January 22, 1954

Sean O'Faolain, Esq.
Knockaderry
Killiney
Co. Dublin, Ireland

Dear Sean:

OK — we won't involve you in the censorship — or anti-censorship — discussions here, since your Columbia lecture will, as you say, be your one grand effort on that theme. Let's plan a party in New York on Friday evening, March 12th — if your lecture is early in the day, or Saturday, the 13th, or Sunday, the 15th. Let me have the date after you get here and are settled at Princeton.

We are leading off New WORLD WRITING with "Childybawn" (See the enclosed table of contents. You will probably be amused by Dwight MacDonald's article in the current *New Yorker* enclosed.

Helen and I look forward very much to seeing you. Do put in your diary Saturday, March 3rd, the wedding and reception of our daughter, who is marrying Amory Haskell, Jr. We would love to have you present at the wedding at St. Thomas' Church and at the reception afterward at the Starlight Roof of the Waldorf. Many of your friends will be among those present.

vw/mal
enc: 2

January 18th, 1954

Sean O'Faolain, Esq.
Knockaderry, Killiney
County Dublin, Ireland

Dear Mr. O'Faolain:

I take pleasure in sending you these (uncorrected) galley proofs of your story CHILDYBAWN.

As usual, we are on a tight schedule, and must return corrected proofs to the printer by January 26th. If you have any corrections to make, do please rush them to us.

The fifth New WORLD WRITING (which looks awfully good, by the way) is now scheduled for publication April 28th. We shall have advance copies late in March, and shall send you five just as soon as they come in. Meanwhile, it would be helpful to us - in planning our presentation of the fifth New WORLD WRITING - if you would send us names of any critics, reviewers, and/or friends who might be interested in seeing an early copy.

KNOCKADEERRY

Killiney, Co. Dublin

9th,

Dear Victor

(And Mrs. Porter.)

I had no brainwave like yours for that story. I think CHILDYBAWN is excellent. The only one I had thought of was: A PASSIONATE LOVER. Yours is much better.

I am day and dawn working - lectures, getting a volume of stories ready, reviewing for The Observer (current novels), and odds & ends. You, I presume, are still (naughtily) getting up or at least waking up at Cork-crowt. My God, how do you keep on reading them? I'm blue blind and generally b---- from after of G. Greene, E. Hemingway, E. Waugh, E. Bowen, W. Faulkner and V. Woolf. I feel bloody learned - within these narrow limits.

Your latest books were most welcome and I am, as you may imagine, delighted to see them. THE CONFORMIST is good value. The Simenon nice and sexy. Did you ever think (talking of morals) of doing Paul Blanshard. His one on Ireland has more or less struck the cats here stone dumb. Did you see an Italian novel: THE BEST OF HUSBANDS by de Cespedes; popular with women in its anti-masculine edge. Romain Gary's THE CROWN OF THE DAY should please you: he's in the Fr. diplomatic in Washington - witty and amorous; possibly too brittle for New York like THE LITTLE HUT. I send you a nos-talgic Christmas card. Please give my warm greetings to the Signora.

Yrs ever,

I'd also toyed with: MAMMY'S DARLING

The New American Library
OF WORLD LITERATURE, INC.

INTER-OFFICE MEMO

TO: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) KE, HL, TW, AJP, file

DATE October 15, 1953

FROM: NEE NWW - Author - O'Faolain

RE:

The attached, from Sean O'Faolain, refers to the preparation of his lecture on Faulkner, to be given at the series at the Institute of Advanced Studies at Princeton this winter -- other lectures dealing with Joyce, Yeats, Hemingway, AE and possibly one other.

We have got Sean O'Faolain firmly on our side with respect to censorship, which can be made a great asset as he goes about in intellectual Catholic circles while here.

Although his books are published by Devin-Adair, O'Faolain already considers NAL his spiritual home among the publishers of the USA (even though we are only identified with one short story for New WORLD WRITING #5.

October 7, 1953

Sean O'Faolain, Esq.
Knockaderry
Killiney
County Dublin, Ireland

Dear Sean:

As a gauge of Faulkner's appeal, — and all figures may be printed — here are some comparative figures on other writers whose editions we have reprinted.

Erskine Caldwell — GOD'S LITTLE ACRE — 6,038,219 copies in print — a total of over thirty million in print, which actually means, sales, of Caldwell's eighteen books.

James Joyce — PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN — 252,820.

James T. Farrell — YOUNG LONIGAN — 1,249,260
YOUNG MANHOOD OF STUDS LONIGAN — 877,570
JUDGMENT DAY — 543,040

Alberto Moravia — WOMAN OF ROME — 799,912

Tennessee Williams — STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (play) — 467,960

Such stuff as Mickey Spillane novels average over three million copies per title; Simenon titles average roughly half a million each, Homer's ODYSSEY and ILIAD (translated by W.H.D. Rouse), half a million each, and still actively selling.

Our runaway, at the moment is FROM HERE TO ETERNITY, now in the fourth printing since August, with over one and a half million copies in print at 75¢. We sold over a million and a quarter, at 50¢, of Meiler's THE NAKED AND THE DEAD.

These random figures indicate that there is readership, not just morbid curiosity, demonstrated by the Faulkner sales. His work seems to be more popular amongst the moderately educated southerners than amongst the highly educated New Englanders — these people, including the Negro population, don't seem to be deterred by long sentences, bold improvisations in description, or by Faulkner's private groping for effect.

INTER-OFFICE MEMO

TO: AJP

cc: PSC

FROM: nas

RE:

New World Writing
file Contr

DATE 10/5/53

Word count for A COLD WAR, Sean O'Faolain (title to be changed) for N.W.W # 5 at 2½¢ per word.

My rough count would make payment for this story $125.00 — figured at 2½¢ per word for roughly 5000 words.

####

11.8 average words per line

23.9 average lines per page

282.02 average words per page

17.75 pages

5005.86 words in all - or 5000

MANUSCRIPT RETURNED HEREWITH

September 28, 1953

Mr. Sean O'Faolain
Knockaderry
Killiney
County Dublin, Eire

Dear Sean:

Here with part I of the two-part Life article on Faulkner by
Robert Coughlan. I'll send you the next installment as soon as it
reaches me.

After a very pleasant sojourn in London we flew back on Saturday and I am now hard at work digging myself out of my briefcase, which abounds in pleasant reminders of our Irish visit.

We look forward to seeing you when you are on this side for
the Princeton lectures. By the way, we would be most interested in
having a look at either the Joyce or the Yeats lecture as a candidate for publication in New WORLD WRITING, a copy of the fourth volume of which goes to you by ordinary mail this week.

Helen and I -- and my publishing associates -- all look forward to seeing you.

VW:hh

June 29, 1953

Mr. Sean O'Faolain
Knockaderry,
Killiney
County Dublin
Eire

Dear Mr. O'Faolain:

I plan to be in Dublin -- at the Shelbourne Hotel -- for a few days during the last week in August. Will you be in County Dublin, or vicinity, at that time? I should like very much to make your acquaintance since, after a fashion, my visit will be in the nature of a literary reconnaissance.

I am enclosing our catalogue. You will note that -- parallel
with Penguin in England -- we are the largest and most selective
publisher of inexpensive editions in the United States. I look for-
ward to meeting you.

VW:hh

P.S. I was most impressed by your article on Censorship which Life magazine published in March. You might be interested in the enclosures.

KNOCKADERRY

Killiney, Co. Dublin

9th,

New World Writing
file cont'd

Dear Victor

(And Mrs. Porter.)

I am day and dawn working - lectures, getting a volume of stories ready, reviewing for The Observer (current novels), and odds & ends. You, I presume, are still (naughtily) getting up or at least waking up at Cork-crowt! My God, how do you keep on reading 'em? I'm blue blind and generally b---- from after of G. Greene, E. Hemingway, E. Waugh, E. Bowen, W. Faulkner and V. Woolf. I feel bloody learned - within these narrow limits.

Yrs ever,