Letter from Dwight Macdonald to Kertesz, March 1 1979

Title

eng Letter from Dwight Macdonald to Kertesz, March 1 1979

Description

eng An original, typewritten letter, dated March 1st, 1979. The letter is from Dwight Macdonald to Louise Kertesz. Kertesz had sent Macdonald a letter on November 24th of the previous year, and he apologizes for replying to the letter so late. Macdonald will give her permission to use his quote in her book if she includes a disclaimer that says, “Asked permission to publish the above private quote, Mr. Macdonald agreed on condition his full position on the 'Poster Girl' episode be stated, thus, 'I just confess this, while I deplore the brutal tone, especially against such a gentle and decent person as Muriel and, myself, would have used more of the rapier and less of the battle-axe, I have to agree, on re-reading it, with the general content of R.S.P.'s attack on the political morality and literary taste of ‘Poster Girl’- who is of course Muriel as she behaved in Worl (sic) War II and not as she does now, politically and esthetically.” Macdonald says that he hopes it is not too late and that "you won't object to printing it." He adds that, should she refuse, she is “a damned fool ... for refusing a choice bit of Macdonald prose-as well as a bigot.” However, he really doesn’t fear this. Instead, he fears it is too late to submit it. There is a handwritten postscript on the letter that asks, “What is MI?”. The letter is also filled with typewriter errors, crossed out sections, and added. handwritten words by Macdonald himself.

Identifier

eng 018_LK_01_19_018.jpg

Creator

eng Dwight Macdonald

Date Created

eng March 1st, 1979

Medium

eng Paper

Subject

eng Louise Kertesz, Muriel Rukeyser, Dwight Macdonald, Female Poets, Correspondence, Photography

Is Part Of

eng 018.LK, Louise Kertesz papers

Contributor

eng Andrew Schick