[Charles Causley, Cornish poet.] Three Typed Letters Signed (all 'Charles Causley') to Ian McPherson, discussing proposed readings, and the difficulty of fitting in 'teaching and writing comitments with other activities'.

Author: 
Charles Causley [Charles Stanley Causley] (1917-2003), Cornish poet [Ian McPherson]
Publication details: 
All three on Causley's letterhead, 2 Cyprus Well, Launceston, Cornwall. 9 December 1974; 20 July 1975; 2 December 1976.
£80.00
SKU: 21298

All three 1p, landscape 12mo. All in good condition, lightly aged. ONE: 9 December 1974. He thanks him for 'the invitation […] But as I'm teaching full-time here now, this would be very difficult to arrange as far as schools visits would be concerned. (I asked the Arts Council to take my name off the schools list, but they don't seem to have done so).' He suggests a 'reading during the holiday break, perhaps. One aimed principally at adults, I mean.' The 'London Poetry Secretariat/Arts Council link-up' might 'provide some kind of subsidy'. He comments: 'I'm absolutely up to my neck in teaching and writing at present. […] My Collected Poems are coming out in the summer term – possibly we could do something in connection with that.' Autograph Draft Signed of reply by McPherson on reverse, dated 19 December 1974. TWO: 20 July 1975. He apologises 'for being such a nuisance […] I often seem to get muddled about dates when answering enquiries over the phone'. He continues: 'I hasten to tell you that I can't manage that half-term date this coming term. I completely forgot when talking to you that I've had to set this aside to complete the work on an anthology of sea-verse due then.' He explains how things have been put 'back to square one', and ends by apologising: 'it's difficult to fit in teaching and writing commitments with other activities sometimes'. As with Item One, signed draft of McPherson's reply on reverse, dated 8 August 1975. THREE: 2 December 1975. 'Here is the book duly inscribed. I hope Laurinda will enjoy reading the story.' He announces that he will 'no longer be teaching after this present term: I'm hoping to devote much more attentino to writing. This should mean, among other things, that it wouldn't be quite as difficult to fix a date for a reading: that is, if you went ahead with your original idea.'