Correspondence, Earle Birney

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ELEANOR GODFREY Managing EditorL. A. MORRIS Business ManagerThe Canadian Forum28 Wellington Street West Telephone Waverley 5118 TORONTO, CANADA22nd November, 1939,Mr. Ralph Gustafson, Apartment 2A,300 West End Avenue, New York City, N.Y.Dear Mr. GustafsonsMany thanks for the poems you sent me on November 8th. They are all so good I hesitate ■which to select. I like the subtlety of the thought in ECTOMIA but I find the syntax verv difficult in the four lines beginning "does scalpel of sonrr^.n Perhaps I am being stupid but I am returning it in the hope that you may decide to clarify it. I am returning ULTIMATUM for somewhat similar reasons. The rest I am accepting:QUEBEC SUGARBUSH, PROLOGUE TO SUMMER, CITY SONG. If it is agreable with you I will publish them at seasonable intervals, i.e. probably February, April and June. I should be grateful if these poems did not appear in published form elsewhere before those dates - that is in a magazine or book circulating in Canada. The reprinting of WINTER LANDSCAPE is quite in order; you have the book rights to all poems published by us. We are concerned only with securing a prior date of magazine publication*Yours sincerely,Earle Birney. Literary Editor.EB:H
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eurrevA bad cfeeW 005• Y.W ^'loY wetf0s;61 ,32 'iecfmavo "7,00 West End Avenue New York City, N.Y.November 25, 1939rr*r.Earle Birney Esq.The Canadian Forum R- YonrI- : • ©Its28 Wellington Street West "i' ^ neJtbrn -O Toronto, Canada Jeew ;teeit& not^nllloW 83.BfiBnfiO to^no,ioTDear Mr Birney,Thank you for youp'Ctetter of Wednesday.I was more than nleased that QUEBEC SUG-ARBUSH,PROLOOUBf TO &JHUBR and CITY SONO are to appear with yoa. I shall see that these are not published elsetfhei*e before'the dates suggested by you. iBeqas ion ob 9B9rto Snrt.3 oee 11/308 I .itqy rttlwMy attempt In the* second and third verses of ECTOMIA was to make ieaStious Imagery fuse— come simultaneously. As sensations do tfhen experienced.(A series of parallels, rather than hyphens). The effect I hoped would be, not cumulative, but immediate. And so "curt-clcan" serves both "smell" and,’wind,T— and I was Impatient with punctuation, fatal to fusion.But even such fusion must have clarity. I have put In punctuation and send It along to you again.I should like Its appearance to be in the "Forum"— if you saw fit.I am enclosing FOR WE ARE FREE. It does not mean to be presumptuous of space— but perhaps you might care to read it through.With best wishes,Yours sincerely,ENCS: vEctomiaFor We Are Free
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eiraevA bnll ise'tf 005 ,Y.H ,*^10 3fioY W9M9561 ,32 ^cfmsvoW300 West End Avenue New York City* N.Y.November 25, 1939• pe3 ^emJta 9J^b3 Earle Birney Esq, tj. :o'I nBlbsnr-0 :The Canadian Forum iae-tiE ao3r\nLr..r.* 89 28 Wellington Street West 'n. -r; toinc ioT Toronto, Canada,t^emia *lM isea• Y-sJbE Dear Mr Birney, y- i/oy JinBriT, ilSUcH/ U8 oaaau.C; iarfi besBelq nr.rfi oiom r.aw IThank yon for your letter of Wednesday.I was more than pleased that "Quebec S*£arbush", “Prolipue to Summer" and "City Song" are to appear with you. I shall see that these do not appear elsewhere before ishe dates suggested by you. As my plans now are# 1 expect my book of poems will .beori91 not appear before next autumn*:p.x/oemtflum.te erfT .(Bir°rirr-i risrfi ‘rorfiaT t8loIIfliflq lo 891*198 A).eiBlbennl itrd , ovloBlurjfO ion ,9tJ bluow J&9qorf I io9Tl9 :-np —"bnlw bn:- ”T19tna" rfiocf BOTrcoe "nnolo-in/o" ob briA .£10180*1 oi Ij. iBl , noliBiriomrq rfilw iii9liBqml 8Bw I I .^il-rslo ev^rf ieum nolsi/l rfotre n9V9 iirHiro^ oi yiola il Jbn9e brra noliflirionuq; xil iwq 9VBrf11 —’’nuno'?" 9 . i rtl ocf oi 90fl«'iB9qqB sil 9>.1I bLuorie I.ill WBB 00^ion peob il ,aHFR SHA 3W HO1*? gnlaolone ms I ir?a*ax 1/07 aqBrf-rBq iirrf —goaqe lo Birou’iqnu/eB'iq ecf oi nB9m.rfguoirfi il bB9T oi 9«ibo,8erfelw iB9cf rfilW A tY-t9rt9onlB e-riroY: 80*^3 fllrnoio3 991'? 9^ e l rio<?
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The Canadian Forum28 Wellington Street West Telephone Waverley 5118 TORONTO, CANADA10th September, 1940.Mr. Ralph Gustafson,Apt j 7A,2 'West b7th Street,New York City, N.Y.Dear Mr. GustafsonsThank you very much for your kind letter. I am pleased to accept your poem DEDICATION. Publication may be delayed because I have a considerable stock of verse on hand. I hope you won't mind.Yours sincerely.Earle Birney. Literary Editor.ebsh
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End: HANDS, UMENT, SLUG IN WOODS, KOOTENAY STILL-LIFE, GREY-ROCKS. mniversitg of TorontoTORONTO S, CANADAUNIVERSITY COLLEGE T . , ^ , ,January 4, 1941DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISHDear Mr. Gustafson,My apologies for not answering yours of the 24th Dec. sooner.Thank you very much for considering my verses in preparing your anthology.I'm not clear as to whether you want only poems already published, or/tnot, so I’m enclosing two published some years ago in the Canadian Forum and three recent and unpublished. The only one of the five that 1 can still get any mild excitement out of is "Hands". I suppose this^partly beoause it has been twice accepted and later shelved beoause it didnt seem patriotic enough for the editors ( or thier backers). I'm enclosing a reply enveloped Is there any bar against my submitting the unpublished ones elsewhere in the meantime?I'm afraid ^ cant help you much regarding Ivan McNeil, None of the Forum editors, past or present, seem to have heard of him. I'll make further enquiries—the Library here may know. We hold no copyrights, though we are always pleased to see acknowledgements when we have been the original publishers. Morley Callaghan thinks there are no copyrights on Knister's verse, but isnt sure. I'm -writing this Saturday night and cant reach Ryersons (' who were his publishers). Will check on that too, on Monday, and write you further. Mrs. Knister is still alive but has removed from Toronto, and no one seems to know where. She may hold copyrights.The Penguin anthology sounds ^bb£ like a good idea. I wish you every success. Dont hesitate to tell me if there's anything I can do for you here. I$ve had to drop from the Forum because the work got too heavy for me, mac ana there were other things ’I” Wanted to do, but I'm still very interested in Canadian verse. Sincerely, ~
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UNIVERSITY C DEPARTMENT OF
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Apartment 7a 70 Central Park West New Yor£ N.Y.January 18, 1941Deai‘ Mr Birney,Many thanks for your letter of the sixteenth and for your authorization to include SLUG IN WOODS in the Penguin anthology— thanks, too, for the data for my Biographical Notes.I was glad to have the dates of J.E#K.Macdonald. Haven’t located Mrs Knister yet-- but I shall include Knister natheless.I was glad to hear Louis MacKay is taking over the literary side of the "Forum”-- perhaps he can puncture Hepburn with a satirical dart.Have you tiled HANDS with Chicago ’’Poetry"/ There’s a new "little mag” down here called ’’Vice Versa” (sort of a would-be "New Verse”) which should do it. The address is P.O.Box 583, Grand Central Annex, New York City. (The new "Decision17 edited by Illaus Mann looks good: 141 East 29th Street, Now York City.)I remain greatly indebted to you. With all best wishes,Sincerely,' 'i I / I t
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University of TorontoUNIVERSITY COLLEGE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH•*.- s»-{r~-i\s-%As/ *7 > &^--^ ----Ij^VvXC*!
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January 29, 1941Dear Mr Birney,Again my thanks to you for your good offices. I have had word from Henry Noyes, and all is in order.Copyright difficulties held my typescript back. I located Raymond Knister's wife in Port Dover (she is now Mrs Christppher Grace) and obtained permission to use the poems. She is sending me a sheaf of Knister’s poems— though I’m afraid they might be too late for me to reshuffle the Anthology.With best wishes,i\i. AR.'.vil *'
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Apartment 7A 70 Central Park -Vest New York City, N.Y.August 9, 1941The Canadian Forum 28 Wellington Street west Toronto, Ontario.Dear Sirs,Would you be good enough to consider ARRODROMiS AT MORNING and "S.3.R., lost at sea*" — The Times, for the Forum? ThSMalfeefc refers to Sain Robertson, superintendent of the Canadian Pre who went down with a convoy-veasel last May*I also enolose a copy of my last book for review purposes, if you see fit* Leon Edel mentioned, without any particular periodical in mind, that he*d like to review the book— but I of course would welccae any decision of yours in such a matter*With best wishes,Yours sincerely,•• ' ‘v"' Pft.JICS*(
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2I have taken the liberty of having Miss Steloff of the Gotham Bookmart Press forward a review oopy of Eugene Jolas* Yearbook called "Vertical” to "The Canadian Form”, Perhaps you'd like to give it notice? It is a sort of projection of the Paris transition.Sincerely,PS, To whom should I write at the ’‘Forum" about some apparently Mstrayed” poems?

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