Thursday, February 11, 2010

Dead Letter Office

A collection of 11 letters written by the late J.D. Salinger to the man who designed the book jacket of "The Catcher in the Rye" are being made public at the Morgan Library and Museum in Midtown Manhattan, and offer a revealing look at the famed author's descent from up-and-coming writing star (dinner in London with Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh circa 1954) to cranky recluse (he can’t recall ever answering the telephone “without unconsciously gritting my teeth”):

The New York Times reports:

The letters furnish what may be the most specific description yet of Mr. Salinger’s writing habits in the years after 1965, when he stopped publishing. Even in the 1980s, he describes a highly disciplined writing regimen, starting each morning at 6, never later than 7, and not brooking interruption, “unless absolutely necessary or convenient.” This in-his-own-words account may bolster the conviction and hope of some that he left additional works behind.

The letters to [Michael] Mitchell also capture, like Polaroid snapshots, how Mr. Salinger initially embraced the high life he tasted as an up-and-coming author — supping with Laurence Olivier and Vivian Leigh in the couple’s London home, for instance — before souring on the social scene and parts of New York that helped shape his fiction.

The letters to Mr. Mitchell also capture, like Polaroid snapshots, how Mr. Salinger initially embraced the high life he tasted as an up-and-coming author — supping with Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh in the couple’s London home, for instance — before souring on the social scene and parts of New York that helped shape his fiction.

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