WILLIAM ROSE BENET - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 12/22/1949 - HFSID 72969

WILLIAM ROSE BENET
The poet signs a typed letter updating a friend on family matters
Typed Letter signed: "William Rose Benet", 2 pages, 7¼x10½. New York, N.Y., 1949 December 22. To "Dear Mrs. [Jonathan Mayhew] Wainwright". In full: "I am so glad to have your address and the letter from you, and send you our Christmas poem. It is extremely kind of you to send me Grandfather's Jomini. I have a copy, but either my sister, or sister-in-law, or one of my children will be very glad to have this other. Thank you very much indeed in advance! You may be surprised, but I have really often thought of you with gratitude, and wondered how things were going with you, and hoping everything was going well. We have had this apartment we like ever since we were married. My wife is a writer and illustrator of books for small children. We also have acquired a small summer place on Cape Ann, At Pigeon Cove, where we live close to the ocean for five months of the year, and love it. If you are ever in New York or Boston do come and see us. On Cape Ann, Rockport, our station is only about an hour from Boston and there are many trains. With my very best wishes to you for a happy Christmas and New Year! I have four different pictures of Elinor in my study. There are no poets like that any more! This Fall both Mrs. Hoyt and Elinor's younger brother, Morton, died. I wrote Nancy, here younger sister, the only one of the Hoyt children left now, who lives in the old house in Washington. She must be about forty-five. I had a nice note from her. I am now nearly sixty-four, but still like to try to write poetry, and am glad you read my queer little department in the SRL. Sincerely yours." Normal mailing folds. Fine condition. Accompanied by the (printed) Christmas poem mentioned in the letter, "Address to Archeus" by Marjorie Flack and William Rose Benet, 4p, 5¾x9½. Lightly toned at edges. Otherwise, fine condition. Also accompanied by original mailing envelope with typed address of Mrs. Wainwright, Scranton, Pennsylvania; and the return address of WR Benet, New York, N.Y. Lightly soiled. Frayed at opening along upper edge. Otherwise, fine condition. WILLIAM ROSE BENET(1886-1950), the brother of poet STEPHEN VINCENT BENET (1898-1943) and husband of poet ELINOR WYLIE (1885-1928), founded the "Saturday Review of Literature" (1924), editing it until his death. He was also an accomplished poet, winning the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry (1942) for "The Dust Which is God." Another STEPHEN VINCENT BENET (1827-1895), the grandfather of poets Stephen and William, was a career military officer who taught at West Point through most of the Civil War (1859-1864) and became Chief of Ordnance (1874). He translated the Political and Military History of the Campaign of Waterloo, by Antoine Henri JOMINI. Jomini (1779-1869) served with (and later against) Napoleon, and was one of the foremost writers on the art of war. MARJORIE FLACK (1887-1958) was William Rose Benet's fourth wife and a noted writer and illustrator of children's books. Her The Story About Ping (1933), the story of a duck living on a Chinese house boat, remains on many recommended lists today. Three items.