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.

[Photographs of Mark Twain on the S. S. Minneapolis]

Vanderbilt professor Marc Hollender donated his collection of Mark Twain materials, including over 350 books, to the Vanderbilt Special Collections in 1980. These photographs from the collection show Twain as he sailed to England to receive an honorary degree from Oxford University in 1907.

Title	[Photographs of Mark Twain on the S. S. Minneapolis]
Date	June 16, 1907
Source	Marc Hollender Collection