Colby College

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Dear Wes–

Thanks for your letter. It makes
me feel very good. I was a little
worried about the slurred words I
had to repeat! I guess I shouldn’t
worry. I read the new one again this
morning at Mt. Holyoke, with a few
changes since last Monday. I’m
feeling good about it.
Now I’ve got eight readings coming
up. South Carolina, Maryland, Alabama,
Oklahoma. I look forward to seeing
you & Diane when things settle down a little.

I’m hoping you don’t go to Chile so we
can keep you around. But if you go, you’ll
come back – & maybe it will be good for
your poems to have such a change of
scene. I learned so much about the
U.S. by going away from it for a while.

As so as soon as I’m ready to
show that poem to anybody, I’ll show
it to you.

Best,

Don

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[Postmarked April 14, 1977]

Thank you for
Monday night, Wes.
It was a fine thing
for me. I’m grateful
to you for working it out.

Don

Best to Diane.

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Dear Wes – Good map. We’re looking forward to
Saturday. // You know, I’m happy to do a visit
with creative writers, if we can find a time.
I want to do my bit! See if you can’t find a
time. (It doesn’t have to have to be printed on the
program; we can just do it.) Be delighted to
talk anecdotes or anything and Am. Writer class. Party
after reading is fine. I taught yesterday for
the first time in 2 years. Very strange! (Dartmouth
started.)

Best,

Don

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2 April is good now – but who knows
when the phone will ring? We look
forward to seeing you. We’re gone
20-24 March.

Best,

Don

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Just got your note today,
Tuesday. Will the picture
I sent do? It’s not very
dignified! I have others, I
think. // Also, can you make
up a ¶ from the materials
I sent? Check it with me
if you like. // We leave Sunday
20th – Thurs 24th.

Best,

Don

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Wes McNair
Colby-Sawyer College
New London, N.H. 03257

Dear Wes,

I’m writing you back to the address on the stationery, because the
first part of it anyway is Colby-Sawyer business.

I’ll be delighted to read on April 11th. I think the 5th would have
been OK too, but if Carl prefers the 11th, let’s just make it the 11th.
Any and all class visitations will be just fine. also. [sic] Sometimes it seems
best to have class visitations after the lecture rather than before, so
that kids may have some questions to ask. I’d be happy to come up Tuesday
morning the 12th. (Tuesday afternoon I’ll be going up to Dartmouth to give
a lecture.) For that matter, I could come back on Wednesday if it were
better.

The pay is excellent. Thank you for all this.

Two weeks from now sounds fine for dinner. My daughter will be with
us until the morning of March 16th, so maybe it will be better to have it
a St.Patrick’s Day dinner or shortly thereafter – which would be actually
two weeks from when you wrote the letter, I guess. But you will telephone
anyway. [Handwritten in margin: Actually not the 17th/ 18? 19?]

I look forward to hearing about Marietta. I’m delighted that it
went extraordinarily well. Delighted; I’m not surprised! I’ve been reading
the manuscript over, by the way – the new or retyped manuscript which you
sent me. And there’s no question: things hold up. Have you heard anything
from New Rivers?

Jane is going through the struggle of finishing a manuscript right now,
to send out to people. Publishers, that is. Lots of revisions going on
all over this house.

Best as ever, and many thanks,

Don

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29 Jan 77

I’m over at Goddard in Vermont for a
few days. Good for Marietta, to have
the sense to follow my advice. It
will be good to see you when you get
back. Thanks for the mss. When
do you go there?

Don

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Your decision sounds fine. We want
to see any- & everything new, when it’s
seeable, of course. And remember, you’re
going to send me (or bring me) another mss.
When you write again, could you let me
have your telephone number?

Best,

Don

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Wes McNair
Sutton
New Hampshire 03260

Dear Wes,

Many thanks for that letter. I’m delighted that you like the
poems. The minute I saw how good your poems were, I wanted you to like
my poems! I look forward to showing you more.

If you want to take a chance and wait to do a book-book, I will
only applaud your courage! That is, I know perfectly well – and you do
too – that a lot of bad books get published, and a number of good books
go unpublished, at least for quite a while – and that quality does not
guarantee acceptance, etc. But I am very very high on your poems, and
I could for instance recommend them very very highly to Harper & Row, and
that might help. I should say though that I have given “very very high
recommendation” to Harper & Row in the past, and I probably have, at
that level, I’m probably only batting about 400. Or less [handwritten].

I’m happy – we’re happy – if our admiration for your poems has
felt good to you. No, it doesn’t surprise me. I was hoping it would
help. It’s so rare that one can feel that way, that one can really look
a man in the eyes and express that kind of confidence – it’s a delight to
be able to do it.

Go ahead and be consumed with self-doubt. Some day you will hear
me express “confidence” in somebody you think is absolutely terrible. Or
whatever. That is, confidence is probably not even a useful quality among
poets! But it sure does feel good, when you feel it from time to time,
doesn’t it? Your letter has cheered me up about those poems. I was a
little bit down on some of them, for one reason or another – possibly sun
spots or the full moon!

We look forward to the revised copy of the manuscript, heaven knows.
Drop in when you’re over this way.

Best as ever,

Don

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Don