THE FOLIO

English Building
Indiana University
BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA

September 27, 1954

William Carlos Williams
Rutherford, New Jersey

Dear Dr. Williams,

I am writing to ask a favor. The Folio has been publishing for twenty years under the auspices of Indiana University. Originally the magazine was an outlet for Indiana writing alone, but through the years our outside contributors have increased in number until now, in celebration of our twentieth year, we hope to establish it on a national footing.

Our editorial board has noticed how kindly disposed you are to little magazines. We have some fine, exceptionally fine, manuscripts on hand for publication this year. But we do not have the audience this work deserves. Frankly, we need 'name power' to bring attention to our magazine. We realize, being part of it ourselves, how great a following you have. We feel that your inclusion among our contributors would help greatly to attract the type of reader we wish our unestablished writers to have. Can you give us something?

In the past we have carried work by John Crowe Ransom, Rolfe Humphries, Caroline Gordon, Horace Gregory, John Horne Burns and other artists of reputation. Recently the magazine has been in a financial slump and we cannot pay. If you could spare us a poem or two (or perhaps an article similar to the one in New Ventures) it would be highly publicized, and I'm sure you would be pleased with the quality of your surrounding manuscripts.

This is a charity request, of course, and I'm sure you receive too many of them. In this case you would be doing a great service to a magazine which is not a fly-by-night affair, but has hit hard times and needs just the extra push that a contribution from an important poet would supply. I hope you will be able to help us.

FOLIO,

English Building, Indiana University, Bloomington

January 15, 1955

Dear Dr. Williams,

We've searched every corner of our office and questioned everyone who might have somehow come upon the corrected poem you sent us, with no result. We have never yet lost a ms., and it would indeed be strange if we were to miss one so eagerly awaited. Perhaps this is one of those fabled cases of 'lost in the mails.' At any rate, we were very glad to receive the copy you enclosed with your recent note, and it is now in process of being set. We will send you galley-proof as soon as it is available, to ensure the poem's being set as you want it.

FOLIO

English Building, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana

September 29, 59

Dear Dr. Williams:

Pardon the delay in acknowledging your poem. I have read it and am very pleased with it, as is Mary Solt. It was a very gracious thing for you to give it to us. Mary's article is done now, and will appear along with your poem in the Winter FOLIO out about the middle of November. I will send you a couple copies as soon as it is out. When I was in New York a few weeks ago I talked with Louis Zukofsky and am going to run I think a section from his work on Shakespeare in a later issue. I respect him and his work tremendously. If you know of any young poets that you think we would be interested in printing, please drop me a line. I want to get as much as possible young men who are writing in the American idiom in the magazine.

Hoping this note finds you well.

My address is:
110½ E 6th
Bloomington
Indiana