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.

[Photograph of Marianne Moore]

Marianne Moore adopted a tricorne hat and cape as her uniform in 1952. Elizabeth Bishop, whom Moore mentored when Bishop was first starting out as a poet, said that Moore looked like a “a feminine, luminescent, delicate re-incarnation of Paul Revere” in the outfit (Bishop to Moore, July 16, 1954).

Title	[Photograph of Marianne Moore]
Creator	George Platt Lynes
Date	1953
Source	Ralph Morrissey Collection