Dear Doris:
In a great hurry. Just heard from Brab that you + others heard a broadcast saying that Arts Club concert was a failure,92 + that audience walked out. Nothing is farther from the truth. What I need at this point is to know what station or stations made the broadcast in order that we can track it down + find out how it originated. Mrs. Schwartz will then act if it is a CBS station or a friend of hers if it’s NBC. Please do everything you can to find out what station it was and reply as fast as possible.
Always missing, needing you.
To Merce Cunningham
[Undated, postmarked March 21, 1942] | 323 East Cermak Road, Chicago
Dear Merce:
This is very tardy in comparison with telegrams, menus, etc. It is because we were completely sad that the reviews were impossible to send.93 Bulliet hated it. Smith stayed only for the first dance, didn’t like it. And nobody liked it who got into print. It wasn’t the truth, but we couldn’t send reviews. If you still want them, let us know again, and we will blindfold ourselves.
Martha’s new dance seemed very good to me, although it was obviously ballet form, war-horse form; but I enjoyed it. One thing, the space of that stage is magnificent. And you were marvelous, and it was good to see the group moving around. Nobody liked Eric.94 I was overjoyed that the audience was so spontaneous every time you left the stage. And I was amazed that the reviews didn’t headline your work. But they didn’t. Nobody recognizes Nijinsky when they see him.
About Arts Club: Rue Shaw says that you have to have concerts someplace else before she can give one at the Club. She is crazy about your work and felt rotten saying that, but that’s what the conclusion was. Please don’t be discouraged. I told her that you felt the same way about New York, that you wanted to do someplace else first. Bennington should be that possibility. Plus perhaps (I don’t know anything about it) Yale Theatre, someplace in colleges: Cornell, Harvard. Rue also said: I wish when Merce starts with Jean that their music is not piano music because everybody no longer likes typical dance concert music. One more piano is only doubling the error. It was better when Louis95 had snare, wind and percussion and dance deal. What do you think? Giving it later in NY. Of course my fear is that people are anxious to say that our music is not enough by itself and must have dance, but I would not feel that way with you and Jean.96 At any rate work hard and we’ll see you in June. If the radio thing goes through here, I’ll let you know when and if possible maybe you’ll play in it.
To Mrs. Rue Shaw97
[Undated, ca. October 1, 1942] | 550 Hudson St., New York 98
Dear Rue:
Your letter came today and today was first day of seeming to get to beginning to be settled: phone will be put in tomorrow: linoleum down in kitchen: gas + lights are on: stuff came through finally from Chicago: instruments are in studio (Fr[anziska] Boas) ready for rehearsal. Tomorrow I work in the morning at Sarah Lawrence: in the afternoon at Boas School and at 5 a dancer comes to give particulars about a new composition she wants and it looks like a beginning to be making. Pretty soon will be able to ask people to dinner, rehearse, give concerts, etc. And we are making a guest room for you Gretchen Alex Pat and Chicago. We will call it the Chicago room.
Thank you for going to trouble about Kenneth [Patchen]. Fortunately, he has a new $100.00 which saves the present situation and where it came from is apparently more. It never occurred to me that Miriam could work since she had a job as a waitress, but I don’t think she could do that or anything else anymore. Anyway they’re getting along now. We miss you and now that you mention it, I miss Henrietta whom we haven’t seen because we haven’t seen anybody (living in New Jersey), but tomorrow night we sleep in our new apartment and you will love it. At first we didn’t know whether the fireplace would really work but it will. We haven’t opened the boxes yet: I am anxious to see what painting—Alex is in it.
Just think: Our new address is really ours. 550 Hudson (2nd floor entire).
Now it is very late + I have to get up at 6. Please have a good Arts C[lub] year + when are you coming to stay with us?
Merce + Jean are dancing in about 3 wks. Kenneth’s new book Teeth of the Lion is being published now (printed now).
To Mrs. Rue Shaw
[Undated, sometime after February 14, 1943] | Location not indicated
I think your letter was very good and is accomplishing what I am sure you wanted it to: a self-evaluation, etc., on, principally, Merce’s part.
I did not agree with many of the things you said, but please know that I didn’t “scoff.”
The difference between a good and bad performance on Jean’s part is not very great. The opposite is true of Merce. I am sure that the reaction would have been very different had he turned in a good performance. He has, God knows where he got it, a serious inferiority complex. He is able to dance stunningly for Graham, but tends to be self-conscious in his own dances. (His father being in Chicago may not have helped.) All this amounts to agreeing with your statement about growing up.
Fortunately he is looking forward to his next performances (the Museum and somewhere in Detroit) because he says he knows what the trouble was in Chicago. I hope he does and that he will solve it.
I know from working so long with them that their dances have direction, are well composed both from a formal and emotional point of view. I do think that they are of such a nature that they require very magical theatrical accoutrements (magic of lights, good space, curtain, etc.).
I am sorry that the concert was not good, particularly because I had looked forward to it for so long. It did them a service and maybe somebody in the audience liked something. Let’s hope so.
To Merce Cunningham
[Undated, postmarked June 28, 1943] | [New York]
Dear Merce:
Saturday night nearly went crazy, because, not solving my problems until they occur, I very suddenly realized you were gone. Fly away with you but was in a zoo.
Sunday, interested? Woke up in time to see you, worried whether you had taxi fund, etc. but was helpless; went through hottest day of y[ea]r in and out of bath tub. A parade went under the window (a real one) with something like 5 percussion bands, one of them made of black people played beautifully; it must have been a chinoiserie about your having gone away.
I don’t know when it was that I found out how to let this month go by without continual sentimental pain. It’s very simple now, because I’m looking forward to seeing you again rather than backward to having seen you recently. That’s a happy way to be.
Another thing: I’m going to look at studios for you, not that I’m doing something you probably want to do yourself, but it will be good to give you a list, descriptions, etc., and then you’ll know that such and such exists. I’ve gathered that you want to be uptown.
By Friday or so you should get new article to translate,99 which is long and will be very remunerative.
I say I’m unsentimental but I’m sitting at one of our tables and looking in a mirror where you often were.
We had a card this morning from the Patchens who are at Mr. Pleasant for the summer (!).
Please try writing to the Academy of M. care of the Library.100
I don’t know: this gravity elastic feeling to let go and fall together with you is one thing, but it is better to live exactly where you are with as many permanent emotions in you as you can muster. Talking to myself.
Your spirit is with me. Did you send it or do I just have it?
To Merce Cunningham
[Undated,