Letter from Denise Levertov and Louise Kertesz

From Denise Levertov to Louise Kertesz. Original typewritten letter stapled to a letter from Kertesz to Levertov (see below) and a four-page description, clearly by Denise Levertov, entitled, “About Muriel,” and dated August 28, 1980. The latter description does not appear to belong to the letter’s envelope, dated August 8, 1977. Levertov’s letter talks about how Muriel became important to her after she wrote her poem ‘no more masks’: “It was with her poem ‘no more masks’ written after her first stroke and followed by the evident effort to carry through that resolve, as one can see in the tighter, tauter, far more direct language and rhythms of the book from Speed of Darkness on, that her poetry began to interest me.” Levertov also praises Muriel’s work as an activist, such as when she went to South Korea on behalf of the poet Kim Chi Ha. The letter also states that Denise tried to contact Muriel after Denise’s mother died, but she has not heard from Rukeyser, which worries her. Levertov also suggests contacting Jane Cooper. Interestingly, the letter is on two pages, with the very end of the letter being on the beginning of the first page, upside down. Letter has handwriting and underlining with a red crayon or pen on both sides.