‘THE PRINCETON UNIVERSITY LIBRARY CHRONICLE VOLUME XLV+1983.1984AREER) RCE rer , ‘xpon spe ALD aging erp ay eg at hour ogeareuae aa gat Seb see erste cies aes Sune nS Sus o in aa ky ita tu ioe erie ti Sega = aa ae omer 8 Pace, Crying Wolfe In Oapher 1983, Mr, Sete rst the Library «group of sated gud cops of einen ke Leste of Cras, A Feel to Arms, Phe Spin of St. Lous Their Fines our abel pact of Thomas Wot moter wich ad reared sae hey oc. Tae ome mah i scion of den neue nthe page Vanity Fat lng atone of th Woe sie Wi he frm of Vanity Fis of hadi of We ole ete, ahd of Serine re reprinting he ect fh covey and aig eran of a ee gi The desk hd belonged to the legendary Seribners editor, aswell Perkins. Before that chad belonged tomy (great- sgea) Uncle Arthur, youngest ofthe three Charles Serer’ Sree Pad “inherited the fst day I started work Oargely Feenuse the senior editor withthe est claim toi eomplained ther she ram her stockings oni) The masive Victorian oak hd eccupied the fth- oor office onthe southwest corer BFtor Fifth Avenue ever since the companys move tothe Boiling in 1933. Perkins condaed his voluminous correspondence fom that desk wih his prised authors Hemingway, Flagera, Wolte, Stat company. The Gesk was the scene of Hemingways in: rompruvresting match with the erige Max Eastman, vas Re ubger of Fgeralds hombutg, which he invariably tossed hes tS oakeandégass parton «6 announce his rive. And fTwasthe workbenth for Perkinv’s mos laborious undertaking: the extensive euting and eating of Thomas Wolfe's fst (0 fovea, La Homeucha, Angel and Of Tine nd the River Perkings relationship vith Wolfe went beyond that of editor ww autor: he was alto Wolfe’ confidant, champion, and sir fogue Ether. Welfe often said that he couldn have writen Fook wiihout Mian. Perkins, by nature ashy and sle-et- facing many wa profoundly embarrassed by his author's by- ferbaic bute. He paid a biter price for them when Wale Eee decided Ie had to prove—to himself, othe public—that 25hecould write abook without Max. After writing several tor Teproachful eters, Wolf left Perkins and Seibners in Hi iat books were publshed by Harper Breshers (gos thous, ast tarned oul) and itn the fal ony War Perkins, whom Wolfe had appointed his Mtraryexecior, to oversce ther publiaon personaly erlan kepe he angry leer buried in hit desk, where were found nly afer hs death Evident. be could not Tove hs clléagucs se he negative de of Wole per ai The desk had been ceaned out several mes ast pase senioyeiors John Hall Wheelock and Burroughs Mitchel fore Ito, hal the chance to ils drawers wath mints oficial and personal busines. We becved thatthe oi Contents of the deak had found ther way nto the comp Shiv (now inthe Princeton University Lira) Bust onthe ago wile clearing out the de for is Art move mw ofc, { became iisied at one drawer would ot Completely Sosetning was blocking 1 remove the Ge nd reached into a halceentury of dust to find evo erum Sheet af paper cipped ts photographs, Not exactly bu treanureat least nt at fst aght. The batered photograph was of Thomas Wolfe—a phot apanung. to be precke On the back was nscibed The ‘weit, fm a portrat by Douglas W. Conine with a Signed by Eizabeth Novel, Welles agen: “Tis Maa Estine’ nd peronal copy lease he st nt to mark or de The ctefspanying shct of paper were a ypescript poem sed Gna very rough hand) Last Poem,” ith Boo Ercga writen iow he te Tetok so ray Sherlock Ho to dace its authorship. Aide from the Creumstanal dence ofthe desk and the photo, the impassioned voice baroque imagery were as telale as the frenzied handwrie Te jist happened tat the very next week we mere tot pari forthe Thomas Wolic Sec In our edtrial i Shere Wolfe had apent many a night sleeping on the Hoot hhad wanted to read ll his publisher's books) What better to'welome the society than wich Wolfe los and lst poe The fret public reading ofthe pocmn relied in more soot cher. One the guest, Profesor Richard Kennedy oted Wolfe solar an biographer immediately recope 226 the ttle from an itemized lst of manuscripts that Wolfe, before his final trip west, had sent to his nev editor, Edward Aswell [at Harpers). One item on the list had never been accounted for "Last Poem.” For this, there had been no corresponding mmanuseript—uniil now. hogan pore of Tha Web Dea W- Cat 27Aut Ler se91) sect ee ttedetactls Poe E i Sed Sie aad Ete blo otterteg ‘Up im a flc0dt * 2, Seana ats at soclgaaren inh aia ast cr oh BS TBE. tne sso ‘ghae “ithe slow and tlaot “ee infin ARE StS mene Soran Or Pe tn a shin of eBH'ASG or thnt wate into uy na Bt ey oneeaaty at “Heresins Un gindviverae'os Seoweueie Bitese eye Acroat 6g ana touseiess Level of a itietaty Pacem. SSiaTengse’ of ay ySuthy febtens cate ana Shi You golden vengeance of bright oe stot of four aagte, a6 to ont aanif'fh Wiese piace before you -05, anosfal shade at poetsyins Spee for one who Lovet aoa 483 2557 0 tat ‘et yous ma vosde ot shat wiht vowever Safe a by what anguieh contrtgtde,orieg tat ont gu jot mals Be pats ant oy and retaad,"o"fifious ant tntoterable- “Thoms les gps oan leas)CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE "icHanD f.nxtwen has taught English a¢ Monmouth College since 1gGo, A stalent of religion, with a ThM, degree from Princeton ‘Theological Seminary, hei lso a socal historian author of Pesper ties on Ocean Grove, 198) and a poet. ewver ale urn, Charles Sanders Peirce Profewsor of Philos- ‘phy at Texas Tech University, isthe author of An Essay o the Netore ad Tw gp) An baton 92°C. Cllngwands Dare of Able Preuppstions (1973), and number of articles on Peirce, He hasbeen active in the movement which s making all of Pelce's vo. luminous writings available for sudy through new eétions and ree dictions ‘aso uhia received his Ph. in Engi literature from Princeton University in 1965. He teaches medieval erature at Femple Uni. Yersiy, and his most recent publicatons include 4 Reader Guide 0 the Roman dea Rse (1982) anda selection from A. Edward Newton's ‘oxrespondence with Amy Lowell (Haraind Livery Bulls, Jantiery 1980) E (Hanes scum "73 received his Ph.D. in at history from Prince ton University in 1977: His book The Triumph ofthe Euchre, Tapasbics, Pesind ty Ptr Paul Runs was published in 1982, Fe ts executive ‘kepresident of Charles Scribner's Sons, New York