Letter from Dwight MacDonald to Louise Kertesz

An original, typewritten letter, dated March 1st, 1979. The letter is from Dwight Macdonald to Louise Kertesz. Louise had sent Macdonald a letter on November 24th of last year, and he apologizes for replying to the letter so late. Macdonald will give Louise permission to use his quote in her book if she includes a disclaimer that says, “Asked permission to publish the above 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 the R.S.P.;s attack on the political morality and literary taste of ‘Poster Girl’-who is of course Muriel as she behaved in World (sic) War II and not as she does now, politically and aesthetically.”. Macdonald says that he hopes it is not too late, or Louise objects to printing it. Macdonald says that if Louise refuses to print it, she is “...a damned fool, my dear Ms. Kertesz, 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.