“IF THERE IS ONE THING WE HATE AS POETS, IT’S SEEMING BUSY OR IN DEMAND. ISN’T THAT SO[?] IT’S NOT BECAUSE I’M EITHER THAT I HAVEN’T SENT YOU A POEM…. I SHALL BE AS GOOD (OR BAD) AS MY WORD”
FROST, ROBERT. (1874-1963). American poet; noted for his depiction of New England life; mot honored poet of the 20th Century with 4 Pulitzer Prizes; recited his: “The Gift Outright” at John Kennedy’s inauguration, from memory after his reading copy blew away. Curious Autograph Letter Signed, “Robert Frost”. 2 1/2 pages, octavo. South Shaftsbury, Vermont, January 21, 1921. To “Dear Miss Nicholl”. Near fine condition, but water stained along right margin affecting several words. With the original stamped envelope addressed in his hand to her c/o of the “New York Evening Post, 20 Vesey Street, New York City”. Frost writes:
“Dear Miss Nicholl – If there is one thing we hate as poets, it’s seeming busy or in demand. Isn’t that so[?] It’s not because I’m either that I haven’t sent you a poem for The Measure (Why did you put the ‘The” to keep the critics from putting Good on ?); it’s because I’m slow. I am slow. I’m measured. But I shall yet send you a poem, perhaps in this very letter if I decide you would listen to one I happen to have on the subject of It’s an awfully old poem – some thing, — so old that no one will ever possibly see the difference if I keep it till it’s a little older. But we’ll see when it comes to seal the letter how I feel about it. There will be something else fromme anyway. I swear to you. So don’t mind if you don’t find it enclosed. I would be foolish to mind at any rate till you wrote and made sure it hadn’t been enclosed and hadn’t been abstracted from th letter by some poetry fiend in transit.
The very best luck with the first number of The Measure. I shall forward to seeing how you bring a little freshness into the poetry magazine field.
Thank Maxwell Anderson for his card. I shall be as good (or bad) as my word. Sincerely yours, Robert Frost”.
Just an ‘odd’ letter from Frost’s pen, being somewhat playful and yet frankly a little confrontational to someone who was trying to elicit a poem for their new publication. “The Measure: A Journal of Poetry” was established in NYC in March 1921, so this solicitation letter was for work to be included in it’s first issue. It’s editorial board consisted of writers like: Padraic Colum, Maxwell Anderson [mentioned in our letter], an Genevieve Taggard. It was published on a monthly basis and ran for 64 issues until 1926. It was an ‘important’ literary journal for its time, helping to establish numerous poets within its pages. His full holograph letters from this period are quite scarce.
$3200.00