NORMAN COUSINS - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 02/19/1948 - HFSID 295985

NORMAN COUSINS
The editor adds a kind personal touch to a rejection letter.
Typed Letter signed: "Norman Cousins", 1 page, 5½x8½. New York, N.Y., 1948 February 19. On his letterhead as Editor of the Saturday Review of Literature to Jessica Lewis, New York, Barbizon Plaza Hotel, N. Y. In full: "Mr. William Rose Benet, our poetry editor, has sent your poems back to me with a note that he is, unfortunately, unable to fit them into his plans for forthcoming issues. The inventory is extremely heavy right now. I should be glad to see you and to talk with you while you are in the city. If you will be good enough to call me and arrange a convenient time, perhaps we can make it some day next week. Sincerely". Norman Cousins (1915-1990) was editor of the Saturday Review for nearly forty years (1942-1978), transforming it from a struggling journal to an influential publication with 600,000 subscribers. He wrote dozens of books and hundreds of essays and editorials. President of the United World Federalists and co-founder of SANE (National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy), Cousins crusaded tirelessly to reign in the nuclear arms race and for international peace and social justice. Cousins also believed strongly in the importance of a positive mental attitude in combating disease, a view he promoted in his best-selling book Anatomy of an Illness (1979). President Kennedy thanked Cousins publicly for his role in promoting the test ban treaty (1963), and Pope John XXIII awarded him his personal medallion. After retiring from Saturday Review, Cousins taught medical ethics at UCLA. Toned. Multiple mailing folds. Minor notches at right edge. Otherwise, fine condition.