About this Item
A collection of 35 typed and 3 holograph letters, together with eight Post Cards written by Henry Roth to James Pollard, an aspiring novelist who developed a close friendship with Roth throughout the course of their correspondence. Most of the letters date from 1961-63, with several from 1964-65 and one from 1980. Six of the typed letters are not signed and are incomplete, likely lacking a final page. All 38 total about 76 pages altogether, with many of the typed letters annotated in ink by Roth. Also included are six signed typed Post Cards dating from 1961-81; one unsigned holograph Post Card; and one 1983 signed note with an accompanying photo of Roth and his wife Miriam; together with two Post Cards signed by Miriam. Several letters are age toned, including some with a few scattered short tears at the edges, one Post Card has a corner torn away with some loss, very good overall. All are protected in plastic sleeves which are neatly housed in a three-ring binder. Laid into the binder is one file folder containing carbon and typed copies of 27 letters from Pollard to Roth dating from 1961-65. An important and spirited collection of letters. Most of those from 1961-65 Henry Roth gives detailed accounts of his work in progress and wryly comments on his attempts to overcome a profound writer s block since the publication of his first novel *Call It Sleep* in 1934. The story of a young boy navigating the immigrant world of Manhattan s Lower East Side in the early 20th century, *Call It Sleep* was recognized as a modernist masterpiece when it was reissued in the early 1960s, at the time of this correspondence with Pollard. Roth refers to *Call It Sleep* and his current semi-autobiographical work, and offers advice to Pollard on the writing of a novel Pollard is working on, drafts of which he has shared with Roth. Roth sets the tone in his first undated letter from 1961: "I couldn t begin to tell you what I ve done and been in the past four years machinist, farmer, woodcutter, plumber, not to mention berry picker, etc. At present I work as a hospital attendant in the Augusta State Hospital (Mental). Muriel teaches school (I also taught school for a year). I ve made maple syrup, shot deer. But with a guy like me, it s not what he s done, but what he s evolved, or how he s evolved. And that is still a question. All through it I ve never been free of those pangs or cravings known as creation, and I imagine I never will even if they re never satisfied … Of late they seem to be intensified and there s even an imminence of hope that a way might be found …" In a letter from September 5, 1962, he explains the importance of their correspondence: "It seems to me that I went as far as I could go … in CIS [*Call It Sleep*] … I had the sense of well, in fact, I seemed almost deliberately to burst the novel as a form; I carried it to a pitch of excitement for me that I haven t been able to equal since, and which I demand at least the equal of … So what would the mature, or more mature man attempt. The strongest hold of a theme upon me is sex and I eschew it. Then what s left? I know there s a great deal left … All I would expect you to do … is to keep my letters in order, even as I ll keep yours … and at some time when the spirit moves us, we ll make arrangements … to collate, edit, correct the material, and see if it entertains or stirs. That applies to this letter, which I regard as part of the woof … We re each other s foil, Jim … we re deliberate Pen-pals, Mutual Aid, a swing combo … we re improvisors …" In a second letter from September 12, 1962, he comments further on the precedent set by *Call It Sleep*, and points towards a way out that would eventually lead, beginning in 1979, to the publication of the four novels that would become his epic follow-up, *Mercy of a Rude Stream*. He also hints at the pair of incestuous relationships, one with his sister and one with a cousin, that likely was the most significant contributing f.
Seller Inventory # 551378
Contact seller
Report this item
