Rudolf Burkhardt
c/o Lesozirkel, „Der Kreis"
Postfach 547 Fraumünster
Zürich 22

Zürich, Nov. 22d, 1956

Dear James Purdy,

Thank you very much for your welcome letter of November 13th. I think someone interested in your book of short stories might be Angus Wilson, the well-known English novelist. I am sure if you write to him c/o his publisher Secker and Warburg, London your letter will be forwarded to him. He might be able to have the volume reviewed in one of the English Sunday papers. (I have just read his recent novel "Anglo Saxon Attitudes" - one of the most intriguing novels I have read for a long time and with a good bit of homosexuality thrown into it.)

How good of you to write that you would like to make a contribution to Der Kreis if your financial situation would allow you to do so. I am greatly tempted to take you at your word - though in a different way. I would very much like to have something by you for the monthly. A short story, not exceeding in length the ones in your book. Naturally it could be as open and frank as you would like it to be - and we could at any time publish it under either your initials or a nom de plume. The stories in your book impressed me really very much and I should feel happy to be able to print something from you in my relatively small - English section. I suppose you know Der Kreis - if not let me know and I'll gladly send you some copies.

Looking forward to hear from you again and with my
best wishes

yours very sincerely

Lesozirkel „Der Kreis"
Postfach 547 Fraumünster

Zürich 22

Der Kreis / Le Cercle

Postfach 547 Fraumünster
Postcheck-Konto VIII 25753

ZÜRICH

Schweiz / Suisse / Switzerland

Zürich, den April 4th, 1957

Dear Jim,

So many things have happened since I received your welcome letter of February 19th and the copy of MADEMOISELLE with your story and your excellent photograph (well, there are some good-looking people in the world). Events on the whole were fairly unfavourable. It started with our cashier resigning - understandably. He has worked for a dozen of years with us, besides having a large factory of his own. But having been appointed reader at a Christian Science branch he cannot cope with it all any more - and his resignation meant nearly doubling of work. It affected me so - both for business and private reasons, as he was the one and only down-t-earth person, that I reacted by having a nervous breakdown. Scarcely recovered from it news came that my old mother had met with an accident and I had to spend weeks in Eastern Germany occupied by those damned Russians. All highly unpleasant besides the shock of seeing my dear mother again with her mind wandering and facing problems which in normal society wouldn't be problems at all but in Eastern Germany take on proportions of enormous size.

I returned last week just in time to move into a new tiny but delightful apartment. Excorbitant rent - but I have reached a point where I have to live on my own and must be able to put my own frontdoor in anybody's face if I want do. So - life has been pretty hectic.

I still hold you to that promise of a story for the CIRCLE. There is no immediate hurry but I shall keep on reminding you.

With sincere affection

Meine geliebte Adoptivmutter

Frau Minna Burkhardt

geb. Gutmann

ist nach einem Leben voller Güte und Liebe in ihrem
90. Lebensjahr von mir gegangen

In Trauer

Rudolf Jung-Burkhardt

„Was ist der Tod? Ein Übergang zur Ruhe.“

Zürich, October 25th, 57

Dear James,

I was so pleased to have heard from you and get such good news from you about the
German edition of your book (what choice German publishers you're dealing with -
Rowohlt and Inselverlag - two of the best-known German publishers. I do not know
that man from the Inselverlag you mentioned - as you may know I have been a book-
seller for more than 20 years of my life - but that's old history now.)

Life has been pretty hectic for me too. If I didn't have my small partment which
is the ceaseless joy of my life I would often not know how to deal with all the
problems cropping up - but as it is there is that small world of my own making me
serene and happy and giving me strength. Add to this my LP's - my one and only big
SIN and you'll understand that I spend most evenings at home in my own company.
I have started collecting Mozart and with 80 LP's of his work my collection is
such that it never tires me.

Personally I had to mourn the loss of my dear mother. She died peacefully in June
and as she was nearly 90 when she died I must not complain. The loss is there
and there is the void - but it cannot be helped. She was alright until February
when she had a slight accident from which she never recovered, her mind started
wandering and when I saw her last in April I realized it would be the last time.
I am glad that these ten last days I spent with her, she was in hospital, were
such happy ones - when we parted she herself realized it was the final parting
and dismissed me with such loving words that when she actually passed away it was
only an external happening. The worst part of it was getting rid (I had to) of
our home. Eastern Germany being so poor it gave me no worries to dispense with our
things - I kept very little for myself and only such things she had made herself,
as she was a very gifted woman with her hands (even these three boxes haven't
reached me yet - the last I heard from my friends in Eastern Germany was that I
may expect them in January. I don't mind - it's just another sign how things are
done behind the Iron Curtain through which I shall probably never go again.)
- At the office we had all the celebrations of the 25th Jubilee of The Circle.
We held a weekend meeting of subscribers at which 580 people attended. You can
imagine the amount of work this caused. I was glued to the cash-desk for ten solid
hours without a break. However, this meeting and its atmosphere has given us all
new strength to go on with the work. And that's a good thing.

Don't forget 'my' story for the magazine - I would love to have one
from you.

All the very best to you, James, from your sincere friend

Der Kreis / Le Cercle

ZÜRICH

Schweiz / Suisse / Switzerland Dear James,

Zürich, den December 4th, 57

What a lovely surprise ! Thank you very, very much for sending me a copy of your book. I was terribly pleased and I am looking forward to reading it once more. It has been published very handsomely indeed and I feel sure you'll be very happy about it.

I would like to tell you that there is a - a very faint one - hope of my being able to visit New York and the States next Spring for a couple of weeks. It would be wonderful if it came off - and I could meet you personally. It all depends, naturally, on the money involved for the trip. My mother died in June (she was 90 when she left me) and all that was saved from the wreckage of the war were two fairly valuable diamond rings. I couldn't care less for them and feel sure my mother would approve of my selling them to enable me to go on that trip. So it all depends on how much I shall be getting for the darned things. If my plan materializes it will be some time in April of next year. I am entertaining this idea mainly in connection with the CIRCLE - it would help me considerably in my work when I had a chance of meeting my contributores and lots of others people. So keep your fingers crossed.

Otherwise life is pretty uneventful. There is so much work to do from morning till

night that I am only too glad to spend my evenings in my small apartment - becoming more and more of a recluse in this way - not that I mind. But books and especially LP's are so infinitely better than most human society and my Mozart collection of LP's (my only real 'vice') has grown considerably.

I shall keep you informed of my plans. In the meatnime once again many thanks for your lovely present. I hope you'll have a happy Christmas and a very good New Year in the course of which we may possibly meet.

All the very best to you.

Der Kreis / Le Cercle

ZÜRICH

Zürich, den

May 28th, 1958

Dear Jimmie,

This is just a brief note to tell you that I arrived safely home at Zürich last Sunday - and what my desk looks like I better keep under my hat.

I have so much enjoyed meeting you, even if it was only for so short a time but it makes all the difference in the world, meeting person to person. I do hope you will some time in the future come over to Europe - I shall be so happy to show you around here.

Donald Sano has now made up his mind to contact you on your return, he is quite a why boy really - and I am glad he has made up his mind after all. Thank you once more for being so helpful in this matter of giving Don some advice. I feel sure you will like him, he is a very genuine person indeed.

My best wishes come with this letter, both for yourself and for your work.

As ever your old friend