerity and kindness, Twain assures Hapgood that that was not the case.

Title	[Letter from Mark Twain to Norman Hapgood]
Date	c. 1904-1908
Source	Stahlman Autograph Collection