JOSEPH W. ALSOP JR. - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 02/05/1979 - HFSID 190150

JOSEPH ALSOP, JR
Joseph Alsop, Jr. sends a typed letter of regret that he cannot answer a question.
Typed Letter signed: "Sincerely/Joseph Alsop", 2p, 7x10½. On personal letterhead. Washington, D.C., 1979 February 5. To John Norbutt, Brooklyn, New York. Alsop has handwritten "Dear Mr Norbutt" In full: "Very warmest thanks for a most flattering letter. I wish I could give you a proper answer, but the truth is that I have never seen anywhere, in the course of a long life largely devoted to reading, a serious answer to the questions you asked. The best I can do is to say that, first, being a writer is not a lonely life, and, secondly, it is a blessing if you feel you are doing a good job. But, of course, any serious job is a blessing, as long as you feel you are doing well with it; and a writer's life really cannot be lonely, since one always needs something to write about. This last means, in turn, that the creative writer has to find materials in his own experience; a newspaper writer, as I used to be, has to find his materials by reporting; and even a scholarly writer, as I now am, has to find his materials by talking with other scholars and in books. I do not believe, in fact, that any serious writer can simply spin good books out of his own guts, like a silkworm making a cocoon. I am a poor witness because I really became a writer on account of the Great Depression of 1929-32. At that time, jobs were rather rarer than hens' teeth, and when my family found me a job as a reporter, there was no alternative to taking it. If you don't become a writer by accident, as I did, I can't imagine making a career in writing without a positive and driving inner need to do so. Good luck with your work. It sounds wonderfully rewarding. And I hope this letter, though unsatisfactory, will be helpful." Joseph Alsop, Jr. (1910-1989) was a political journalist whose column, first called "The Capital Parade" (1937-1940, co-written with Robert E. Kintner) and later renamed "Matter of Fact" (from 1946) appeared three times a week in 300 U.S. newspapers. At his retirement, Alsop's column was America's longest-running one. Alsop called himself and his journalist brother, Stewart, "very square New Deal liberals", but his foreign policy views were more conservative. Stewart had co-written "Matter of Fact" with Joseph from 1946-1958, going on to write for the "Saturday Evening Post" and "Newsweek", but his foreign policy views were more conservative. He strongly supported the Vietnam War. Horizontal fold touches tails of "J" in "Joseph" and 'p" in "Alsop". Otherwise, fine condition.