Cather responds with palpable annoyance to a presumptuous young fan: “Persistence wins, they say; but I think it wins much more easily when it is accompanied by a certain courtesy and delicacy. I get a great many letters from young boys, but they are seldom so inconsiderate as to present me with a questionnaire... You can readily see that it would be preposterous if a writer attempted to explain his book to several hundred thousand readers, and one reader has just as much right to ask questions as another. When I call your attention to this I am sure you will understand why I did not answer your earlier letters.”
 

[Framed With:] HOPPÉ, Emil Otto (1878-1972). Gelatin silver print portrait of Cather, 1921, visible image 162 x 104 mm.