Viewing page 59 of 100

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

DUNBAR: AN INTIMATE GLIMPSE      YOUNG

Hoping that I have not bored you very much and that I may have an early answer,

I am sincerely yours,
Paul Laurence Dunbar

The reply must have been a bit tardy judging from Dunbar's next letter, dated from Indianapolis on May 23rd:

Miss Alice Ruth Moore,

Dear Madam:—I believe this is the proper term: 

The presence of your letter awaiting me at my home, as I stopped in for an hour on a flying visit, was a source of great pleasure to me. After the long time that had elapsed since I wrote you, I had entirely given up all idea of hearing from you, but your letter came and was kind.

I was glad that you had seen my name somewhere and so you could not think that I was a presumptuous upstart, and not less glad to hear you say that you enjoyed my verses.

Strange to say, on coming here three weeks ago, altho I had given up all hope of ever knowing you personally, I searched thru a large bundle of exchanges looking for some of your work or some mention of you, and was rewarded by finding the "Journal of the Lodger" (indecipherable)—the woman's column conducted by you. Never did I devour a woman's column with such avidity and judge with what eagerness I now watch for it each week. It may be well for me to say here that I am in this city giving some recitals from my work and am constantly with the editor of the "World" and from this week I shall be connected with that paper for a time—hence the term "exchanges".

No dear Miss Moore, you did not tread on my corns in expressing your opinion on Negro literature. I too believe that a story is a story and try to make my characters "real live people". But I believe that characters in fiction should be what men and women are in real life—the embodiment of a principle or idea. There is no individuality apart from an idea. Every character who moves across the pages of a story is to my mind—

321

Transcription Notes:
---------- Reopened for Editing 2024-02-19 16:41:53