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thingtwo's review against another edition
5.0
This book was absolutely beautiful. I'm already a big fan of William Maxwell, and will now search out something by Eudora Welty to enjoy.
Welty and Maxwell were writers and friends for over fifty years. They shared their fears, concerns about family, sniffles, weather, book suggestions, and a mutual longing to sit together and laugh. It was a joy to see how a friendship SHOULD work - without jealousy, without anger, without pride, with love - and it made me long to live in a time when we all had time (and enough land!) to garden.
Welty and Maxwell were writers and friends for over fifty years. They shared their fears, concerns about family, sniffles, weather, book suggestions, and a mutual longing to sit together and laugh. It was a joy to see how a friendship SHOULD work - without jealousy, without anger, without pride, with love - and it made me long to live in a time when we all had time (and enough land!) to garden.
teresatumminello's review against another edition
5.0
4.75 stars
Compiling and editing these letters had to be a massive undertaking and I congratulate the editor on her work. (The only tiny quibble I had was of a book mentioned by [a:William Maxwell|10772835|William Maxwell|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/authors/1419020743p2/10772835.jpg] that is not annotated with the author's name as are all the other books mentioned in the letters, and I'm still not sure who wrote it.) Several years ago I attended a panel on [a:Eudora Welty|7973|Eudora Welty|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/authors/1463127348p2/7973.jpg] with Marrs as one of the panelists, and I know she's a Welty scholar (who became her friend) and this book also shows as a labor of love.
As far as the content goes, this couldn't be more wonderful for anyone who loves Welty or Maxwell, and is doubly valuable for those who love both. In the beginning, I stopped to read other things. But at some point I didn't want to stop. The letters grow in depth as the friendship grows, until you are pulled in so much you don't want the friendship to ever end, even as you know both are entering a great age.
I paused also to read works mentioned in these letters (I could've done that more often: it's so rich in the sharing of the works they recommend to each other) from Welty's [b:The Ponder Heart|853371|The Ponder Heart|Eudora Welty|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1398024549s/853371.jpg|14882] to my rereading a speech given by Walker Percy (collected in [b:Signposts in a Strange Land|1410529|Signposts in a Strange Land|Walker Percy|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1183388735s/1410529.jpg|1400832]) in honor of an endowment named after Welty.
Marrs points out that there are no extant letters between these two referencing the relationship between Welty and Kenneth Millar, and she speculates as to the reasons why. My guess is that if there were any, Maxwell would've destroyed them, a clue (for me) being something he writes to Welty late in their lives:
The most poignant letter of all -- the one that will stay with me -- is from Maxwell in response to Welty's admitting she'd been in NYC and was too depressed to contact Maxwell and his wife (uncharacteristic of Welty, as they were always trying to arrange visits). The words Maxwell offers and the family story he tells in response are, not surprisingly for those who know his fiction, both simple and deep, and show that his calling Eudora "family" was never just mere talk.
Compiling and editing these letters had to be a massive undertaking and I congratulate the editor on her work. (The only tiny quibble I had was of a book mentioned by [a:William Maxwell|10772835|William Maxwell|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/authors/1419020743p2/10772835.jpg] that is not annotated with the author's name as are all the other books mentioned in the letters, and I'm still not sure who wrote it.) Several years ago I attended a panel on [a:Eudora Welty|7973|Eudora Welty|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/authors/1463127348p2/7973.jpg] with Marrs as one of the panelists, and I know she's a Welty scholar (who became her friend) and this book also shows as a labor of love.
As far as the content goes, this couldn't be more wonderful for anyone who loves Welty or Maxwell, and is doubly valuable for those who love both. In the beginning, I stopped to read other things. But at some point I didn't want to stop. The letters grow in depth as the friendship grows, until you are pulled in so much you don't want the friendship to ever end, even as you know both are entering a great age.
I paused also to read works mentioned in these letters (I could've done that more often: it's so rich in the sharing of the works they recommend to each other) from Welty's [b:The Ponder Heart|853371|The Ponder Heart|Eudora Welty|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1398024549s/853371.jpg|14882] to my rereading a speech given by Walker Percy (collected in [b:Signposts in a Strange Land|1410529|Signposts in a Strange Land|Walker Percy|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1183388735s/1410529.jpg|1400832]) in honor of an endowment named after Welty.
Marrs points out that there are no extant letters between these two referencing the relationship between Welty and Kenneth Millar, and she speculates as to the reasons why. My guess is that if there were any, Maxwell would've destroyed them, a clue (for me) being something he writes to Welty late in their lives:
I opened a volume of the Yeats/ Maude Gonne correspondence and read (from her) a short letter beginning Darling (or some such) and thought I have no business reading this letter and stopped.
The most poignant letter of all -- the one that will stay with me -- is from Maxwell in response to Welty's admitting she'd been in NYC and was too depressed to contact Maxwell and his wife (uncharacteristic of Welty, as they were always trying to arrange visits). The words Maxwell offers and the family story he tells in response are, not surprisingly for those who know his fiction, both simple and deep, and show that his calling Eudora "family" was never just mere talk.
perednia's review against another edition
5.0
One magical evening in 1942, William Maxwell attended a party at which Eudora Welty told a story that completely enchanted him. It took until 1951, but Maxwell persevered until he convinced The New Yorker to accept a story of hers to publish. Well before that publication, they were writing to each other, exchanging news of roses, food, family, books and music, with Maxwell's wife Emily and Welty writing to each other as well.
For more than 50 years, they continued to write to each other. One of the world's great literary friendships is preserved in What There is to Say We Have Said, meticulously edited by Welty biographer and friend Suzanne Marrs.
The introduction by Marrs sets the loveliest tone about friendship by quoting Welty's own introduction to the famed Norton Book of Friendship. It brings to mind long-lasting friendships formed online, where we put ideas, hopes, dreams and disappointments into words to each other every day.
Their exchanges about writing itself as not as plentiful as a greedy reader would like. But the line-by-line edits they discuss over the work that was published in the magazine are master classes of how a careful and loving editor makes the finished work better but does not get in the way of the writer.
Welty and the Maxwells also do other people's fiction the honor of taking it on its own terms as they discuss other writers who they adore and whose work they admire, especially Katherine Anne Porter and Elizabeth Bowen.
The Maxwells also are protective of Welty, especially in later years as the honors bestowed on her, and the demands on her time, increase, even though it's highly doubtful her bank account did. On at least two occasions, Maxwell asks Welty to come live with them and be cared for. Maxwell also shines as a courtly gentleman of decency. Never a word is written that exists between them about Welty's love for Ross McDonald, who was married. Instead, there is rejoicing at the accomplishments of the two Maxwell daughters and Welty's nieces.
They bear their gradual declines with grace. Welty was in such poor health that no letters from her exist after 1990, 11 years before she died, while Maxwell's last letter was written in 1996, four years before he died. But as the letter from which this collection's title is taken states, these friends shared their ideas and lives for more than 50 years so whatever they could have said they probably did.
And for those who treasure the earnest searching that results in honest writing about the ins and outs of the human heart, there is much to ponder over in these letters. They lead to a desire to read again or discover for the first time the sheer pleasure of the fiction of both Maxwell and Welty. The letters are a testament to friendship, and they are a balm in these days of betrayal, backstabbing and bitterness.
For more than 50 years, they continued to write to each other. One of the world's great literary friendships is preserved in What There is to Say We Have Said, meticulously edited by Welty biographer and friend Suzanne Marrs.
The introduction by Marrs sets the loveliest tone about friendship by quoting Welty's own introduction to the famed Norton Book of Friendship. It brings to mind long-lasting friendships formed online, where we put ideas, hopes, dreams and disappointments into words to each other every day.
Their exchanges about writing itself as not as plentiful as a greedy reader would like. But the line-by-line edits they discuss over the work that was published in the magazine are master classes of how a careful and loving editor makes the finished work better but does not get in the way of the writer.
Welty and the Maxwells also do other people's fiction the honor of taking it on its own terms as they discuss other writers who they adore and whose work they admire, especially Katherine Anne Porter and Elizabeth Bowen.
The Maxwells also are protective of Welty, especially in later years as the honors bestowed on her, and the demands on her time, increase, even though it's highly doubtful her bank account did. On at least two occasions, Maxwell asks Welty to come live with them and be cared for. Maxwell also shines as a courtly gentleman of decency. Never a word is written that exists between them about Welty's love for Ross McDonald, who was married. Instead, there is rejoicing at the accomplishments of the two Maxwell daughters and Welty's nieces.
They bear their gradual declines with grace. Welty was in such poor health that no letters from her exist after 1990, 11 years before she died, while Maxwell's last letter was written in 1996, four years before he died. But as the letter from which this collection's title is taken states, these friends shared their ideas and lives for more than 50 years so whatever they could have said they probably did.
And for those who treasure the earnest searching that results in honest writing about the ins and outs of the human heart, there is much to ponder over in these letters. They lead to a desire to read again or discover for the first time the sheer pleasure of the fiction of both Maxwell and Welty. The letters are a testament to friendship, and they are a balm in these days of betrayal, backstabbing and bitterness.
balancinghistorybooks's review
5.0
What There Is To Say We Have Said is one of my most anticipated books - well, ever. Maxwell is one of my favourite writers (and it pains me that he is so little known), and I very much admire Welty. Regardless, I knew little about them as individuals, so when I spotted this volume, I immediately put it at the top of my birthday list.
Marrs' introduction is wonderful. She writes with such passion, and compassion, for her subjects. From the very beginning, I knew that I would have loved to meet both of those whom Marrs clearly deeply admires. Welty was an incredibly sassy, shrewd woman; of Jane Austen's house, she wrote that it 'looks big, but is really small. The opposite of her novels.' Bill, who struck up a wondrous friendship with her, was an incredibly humble, humane man, filled with a myriad of thoughts, and devoted to all of those around him.
It goes without saying that both are incredible writers. Learning about the process of their craft was fascinating enough, but getting to know the pair as individuals was far more rewarding. That rare thing is so evident here; that enduring friendship, built upon mutual respect, which was all the more cherished as the two lived far from one another (Maxwell in New York, and Welty in Mississippi). They could see one another only at long intervals, but in some ways, both found this beneficial; the therapeutic motion of penning (semi-) regular letters to one another lasted for decades, and much was learnt about the other in consequence.
What There Is To Say We Have Said is a stunning read, and I was a little sad when I came to its end. Throughout, one is nudged to remember just how important communication is (and just how much the majority of us in the modern world almost instantaneous communication for granted), and how beautiful the art of letter writing. There is not a single dull sentence in this 450-page long volume, and if it had been twice as long, I would have been thrilled.
I could type out quotes at length here, but I shall leave you, dear reader, with the ones which really touched me:
- Maxwell to Welty: 'There are enough similarities in our two childhoods to make me feel [...] that they grew up on a tandem bicycle.'
- Maxwell to Welty, on the publication of one of her works: 'But I wanted to write to you now, because when a book first comes out, it is really like a party, and when I am invited to a party, I like to come early.'
Marrs' introduction is wonderful. She writes with such passion, and compassion, for her subjects. From the very beginning, I knew that I would have loved to meet both of those whom Marrs clearly deeply admires. Welty was an incredibly sassy, shrewd woman; of Jane Austen's house, she wrote that it 'looks big, but is really small. The opposite of her novels.' Bill, who struck up a wondrous friendship with her, was an incredibly humble, humane man, filled with a myriad of thoughts, and devoted to all of those around him.
It goes without saying that both are incredible writers. Learning about the process of their craft was fascinating enough, but getting to know the pair as individuals was far more rewarding. That rare thing is so evident here; that enduring friendship, built upon mutual respect, which was all the more cherished as the two lived far from one another (Maxwell in New York, and Welty in Mississippi). They could see one another only at long intervals, but in some ways, both found this beneficial; the therapeutic motion of penning (semi-) regular letters to one another lasted for decades, and much was learnt about the other in consequence.
What There Is To Say We Have Said is a stunning read, and I was a little sad when I came to its end. Throughout, one is nudged to remember just how important communication is (and just how much the majority of us in the modern world almost instantaneous communication for granted), and how beautiful the art of letter writing. There is not a single dull sentence in this 450-page long volume, and if it had been twice as long, I would have been thrilled.
I could type out quotes at length here, but I shall leave you, dear reader, with the ones which really touched me:
- Maxwell to Welty: 'There are enough similarities in our two childhoods to make me feel [...] that they grew up on a tandem bicycle.'
- Maxwell to Welty, on the publication of one of her works: 'But I wanted to write to you now, because when a book first comes out, it is really like a party, and when I am invited to a party, I like to come early.'