Correspondence, Desmond Pacey
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BOOK REVIEWNEW YORK HERALD TRIBUNE230 West 41st Street, New York 18, N. Y.May 29 th, 1952Dear Mr. Gustafson:I wish I might encourage you to send us for review CREATING WRITING IN CANADA, but alas, because of space limitations, we have had to make it a rule that we do not review books except on publication in the United States. Fortunately, sooner or later things of real interest in this country are, as a rule, brought out here. If that happens in the case of CREATIVE WRITING IN CANADA we shall be delighted to have It reviewed.Irita Van Doren EditorMr. Ralph Gustafson2 West 67th Street New York 23, New York
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DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISHTHE UNIVERSITY OF NEW BRUNSWICKFREDERICTON, N.B., CANADAJanuary 24, 1959Ralph Gustafson Apt 2D515 West 168th Street New York 32, N.Y.Dear Ralph,Thank you for sending us your short story,"Shower of Gold". I and my two co-editors of fiction on the Fiddlehead have read it with a good deal of interest and pleasure. Rather reluctantly, we are returning it to you.One of the editors was for accepting it as is, but two of us feel that in its present form it is rather over-written -especially such things as "took the barb of its fancy in the gills of his self-love". The comments on the paintings also leave something to be desired. If you would care to revise it, we should be glad to see it again. If not, we should certainly be delighted to receive other stories from you.I may say that I have recently sent off toThe Canadian Forum my review of your Penguin Book. I was very favourably impressed with the anthology, and I think you will like the review.Yours sincerelyDesmond Pacey
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515 West 168th StreetNew York 32, N.Y.February 2, 1959Desmond Pacey Esq."The Fiddlehead"University of New Brunswick Fredericton, N.B.Dear Desmond,I'm sorry my story, SHOWER OP GOLD, had to come back, I would like it to appear with you, I still feel it is good, I was glad you caught me out on the spelling of "Giorgione"— I dont know how my silly spelling escaped me J but I dont understand: "the comments on the paintings leave something to bo desired," The paintings are there only to score off the character. As the whole story is a give-away of the character who thinks it, and as he is certainly not a placid character, the "overwriting" has nothing to do with me; it's his. In other words, I couldn't see I need revise it. However, I shall try you again, if I may, with another some time. At present. I’m enjoying your book of stories very much, I got a copy when I was in Montreal recently,I'll look for your review of the PENGUIN inThe Canadian Forum, I’M glad the anthology fell into your hands for review.All the best,Sincerely yours,
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DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISHThe University OF New BrunswickFREDERICTON, N.B., CANADAFebruary 10, 1959Ralph Gustsfson Esq.515 West 168th Street New York 52, N.Y.Dear Ralph:Thank you for your letter of February 2.I’m afraid I can't tell you exactly what was meant by the phrase "the comments on the paintings leave something to be desired". I was summarizing my own and two other readers' views, and that phrase came from one of the others.As for the over-writing, I see your defence; but it's the old problem - how do you evoke dullness without seeming dull, how do you evoke pomposity without seeming pompous etc. I could see that it was your "character" who was responsible for much of the stilted, affected quality of the prose, but at the same time it seemed to me that you had fallen into the trap of seeming to be stilted yourself.I do hope you'll send us another story soon.I am glad to hear that you are enjoying Picnic. Which reminds me: have you completely dropped your idea of an anthology of Canadian prose? it seems to me a great pity that there is no anthology of Canadian stories with an international circulation. I believe Weaver is working on a World's Classics anthology, but he has been at it for about ten years now, and nothing seems to appear. Why don't you do one for Penguin Books?Yours sincerelyDesmond Pacey
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5l5 West 168th Street New York 32, N.Y.March 14, 1959Dear Des,The March Canadian Forum just cane to me this morning- I roust thank you for your review of the PENGUIN- it gave me a support I am most grateful for. It will help the book enormously and I do thank you,I am especially glad that the Introduction is supported. The time was ripe for a flat unequivocal conviction about Canadian poetry. It seems to be working. It has startled critics abroad and been resented; but the evidence of the poetry is so good that in almost every case they have come to admit Canadian poetry as excellent— which Is all that was wanted. I tackled one maverick in the person of Samuel French Morse by a letter to the editor of the N.Y. Times Book Review on March 8. I shouldn’t write letters to editors, but I got mad. Canadians have relished the Introduction- In a way that doesn’t cheer my "aggression" but convinces that what got said should have been said.I have to thank you too for your letter of last month.I have a short story that might do for Fiddlehead— but it is a "light" one- set In heaven, a colloquy between"Satan and Gabe about free will and the atom-busted earth. If you think something that isn’t "earnest" would be welcome, I'll be glad to let you see it. for your opinion.No, a PENGUIN BOOK OF CANADIAN SHORT STORIES isn’t dropped. Penguins have asked me to do one, and possibly two: one a general survey, the other only contemporary. I would like to do them- but every time the copyright fees make me go In the hole (they fire taken out of the royalties), so I hesitate. Bob Weaver is doing one for Oxford; and I think Art’s prose anthology Is due; both good news. I did have one done once- typed with notes and Introduction- the war knocked It on the head. So it goes. I would like to see another general reprint of yours. I have the school edition, but will they do another general edition?All the best, and sincere thanks again for yourreview.Yours ever,
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DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISHThe University of New BrunswickFREDERICTON, N.B.March 18, 1959Ralph Gustafson Esq.515 West 168th Street New York 32, N.Y.Dear Ralph:Thank you for your letter of March 14.I am pleased to hear that you enjoyed my review of your book in the Canadian Forum. I wonder what Art Smith would think of it? I tried to soften the blows somewhat, but I do feel that his revisions of the Book of Canadian Poetry have lacked the concern for accuracy which might be expected of a scholar.We'd like to see your short story. We are by no means committed to perpetual earnestness!The permission fees for a book of short stories shouldn't be prohibitive. I found that the writers were glad to give me rights for $25 - and since you are not likely to find more than twenty good modern short stories the total would only be something like $500.The story on my anthology of short stories is a bit complex. The first trade edition sold out, a second was printed, and almost immediately thereafter the third, "school", edition was prepared. When the second trade edition was exhausted, there were still several thousand of the school edition on hand, so what they did was to put a new dust-jacket on about half of this school edition and sell it as a trade edition! I didn't approve -but I wasn't consulted J Anyway, both of these editions -i.e. the school edition and the somewhat phony third trade edition - are now almost sold out, and I expect to be asked to prepare a thoroughly revised fourth edition very soon.Yours sincerelyDesmond Pacey
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515 West 168 Street New York, 32, .N.Y,March 24, 1959Dear Desmond,Many thanks for your letter of Wednesday.Your story of the "somewhat phony” third edition of your anthology of Canadian Stories reminded me of what happened to part of the third edition of my first Penguin collection of Canadian poetry. The edition published In England in 1941 exhausted itself; Collins took it over inCanada as agent for Penguins for three editions. In those days the book was 25 cents. I see a catalogue of Ryerson's by chance; in it the book was advertised in a hard cover edition for 75 cents. How it got into Ryerson's hands I'll never know. But I do know that I never got any royalties! And I still remember with anger the fight I had with Ryerson's to get permissions to reprint the poetry under copyright to them. The paperback was going to destroy their own anthology at the time and take away "their hard earned royalties’' made on poetry. They put a two-year limit on all contracts with me making me pay double as it turned out, and a further Iump fee which was lost because Collins refused suddenly to reprint the Penguin because they were getting out their own "Pocketful of Canada" (a book which Used a good deal of my editing)
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I was $700 in the hole on that job! I still dont like publishers- any of them.But it is good news that there is to be a revised fourth edition of your anthology of short stories. I look forward to it,l send along the short story I spoke of. I think it comes off- but at any rate it may amuse you to see it, even if it doesn’t prove right for Fiddlehead.All best wishes.lours sincerely,
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DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISHThe University of New BrunswickFREDERICTON, N.B.April 4, 1959Ralph Gustafson Esq.515 West 168 Street New York 32, N.Y.Dear Ralph:Thank you for your letter of March 24 and for the short story "Heaven Help Us". I read the latter with a good deal of .amusement and have passed it on to my co-editors for their verdict. I shall let you know the outcome as soon as possible.As you say, publishers do some weird and wonderful things. Ryerson, for all their failings, have been very generous with me about permissions - they did not ask me personally to pay a cent.Yours sincerelyDesmond Pacey
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DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISHThe University of New BrunswickFREDERICTON, N. B.April 21,1959Ralph Gustafson Esq.515 West 168th Street New York 32,N.Y.Dear Ralph:I am sorry to be returning your story, but my colleagues and I have decided that it doesn't quite come off. We have no objection to the type of story, and we feel that parts of it are very good, but we also feel that parts of the story are out of key, and that the light touch is not consistently maintained.Do send us other material in the future.We should very much like to have your work in the magazine one of these days.Yours sincerelyDesmond Pacey
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