819 Olive Street,
Springfield, Ohio
31 July 1935

Dear Mr. Warren:

Your letter was forwarded to me from Nashville. Thank you for your
very kind promise to speak to Dr. Read in my behalf if he inquires. I don't
believe, however, that he will inquire; I've had no word from him myself, and
I wrote all of two months ago now. Unfortunately, I haven't finished my Ph. D.,
though my residence requirements and examinations are off, so perhaps I'm not
really in line for the position. I'm now hammering away at my thesis, which I
may be able to finish by the end of the summer.

Naturally I have heard quite a bit about the SOUTHERN REVIEW, and I'm
delighted to offer some things for publication in it. They are not very recent,
for cramming and thesis writing cut down my productivity markedly last year, and
it happens that the few poems I did write I sent a month ago to POETRY, which is
playing its usual trick of holding submitted material indefinitely. I believe,
though, that the poems it has now are perhaps less its type than yours, and I
shall send those along too when and if they are returned.

Thank you again for, perhaps I'd better say, the general tenor of your
note. I am at present staying with my parents in Ohio, and shall probably be here
until I get a job of some kind somewhere.

Box 346 Hendrix College, Conway, Arkansas, 26 September 1935

Dear Warrens

I sent you a few poems last summer some time, but inasmuch as
they went to L. S. U. when you were not there, probably you never
got hold of them. I'll send other copies, and copies of three or
four others, in a few days.

I should be very glad to try the essay you mention. I believe
I should prefer to work with Masters' book alone, as you suggest,
though I could include Damon's, probably, if that were desirable.
Please let me know, when you mail the book, approximately the
length you want in the essay.

Hendrix does pretty well so far, and I've no reason to suppose
it won't continue. There is a somewhat thick atmosphere of Methodism
about the place, but there are also some attractive ideas borrowed
from the progressive universities --- Wisconsin, Chicago, et al ---
and one seems to have a perfectly free hand in intellectual matters.

Through press of this and that I can't make this longer, but
I believe I've covered all business.

Box 346 Hendrix College, Conway, Arkansas, 13 November 1935

Dear Warren:

I give what I hope is a satisfactory answer to your question as to
when I could send my article on Lindsay by enclosing the copy itself -- not
that I'm very well satisfied with it. I haven't seen the last issue of the re-
view, but have been told about the poetry contest. I shall try to get together
a group to enter. The quality of the article troubles me a little; I hope the
thing may not prove unsatisfactory.

Pullman, Washington

2 November 1936

Mr. Robert Penn Warren#,
Louisiana State University,
Baton Rouge, La.

Dear Warren:

Your letter of 8 October was a little late reaching me, as
it had to follow by a somewhat devious route to Pullman, where I
am teaching this year in the State College of Washington. Nothing,
you can infer, came of the Columbia matter. I believe I had a
form rejection from Columbia, and I know I had the like from a
few other places I tried. The negative result is all right with
me now, though, since I have landed a (comparatively) fair job
at the State College; at the time I applied for fellowships I was
in a denominational college and afraid I should have to continue
in some similar place for an indefinite period to come.

I have done little writing here so far. Time not devoured by
a rather heavy teaching load has been spent for the most part
either in rather unwilling puttering over my thesis or in pheasant
hunting. The last is a very athletic pursuit, for a person who
walks over south-eastern Washington is going either abruptly up
hill or abruptly down almost all of the time. Soon I shall submit
a chapter of the thesis to Ransom and Curry, and I anticipate having,
while waiting for their comments, a certain amount of time which
I can spend on more strictly literary matters.

Your comment *textbook effect* that you could not get sufficient
variety of effect from my last group of poems which I don't believe
I understand. Perhaps it cannot very well be discussed by letter,
however. Yes, I should be very glad to undertake further reviewing
for the *Southern Review*. I was very glad to hear from you, and hope
that I shall hear again.

Box 55, State College of Washington
Pullman, Washington

January 31, 1939

Mr. Robert Penn Warren.
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Dear Warren:

This note, I am afraid, can be construed only as a double-barreled request. The first part relates to my thesis, the nature of which is well enough indicated by the title: *The Metaphysical Conceit in the Poems of John Donne*. Would the L. S. U. Press possibly be interested in the publication of that? The subject must, I suppose, be considered comparatively a small one, and it has been plentifully discussed in print. However, I am interested in inquiring, at least, as to its publishability, and, partly at Davidson's suggestion, I am turning to you first. I believe that the study would need at least slight revision before appearing in book form, but if you are interested in the project at all, probably inspection of the thesis in its present form would tell you whether or not you would be interested in considering a possible revision.

The second part relates to possible employment: might it be
advantageous for me to send an application to L. S. U. for a position
beginning next year? I do not ask this out of any urgent need; however,
I should prefer to leave the far West before much longer, and since I
am now in my third year at the State College of Washington, and since
I shall receive my degree in June, this seems the logical <u>right</u> time
to change if I wish to change soon. Accordingly, I am feeling about.
Please treat my query as a casual factual matter, and do not let it
inconvenience you in any way.

To take a little of the "request" flavor from this letter
if possible, I'll take this opportunity to say that I was much
pleased by your text, *Understanding Poetry*. I hope it may have ex-
tremely wide missionary effect!