{"id":683,"date":"2012-01-10T13:55:17","date_gmt":"2012-01-10T17:55:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/?p=683"},"modified":"2013-12-18T19:44:05","modified_gmt":"2013-12-18T23:44:05","slug":"mcnair-to-hall-january-4-1977","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/mcnair-to-hall-january-4-1977\/","title":{"rendered":"McNair to Hall: January 4, 1977"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
\"McNair-to-Hall-01-04-77\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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

January 4, 1976 [misdated: should be 1977<\/em>]<\/p>\n

Dear Don and Jane,<\/p>\n

I have read the poems which I took with me after my last visit,
\nand I like them very much. Their language and form are so natural–
\naccessible and profound all at once. \u201cNames of Horses\u201d: the title
\nis wonderful, as is the subject of the poem. Its long, hymn-like
\nlines are most appealing, also its sad music. I especially like
\nthe last line–knockout, the way those \u201cnames\u201dwork [sic]. \u201cKicking the
\nLeaves\u201d: again that conversational speaker who is all the time
\nforming a poem. The gesture at the center of the poem is (becomes)
\nbeautifully complex. The very best poems in the group are,
\nto my mind, \u201cThe Black Faced Sheep\u201d (beautiful in its composition
\nalone) and \u201cFlies\u201d. But then, it\u2019s an awfully strong group. Honestly,
\nthese are some of the best poems I\u2019ve read in a long time.<\/p>\n

Jane, you mentioned that I should send along poems for
\nGreen House<\/span>. I am sending two, neither of which should be used
\nuntil I receive word one way or the other from magazines to which
\nthey\u2019ve been sent. The \u201cRufus Porter\u201d poem has been sent to San Hose
\nStudies<\/span>, and the \u201cElinore Quelch\u201d piece, which you may remember
\nfrom my book, has been sent to The American Poetry Review<\/span>. I have
\nothers, but they are either about to be published or unfinished.
\nNo doubt at least one of the above mentioned will bounce. Please let
\nme know what you think of them (I enclose \u201cE.Q.\u201d, in the event you
\nneed to review it); I\u2019ll let you know as soon as I hear from
\nthe mags above.<\/p>\n

Don, you have me thinking about a \u201cbook-book\u201d. Counting up
\npoems, I figure I have around 40 pages of text at this point,
\nand I feel that I might well have the thing written within the next
\none or two years. It would be a book of reminiscences, like The Faces
\nof Americans<\/span>, only more varied. My search through available stuff
\nhas resulted in a find of four poems not included in The Faces<\/span>.<\/p>\n

You both may not realize that the confidence you expressed
\nin my poems last week saved my life. With scarcely anyone to talk to about
\nmy writing, I had become consumed with self-doubt. Now, once again,
\nI believe<\/span>\u2026.<\/p>\n

Thanks so much for your kind words.<\/p>\n

Yrs,<\/p>\n

Wes<\/p>\n

PS- My typist made a handful of typing errors
\nwhich changed certain poems in that book
\nfor the worse– I will soon send you a revised copy
\nwith the \u201cSpringfield Vt\u201d poem currently in progress–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\n

Read Rufus Porter by Himself\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/strong>(published version)<\/span><\/p>\n

Read When Superman Died in Springfield, Vt <\/span><\/a><\/strong>(published version)<\/span><\/p>\n

Read Going Back to Elinore Quelch<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Read Names of Horses <\/span><\/a><\/strong>(published v<\/span>ersion)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Read Kicking the Leaves <\/span><\/a><\/strong>(published v<\/span>ersion)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Read The Black Faced Sheep <\/span><\/a><\/strong>(published version)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Read Flies <\/span><\/a><\/strong>(published version)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n

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

[Click image to view] January 4, 1976 [misdated: should be 1977] Dear Don and Jane, I have read the poems which I took with me after my last visit, and I like them very much. Their language and form are so natural– accessible and profound all at once. \u201cNames of Horses\u201d: the title is wonderful, […]<\/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":[27136,35504,35505,42963,293],"tags":[],"builder_content":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/683"}],"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=683"}],"version-history":[{"count":45,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/683\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11247,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/683\/revisions\/11247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}