McNair to Hall: June 3, 1982

[Click image to view]

Dear Don,

All praise to Joey’s obsessions! I, too, would like to see
one of my poems end up there and would therefore as soon wait
with the poems I sent you, adding others through the summer
toward October.

Between now and then, I will have a chance to mull
over your comments about the poems. I think you are right
about the “heartbreakingly” of the brother poem. Actually, I
worry about clichés while working on many of my poems–
the consequence some of the time of working on “popular”
subject matter or trying to speak in an “unliterary”,
a “real” voice. Any suggestions about what might
replace the above word?

About “The Longing of the Feet”: You did
remark about that stanza

discovering,
suddenly, the feet
are for carrying….

Originally, the stanza looked this way (over)

2/

discovering, suddenly,
the feet
are for carrying

I changed the lineation so the sentence could be felt more
as a unit, and so I could leave out the “that” which
you thought might clarify the meaning of the stanza.
I decided against a “that” because I wanted the sense
of discovering “feet” and “are for carrying” more or
less at once. The word “that”, I felt, would restrict
the stanza to one discovery. Thus, my revision (again,
with notes):

[enjambment,
picking up new
meanings, lending
to surprise
“hands” of next
stanza]
discovering, suddenly, the feet are for carrying

You may be right about the shape of “The Before People.”
I will have time to think about that, too.

Anyway, I am very glad you like these poems.
You have made my week.

My manuscript bombed at all presses except
Pittsburgh, from which I will receive word by June’s end.

Thanks for your letter

Love,

Wes