{"id":3712,"date":"2012-08-09T17:07:39","date_gmt":"2012-08-09T21:07:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/?p=3712"},"modified":"2013-12-18T17:18:26","modified_gmt":"2013-12-18T21:18:26","slug":"mcnair-to-hall-june-8-1984","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/mcnair-to-hall-june-8-1984\/","title":{"rendered":"McNair to Hall, June 8, 1984"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
\"Letter<\/a>\"Letter<\/a>\"Letter<\/a>\"Letter<\/a>\"Letter<\/a>\"Letter<\/a>\"Letter<\/a><\/p>\n

[Click image to view]<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

June 8, 1984<\/p>\n

Dear Don,<\/p>\n

I enclose When Paul Flew Away and
\nThe Fat Enter Heaven. If Joey
\nthinks its OK, I\u2019d like to have
\nthese sent to Robert Wallace, for
\nhis annual anthology, Light Year<\/span>.
\nThe anthology accepts poems that have
\nbeen accepted or printed elsewhere–
\nThe address is:<\/p>\n

ROBERT WALLACE
\nBITS PRESS
\nDEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
\nCASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY
\nCLEVELAND, OH 44106<\/span><\/p>\n

Many thanks!<\/p>\n

Wes<\/p>\n

P.S. I don\u2019t mean to burden Joey,
\nonly to avoid confusion . If you
\nwant me<\/span> to send the poems, I\u2019d
\nbe glad to!<\/p>\n

THE FAT ENTER HEAVEN<\/p>\n

It is understood, with the clarity possible only in heaven,
\nthat none have loved food better than these.
\nAngels gather to admire their small mouths and their arms
\nrouns as the fenders of Hudson Hornets. In their past
\nthey have been among the world\u2019s most meek,
\nthe farm boy who lived with his mother, the grade-school teacher
\nwho led the flag salute with expression, day after day.
\nNow their commonplace lives, the guilt about weight, the ridicule
\nfade and disappear. They come to the table
\narrayed with perfect food, shedding their belts and girdles
\nfor the last time. Here, where fat itself is heavenly,
\nthey fill their plates and float upon the sky.<\/p>\n

–Wesley McNair<\/p>\n

(printed in Poetry<\/span>)<\/p>\n

WHEN PAUL FLEW AWAY<\/p>\n

It was the same as always,
\nPaul opening the big, black lung
\nof it with that worried look
\nwhile the cats watched
\nfrom under the stove,
\nbut when he closed
\nhis eyes and begun to sink
\ndown between the straps
\nof his bib overalls,
\nit was like he died. Except
\nthe accordion was still breathing
\na waltz between his hands,
\nexcept he called back
\nto us every so often
\nfrom wherever he was, Shit.
\nWhich meant everything
\nhe had ever known
\nin his life up to that
\nmoment, but this song.
\nNot some sock-drawer
\nmusic of getting a tune out
\nand then rummaging
\nfor the chord to match,
\nbut together, exactly like
\nhe was breathing the thing
\nhimself. No stomping
\neither, Just Paul twisting
\nlike he was after some deep
\nitch, only right then
\nhe was starting to lift
\nout of his chair. Slowly
\nat first, like flypaper
\nin a small breeze, then
\nthe whole enormous weight
\nof him hanging over the sink. God,
\nhe was happy, and I
\nand the kids was laughing
\nand happy, when all
\nat once it come to me,<\/p>\n

2\u2014WHEN PAUL FLEW AWAY<\/p>\n

this is it. Paul is leaving
\nthe old Barcolounger
\nstuck in second
\nposition, and the TV on top
\nof the TV, that don\u2019t
\nwork, and all my hand-paintings
\nof strawberries as if he never
\nsaid this would be Strawberry Farm.
\nHey! I said out in the yard
\nbecause he was already going
\nright over the roof
\nof that goat-shed, pumping
\nthat song. What about you
\nand me? And Paul
\njust got farther and smaller
\nuntil he looked like a kid
\nunfolding paper dolls over
\nand over, or like
\nhe was clapping slowly
\nat himself, and then
\nlike he was opening up the wings
\nof some wild, black bird
\nhe had made friends with
\njust before he disappeared
\ninto the sky above the clouds
\nover all of Wisconsin.<\/p>\n

–Wesley McNair<\/p>\n

(accepted by Ironwood<\/span>)<\/p>\n

[Text on back of envelope]<\/p>\n

Thanks for that news about Tilton School!
\nI look forward to whatever additional
\ndiscoveries you may have!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\n

A note from McNair about this letter:<\/strong><\/em><\/span>\u00a0My envelope note refers to Don’s mention by phone that he’s learned of a McNair who was once on the faculty of the Tilton School, in New Hampshire, and a Communist, like my father. He elucidates in his next letter.<\/p>\n\n

\n <\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[Click image to view] June 8, 1984 Dear Don, I enclose When Paul Flew Away and The Fat Enter Heaven. If Joey thinks its OK, I\u2019d like to have these sent to Robert Wallace, for his annual anthology, Light Year. The anthology accepts poems that have been accepted or printed elsewhere– The address is: ROBERT […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2341,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60366,35504,77589,42963,293],"tags":[],"builder_content":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3712"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2341"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3712"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3712\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11208,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3712\/revisions\/11208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}