THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY

BALTIMORE 18, MARYLAND

March 11, 1958

THE WRITING SEMINARS

Dr. William Carlos Williams
9 Ridge Road
Rutherford, New Jersey

Dear Dr. Williams:

Aided by a grant from the Bolligen Foundation, we plan to hold a two-day Poetry Festival on November 8 and 9, 1958. We very much hope that you will accept the invitation to be one of the six poets who are being asked to read a selection of their poems on that occasion.

Each reading would be from forty to fifty minutes in length, and each poet would be on the platform alone for his reading. We would hope that all the poets would meet together for an informal dinner on the Saturday night of the Festival. The meetings of the Festival would take place on Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon, and Sunday afternoon.

We are able to offer you an honorarium of $500.00. In addition, we would provide transportation expenses — or the transportation itself — to Baltimore and return, for you, and for Mrs. Williams also, if she would enjoy attending. You would be our guests at the Sheraton-Belvedere Hotel, for the week-end, and we would try in every way to make your stay a pleasant one.

It will be a very great pleasure to hear from you that you will come.

With cordial good wishes,

THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
BALTIMORE-18, MARYLAND

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

September 18, 1958

Doctor William Carlos Williams
9 Ridge Road
Rutherford, New Jersey

Dear Doctor Williams:

In preparing for your valued participation in the forth-
coming Poetry Festival at the Johns Hopkins University
in November, I have been working with Elliott Coleman,
Director of the Writing Seminars, on publicity for this
event.

We feel that the Festival is one of the most significant
events to occur at Johns Hopkins in several years and we
are expecting that great interest will be shown by the
nation's press. To help us in our task, it would be
most appreciated if we could receive from you at least
one photograph of yourself, as well as any prepared
biographical material which might be readily available.

We hesitate to bother you with this request and we hope
you will pass it along to your secretary for fulfillment.

Thank you very much for your cooperation. We are looking
forward to meeting you in November; meanwhile, if we can
be of any service to you, please call on us.

JCB:mf