| Item Description: | "An interesting file of correspondence between editor, Maxwell Perkins (1884-1947) of Charles Scribner's Sons, and author, Theodore Naidish (1919-1980). Both sides of the correspondence are present. The letters from Perkins show a patient effort by the editor to encourage Naidish, through words fo praise for his writing, criticism, invitations to meet to discuss work in progress, and even the loan of money (evidently out of pocket). Naidish was under contract with Scribner's during the period in which these letters were written, and was by all accounts a brilliant but somewhat fragile and volatile writer. In 1944 Scribner's published his boxing novel, Watch out for Willie Carter, which achieved some success and was selected for publication in the Armed Services Edition series (Vol.952). The novelist's letters to Perkins are especially revealing, providing insight into Naidish's inner thoughts, and include a great deal of commentary on the progression of his various literary endeavors; he asks for money, discusses the specifics of drafts of his works on which the two men have been working together (including plot developments, motivations for writing, audience perspectives, realistic publishing goals, and publicity), and requests that Perkins become his executor, conferring instructions for the handling of his estate, and the dedication of any future books to his wife, etc. Several of Naidish's letters additionally spiral out into long rambling paranoid rants which indicate the psychological instability which plagued him thoughout his life, discussing an apparent formula or riddle he was hoping to 'crack' which would deliver the key to immortality or at least an understanding of the universe or a fourth dimension, government conspiracy theories, mentioning the difficulties he is facing in his marriage (he was the first husband of actress, Carol Channing) and with his extended family, his financial troubles, his political beliefs, etc. After his divorce from Carol Channing in 1946, Naidish spent much of his years in and out of mental institutions diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic." - bookseller's description. |
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