For Laugier and Delbos: SB to Thomas McGreevy, 3
November
1937 [for 3 December 1937], and 31 December 1937, n.
Samuel Beckett
" It continued: "Mr.
Beckett was seeing some friends home when he was pestered by a tramp.
Told to go away the tramp is alleged to have kicked Mr.
Beckett and there was a scuffle.
When Mr.
Beckett entered his friend's flat, he opened his overcoat and found blood flowing from a wound.
" The article announced that, although the results of an examination would not be known until later, SB's condition was "reassuring"; it closed with a summary of SB's writing career ("Dublin Writer Stabbed: Paris Street Scene," 8 January 1938: 10).
Brian Coffey's letter to George Reavey on 9 January 1938 offers more particulars:
The latest news of Sam, yesterday afternoon was that he was safe, if no complications set in[. . . ] The facts are as follows. Sam was returning about 8:30 from Cafe Zeyer-Av D'Orleans with Alan & Belinda, when an individual came from behind some fair booths, & tried to talk to Alan, who was walking behind. Alan took no notice so the man became more insistent and started insulting first Alan, then Belinda. Alan gave him a light shove, & then Sam & the man got into a tangle, there was kicking & a blow. Then the man ran away. After some seconds Sam said he was hurt. A & B found blood on his hand. (TxU)
584
chap M. Prudent.
I wonder did you hear from Laugier, & if anything has been
13January 1938, Reavey
Reports on the time of the incident vary widely.
May, Frank, and Jean Beckett arrived on 9 January 1938 by airplane, according to
Joyce's report in his letter to Giorgio and Helen Joyce on 12 January 1938 Uoyce, Letters ofjames Joyce, lll, 411). Frank Beckett wrote to McGreevy on Wednesday [12 January 1938]: "Each day I have seen him he seems better & unless any unseen complications occur should be out ofthe wood very soon. I am waiting here ti! I know definitely he is out of danger and then will be speeding back to Ireland, perhaps during next week end" (TCD, MS 10402/152).
"Entin" (Oh well).
2 SB refers to the poem McGreevy had requested: 5 January 1938, n. 1.
3 "<;:ava"(Thingsareallright).
Nancy Cunard had just returned to Paris following three months in Spain (Chisholm, Nancy Cunard: A Biography, 242).
4 As witnesses, Alan and Belinda Duncan had to file police reports; the assailant, Robert-Jules Prudent, was apprehended in a hotel at 155 Avenue du Maine under the name of Germain Prudent ("Robert Prudent agresseur de l'ecrivain irlandais Beckett
est arrete," L'Humanite 11 January 1938: 8).
5 GeorgeandGwyneddReavey.
For SB's wish to reprint the image of apes playing chess in Murphy: 13 November 1936, n. 5.
Reavey had asked SB for names of possible reviewers.
GEORGE REAVEY LONDON
13/1/38 H6pital Broussais Rue Didot, 14me
[Paris)
dear George & Gwynedd
Many thanks for wire & letters. The boet Peckett gave me
great pleasure.
It was a new kind of 12! ! ! Night certainly.
You will have heard about it from Brian so wont go over it
1
taken till I can get up & down to X Ray room. They never vouch safe a confidence to me, just drift in, together & singly, shake
585
again.
It appears I shall be all right, tho' no proper X Ray can be
13 January 1938, Reavey
hands, look at the chart, ask for 33, give a few disgusted taps like a
connoisseur asked to examine fake Meissen & drift out. So I don't
know when I'll be let up. The medecin chef nearly assaulted me
2
special introduction.
Hope Gwynedd well over pleurisy thing, And that both of
you are beginning to feel benefit of excesses - Love
Sam What about apes? 4
ALS; 1 leaf. 2 sides; pencil; TxU.
1 Reavey's wire and letters have not been found. He did send cuttings from the column "Items from Abroad," Daily Telegraph (8 January 1938: n. p. , and 11 January 1938: n. p. ), both of which correctly spell SB's name. In London newspapers reporting the stabbing incident there is no evidence of an article that refers to the "boet Peckett"; in both L'Humanite and Le Figaro, however, SB is referred to as M. Samuel Peckett ("En quelques lignes," Le Figaro 8 January 1938: 4; "Drame nocturne: Un ecrivain irlandais poignarde par un inconnu," L'Humanite 8 January 1938: 7A).
2 "Medecin chef' (senior consultant).
3 At the time, SB was staying at the Hotel Liberia. Coffey's residence: 3 November 1937 [for 3 December 1937J, n. 1.
Reavey had proposed to show Murphy to Viking. Joyce's New York publisher of A Portrait ofthe Artist as a Young Man, Benjamin W. Huebsch (1876-1964), had merged his firm with Viking in 1925; Viking published Finnegans Wake in 1939.
586
to-day because I had the window opened. What a system.
You know the kind of people to send the book to. I shall make out a list later. I shall of course want to go over the proofs myself. If they are sent to the hotel they then can always be collected. Or they could be sent to Brian at the C. Universitaire. By all means let the Viking see the book. I much prefer that to giving any of the others the chance to change their mind. But I would not ask Joyce to move in the matter. 3 And I would be very sorry if anyone else did. The reasons are obvious enough. It will be taken in USA now all right, sooner or later, without any
dear George
Proofs safely received. Hope to let you have them back
towards end of week. The checking of the chess is what will
1
I trust the blurb is not going to be part of the book, i. e. will
not appear actually between the boards of the book. That is
an arrangement that I quite definitely would not consent to.
I suppose I can't stop them putting it on wrapper. If I could
2
disappointed. Why the rush anyway?
How are Gwynedd & yourself? Any pourparlers with P. G. ?
And have you had a look at her premises? 4
Had an XRay this morning. Can't extract from them when
I am likely to get away. Have not been up yet. Love to you both
Sam
ALS; 1 leaf, 1 side; pencil; TxU. Dating: SB in Broussais following stabbing on 8 January 1938.
1 SBreferstothegameofchessbetweenMurphyandMr. Endon(Murphy,242-245); he wished to verify its moves by playing this game with Geer van Velde.
587
17 ljanuary 1938}, Reavey
Routledge began sending advance copies to potential reviewers and book dealers on 15 January 1938 (UoR: Routledge).
4 The "apes at chess": 13 November 1936, n. 5.
GEORGE REAVEY LONDON
17! h Uanuary 1938]
Hopital Broussais [Paris]
delay me -- Shall have to get Geer up with his board to help me.
I would. But I won't have it tacked on to my text.
I suppose also my apes have faded out as a possibility. 3 I am
17 Uanuary 1938}, Reavey
2 The blurb for Murphy appeared preceding the title page in the proof copy
(InU):
Description. -A definition has been "defined" as the "enclosing ofthe wilder ness of an idea within the wall of words". To define some things is to kill them; no less this novel. If it has a meaning, it is implicit and symbolic, never concrete. Murphy is a character for whom the unseen is the real and the seen a necessary obstacle to reality. To get beyond that obstacle is his aim in life, and he neglects or despises the criteria of the substantial world. Hence he lives in the lowest strata of society; he lives intermit tently with a prostitute and her persuasions cannot move him to better his material prospects. He pretends to look for a job, but so long as he can devote some time each day to exploring the inner life of the mind, that is all he worries about. Ultimately he gets a job in an asylum, where he feels a certain kinship with the inmates.
But if the theme of the book defies description, not so the writing. The portrayal of the scenes is masterly. There is a diversity of simile which could only proceed from a mind well stocked with many seem ingly antagonistic branches of knowledge, and words and phrases reveal an acquaintance with our language and a natural distinction in their use which a Johnson might admire. The style is leavened with a Celtic way wardness which is as attractive as it is elusive and leaves the reader uncertain of the source of his enjoyment.
The blurb appears with substantial revisions and omission of plot summary on the order form for the book (RUL, Routledge), and still more briefly on the inside dust jacket of the novel.
A portion of the blurb appeared in Routledge's announcement of their spring list (T. M. Ragg to George Reavey, 11 January 1938, TxU). On the same day, Reavey wrote to Ragg to ask him to hold the prospectuses for Murphy because he wished to consider another idea for them; on 12 January 1938, Ragg confirmed to Reavey that he had done so; and on 26 January 1938, Ragg reminded Reavey of this and asked for his assistance in generating ideas for sales of the book (UoR, RKP, 103/6).
3 Regardingthe"apesatchess. "
4 "Pourparlers" (talks. negotiations). SB refers to Peggy Guggenheim and her London art gallery Guggenheim Jeune (see 5 January 1938, n. 4).
THOMAS McGREEVY LONDON
21/1/38 Broussais [Paris]
588
dear Tom
Your notes & messages and concern were a great help. Your
1
It has gone pretty well, though it still hurts me to breathe.
I was up for 1st time avant[-)hier, for a few hours in afternoon.
Fontaine came same day & said she thought I could leave
to-morrow. I hope she confirms that when she comes to-day.
I shall go straight back to Liberia, where apparently they
are bringing me down to 1il floor. I know it will take time
to get back to average, & I am told I will be the proud pos
sessor of a pleural barometer for years to come. But all things
considered, & with my fingers on the pencil, I am well out
2
yesterday before the juge d'instruction & were confronted with the wretch, who seems more cretinous than malicious. 3
Hope you met Mother & Frank in London. 4 He was relieved to be getting back, and she sorry. I felt great gusts of affection & esteem & compassion for her when she was over. What a relationship!
All kinds of people came to see me that I've either forgotten (e. g. Evrard and his wife) or never known (the Cremins, pals of Denis at Irish legation here, she very pretty, he very earnest). The
Joyces have been extraordinarily kind, bringing me round every thing from a heating lamp to a custard pudding. 5
Proofs nearly corrected. I changed more than I intended, chiefly for want of something to do. It strikes me now as a very dull work, painstaking, creditable & dull. Alfie Peron wants to translate it for NRF. When I send it back to Reavey I shall ask him to give it to you for a quick run over, for printer['Js errors
589
wirealsowithG&G&thenyesterdaywithDenis. Isheonhis way over?
21 January 1938, McGreevy
of it.
Poor Alan & Belinda have been angelic. They had to appear
21 January 1938, McGreevy
that I may have missed, or anything else flagrantly incorrect.
I know you won't mind. The blurb, printed on the flypage,
infuriated me so much that I wrote to Reavey refusing per
mission to have it appear between the boards of the book &
regretting that I could not keep it off the wrapper also. Then
afterwards I realized it was probably written by himself or
Gwynedd or both! Try & find out for me - And of course my
original idea for apes on cover just fades out - How short it
6
else you have. I should think there will be a job going with P. Guggenheim eventually, as Mrs Henderson will hardly be a
8
At least it is more of an act than Nijinsky9 [. . . ]
Have begun Goncharov's Oblomov. Pereant qui ante nos
nostra dixerunt!
Some of the infirmieres are impayables. One especially is a
born comedian - Stoops excruciatedly to pick up something &
10
Long affectionate letter from Ruddy.
Shall write you properly from Liberia. Thank Raven for his
12
1 McGreevy·slettersandthetelegramsthathehadsentwiththeReaveysandwith Denis Devlin have not been found.
2 "Avant-hier"(thedaybeforeyesterday).
590
looks in page proof.
This was Verlaine's hospital, wasn't it? 7
Send the Yeats to Liberia anytime now, also anything
permanency. Write to Laugier & Delbos still at Foreign Affairs. Cocteau of course is only interesting as morbid psychology.
says "Ah, que la terre est basse. " Spontaneous hemistich.
11
letter & Hester for her good wishes. Love ever
Sam
ALS; 2 leaves, 3 sides; TCD. MS 10402/153.
Joyce had arranged for his own physician Dr. Therese Bertrand-Fontaine (1895-1987), who was the first female doctor in the Parisian hospital system, to attend Beckett.
3 As witnesses. Alan and Belinda Duncan were required to appear before the examining magistrate in order to identify Beckett's assailant, Prudent.
4 FrankBeckett'slettertoMcGreevy:12January1938,TCD,MS10402/152.
5 Henri Evrard (1908-1985) was an Agrege from the Ecole Normale Superieure, Professor in Algeria, Marseille, and Paris, and later became lnspecteur General de ! 'Instruction Publique. Cornelius Christopher Cremin (1908-1987), First Secretary in the Irish Legation in Paris, and his wife Patricia Josephine Cremin (nee O'Mahony, 1913-1971) were friends of Denis Devlin and Thomas McGreevy.
6 AlfredPerondidnottranslateMurphyintoFrenchforGallimard'sNRFimprint, although he worked with SB on the translation which was dedicated to him when the novel was published by Bordas (1947).
The blurb and apes for Murphy: 17 January 1938, n. 2 and n. 3.
7 Verlaine was in the Hopital Broussais several times between 1887 and 1895; the hospital figures in his Mes Hopitaux (1891) and "L'Hopital chez Soi" in Dernieres chraniques de ! 'h6pital (1895), (Antoine Adam, The Art of Paul Verlaine, tr. Carl Morse [New York: New York University Press, 1963] 48-51); Paul Verlaine, Oeuvres en prose completes, ed. Jacques Borel, Bibliotheque de la Pleiade (Paris: Gallimard, 1972] 1229, 1237).
8 SB refers to McGreevy's essay on Jack B. Yeats which is dated January 1938, although it was published in June 1945 (MacGreevy,jack B. Yeats, 33).
Peggy Guggenheim's assistant at Guggenheim Jeune was Wyn Henderson (1896-1976), who had earlier worked with Nancy Cunard's Hours Press Uacque line Bograd Weld, Peggy: The Wayward Guggenheim [New York: E. P. Dutton, 1988] 160).
For Laugier and Delbos: SB to Thomas McGreevy, 3 November 1937 [for 3 December 1937], and 31 December 1937, n. 3. SB urged McGreevy to consider Laugier's sugges tion of applying for a subvention.
9 GuggenheimJeune'sfirstexhibitionwasofJeanCocteau'swork(see5January 1938, n. 4). The Polish-Russian dancer and choreographer Vaslav Fomich Nijinsky (1890-1950) was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1919 (Peter Ostwald, Vaslav Nijinsky: A Leap into Madness [New York: Carol Publishing Group, 1991] 178-184).
10 Oblomov (1858), by Russian novelist Ivan Goncharov (1812-1891), is about the eponymous character of prodigious sloth who conducts business from bed. "Oblomov" was Peggy Guggenheim's pet name for SB.
"Pereant qui ante nos nostra dixerunt" (Death to those who have spoken our thoughts before us), a sally attributed to Aelius Donatus, fourth-century Roman gram marian and teacher of rhetoric.
"lnfirmieres" (nurses). "Ah, que la terre est basse" (Oh, how far down the floor is). 11 T. B. Rudmose-Brown.
12 ThomasHolmesRavenhill. HesterDowden.
591
21 January 1938, McGreevy
22 January 1938, Reavey GEORGE REAVEY
LONDON
22/1/38 Liberia [Paris]
[no greeting]
Merci de ton mot. �a va, sans que je sache exactement ou. Epreuves suivent ce soir ou demain matin. Il ne me manque
plus qu'une phrase, et comment! 11 finit par m'emmerder, Murphy O'Blomov. Je passerai le reste de ma vie a regretter les
1
APCS; 1 leaf, 2 sides; to George Reavey Esq, 7 Great Ormond Street, LONDON W. C. 1; pm 24-1-38, Paris; TxU.
22/1/38 Liberia [Paris]
Thank you for your note. All going well, though I don't know exactly where.
Proofs follow this evening or tomorrow morning. Only one
sentence to go, and how! In the end, he's becoming a bloody
bore, Murphy O'Blomov. I'll spend the rest of my life regretting
1
1 "MurphyO'Blomov"isareflectionoftheeponymousOblomov. "Apes at chess": 13 November 1936, n. 5.
592
singes.
Allons hop! / tier se repete
Sam en homme genial
the apes.
Enough of this: on we go! / proud, repeats himself Sam like the genius he is
GEORGE REAVEY LONDON
25/1/38 Liberia
9 Rue de la Gde Chaumiere
Paris 6me
dear George
By this post I return proofs. I trust I have not exceeded
my allowance. Will you pass them on to Tom for the once
1
Sam
APCS; 1 leaf. 2 sides; to George Reavey Esq, 7 Great Ormond Street, LONDON WCl, pm 26-1-38, Paris; TxU.
1 SB asked McGreevy to read his corrected proof of Murphy. GEORGE REAVEY
LONDON
27/1/38 Liberia [Paris]
dear George
I am sorry to be a thorn in the side of the gentle compositor
but I don't see how I can correct my corrections. I considered them very carefully and they seemed to me necessary. The insertions at end of section 5 especially so. If they leave me £10 or £20 in somebody's debt I can't help it. My executors will
593
over. Gobbless
27January 1938, Reavey
27 January 1938, Reavey
shoulder the burden. Whatever you do don't send back the proofs and have me add more! 1
God love thee G. Sam
APCS; 1 leaf, 2 sides; to George Reavey Esq, 7 Great Ormond Street, LONDON WC 1; pm 27-1-38, Paris; TxU, Reavey.
1 Reavey's letter to SB has not been found. The corrected proof copy has not been found: a final typescript of Murphy dated 26 June 1936 is at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center (TxU). In Demented Particulars, C. J. Ackerley has studied the changes between this typescript and the text as published by Routledge.
THOMAS McGREEVY LONDON
27/1/38 Liberia [Paris]
dear Tom
Many thanks for all your letters. Forgive delay in replying.
I wanted to wait till I saw Fontaine this morning before writing
1
of Parma violets from Joyces) and taking it as easy as poss. , just slipping out twice, & sometimes only once, a day for meals & coming back immediately, going to bed between 9 & 10 & lying in till midday. In spite of which the pain has been considerably worse. So I rang up Fontaine & had my appointment with her at Broussais changed from to-morrow to to-day. 2
I am just back now from seeing her. She examined me & said things were proceeding normally and that the pain was only to be expected & that I might make up my mind to its being there
594
you.
Have been here since Saturday (on arrival an immense bunch
27January 1938, McGreevy
for some time. She prescribed some anti-neuralgic dope for me
to take. And I have to take my temp every vespers. She had no
objection to my going out for meals. She said to return this day
week for a further examination & X Ray. Then I was passed on to
her assistant Fauvert, who did a Radioscope, said there was still
some blood knocking about & more or less repeated Fontaine.
Then on to a sister, who clapped 21 cupping glasses (ventouses)
on to my chest & back & left me feeling like an Osram advertise
3
So you see I am getting on as well as can be expected & that
there is no need to worry. The Duncans have been angelic, com
4
Do send along your Yeats, I am in a hurry to see it. I have
been reading 0Blomov, appallingly translated by one Nathalie
6
is a question of handling Reavey with kid gloves.
Mother is a marvel. She sat up all the way from Euston to
8
equal length.
J. J. was round avant-hier, very worried about L. [ucia), of
whom news is bad, and wondering would Geoffrey be over at Easter. He says he is going away to Zurich to rest after his his [sic) birthday. I should not be surprised if I were invited to go with. I wouldn't really mind, he has been so incredibly good all this
time, but I won't be well enough. I wont even be able to be at his
ment for 15 minutes. The temporary relief was considerable.
ing every day, sometimes twice, and ready to do anything for me. I had a card from Reavey this morning, full of alarm about my proof corrections. I made the only possible answer by return.
I am sorry you have the corvee of giving it the once over. 5
(for Natalie] Duddington.
Peron wants to translate Murphy for NRF. I suppose again it
7
Dun Laoghaire. They had an appalling crossing.
Had a long letter from Ursula & replied to them jointly at
9
birthday party this day week.
10
595
27 January 1938, McGreevy
Poem dictated itself to me night before last:
they come
different and the same
with each it is different & the same
with each the absence of love is different with each the absence of love is the same
Thought of sending it to Sheehy - then withheld my hand.
The Van Veldes wanted me to go to Fontainebleau this
11
week-end, but rien a faire.
I am sorry you don't feel equal to taking up the Laugier
thing. I was talking about you in a general way to Peron. He knows someone to do with the Louvre and is going to make
12
sunlit surface yesterday brighter than the whole of Ireland's summer.
Letter from the Manning. Both Harvard & Buffalo possibil
ities for the summer apparently. And a cheerful letter from
Cissie, now on the sea 20 mins. from Cape Town, & leaving for
13
ALS; 2 leaves, 3 sides; TCD, MS 10402/154.
1 McGreevy'slettershavenotbeenfound. ForDr. Fontaine:21January1938,n. 2.
2 SBlefttheH6pitalBroussaisonSaturday,22January1938.
3 Dr. Fontaine's assistant Fauvert has not been identified. SB was treated with the application of ventouses to stimulate blood circulation in the lungs; when first applied, the cups may have looked like lightbulbs; Osram General Electric Company manufactured light bulbs, lamps, and electrical tubes.
4 AlanandBelindaDuncan.
596
enquiries.
How lovely it is being here. Even with a hole in the side. A
home beginning ofApril. God love thee Ever Sam
27January 1938, McGreevy
5 Reavey'scardtoSBhasnotbeenfound. SBhadaskedMcGreevytolookoverthe proofs. "Corvee" (chore).
6 SB refers to McGreevy's study of Jack B. Yeats. SB had been reading Ivan Goncharov, Oblomov, tr. Natalie A. Duddington (1929). One review found Duddington's translation "a remarkably accomplished and painstaking piece of work . . . as good a translation as one could hope for" ("Gontcharov's 'Oblomov,"' Times Literary Supplement 14 November 1929: 919).
7 Peron'sinterestintranslatingMurphy:21January1938,n. 6.
8 May, Frank, and Jean Beckett had returned to Dublin via London, by a train that left from London's Euston station and connected with the ferry to Dun Laoghaire.
9 UrsulaandGeoffreyThompson.
10 "Avant-hier"(thedaybeforeyesterday).
Lucia Joyce was in treatment for mental illness; Geoffrey Thompson was a practicing psychiatrist in London.
Joyce's birthday was 2 February. Joyce left for Switzerland c. 6 February, staying in Lausanne on his way to Zurich (Roger Norburn, A James Joyce Chronology [New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004] 181).
11 SB did send the poem to Edward Sheehy at Ireland To-Day, as he wrote to McGreevy on 11 February 1938: "I sent 'they come' (translated by Peron as 'ils vien nent'! ! ) to Ireland Tcxlay, where the great purity of mind & charity of thought\Vill no doubt see orgasms where nothing so innocent or easy is intended, and reject the poem in consequence" (TCD, MS 10402/156).
The poem was first published in English in Peggy Guggenheim's Out of This Century: The Infonnal Memoirs of Peggy Guggenheim ([New York: Dial Press, 1946] 205; rev. asOutofThisCentury: ConfessionsofanArtAddict[NewYork:UniverseBooks,1979] 175); in this printing, initial letters of each line are capitalized, "and" replaces "&" in line 3, and "life" replaces "love" in line 5. Federman and Fletcher ascribe the substitution of "life" for "love" in line 5 to SB; however, the text of the poem in the present letter indicates that the variant was introduced in Peggy Guggenheim's transcription of the poem (Samuel Beckett: His Works and His Critics, 23, 50). As published in French as "elles viennent" in "Poemes 38-39," Les Temps Modernes 2. 14 (November 1946) 288, the poem has no initial capitalization. and line 5 reads: "avec chacune ! 'absence d'arnour est pareille" ("with each the absence of love is the same").
12 GeerandElizabeth(neeJoki,knownasLisi,b. 1908)vanVelde. "Rienafaire" (nothing doing).
Henri Laugier proposal: 10 December 1937 to McGreevy. Alfred Peron.
13 MaryManningHowe'slettertoSBhasnotbeenfound. Herhusbandtaughtat the University of Buffalo, and he had family connections at Harvard.
Cissie Sinclair was visiting her son Morris in Graaff Reinet, near Cape Town, South Africa: 5 June 1936 [for 1937], n. 6.
597
31 January 1938, McGreevy THOMAS McGREEVY
LONDON
31/1/38 Liberia
9 Rue de la Gde. Chaumiere
Paris 6
Dear Tom
Many thanks for Yeats essay and letter. I am sorry you haff
bin hafting such trouble with the finances ofit. Was it necessary to drag in the Authors' Assoc. or whatever it is? 1 Could it not have been a private arrangement between you and him more fair to you?
I have read the essay twice and think you have every reason
to be very pleased with it. Certainly in the first 18 pages I do not
think there is a syllable that needs touching. The point about
the association and spartness [for apartness] offigures and land
scape is most beautifully established. 2 And the dangers ofover
analogy admirably negotiated. On p. 7 the name of Douanier
Rousseau suggested itself to me to follow Le Nain, Chardin,
Millet and Courbet, but perhaps the idea is too wide for what
you want. 3 You develop the Watteau indication very differently
from the way it was in my mind, less philosophically and
emphatically and probably more justly, certainly in a way that
is justified by what leads up to and away from it as my idea of
"inorganic juxtaposition" and "non-anthropomorphised human
4
evident as the beginning, holds together perfectly. It is more "construit" perhaps, more Catena. I understand your anxiety to clarify his pre and post 1916 painting politically and socially,
598
ity" would not have been.
The rest ofthe essay, though I do not find it quite as self
and especially in what concerns the last pictures I think you
have provided a clue that will be ofgreat help to a lot ofpeople,
to the kind of people who in the phrase of Bergson can't be
happy till they have "solidified the flowing", i. e. to most people.
I am inclined personally to think that the turning away from the
local, not merely in his painting but in his writing (he has just
sent me The Charmed Life), even ifonly in intention, results not
so much from the break down ofthe local, ofthe local human
anyway, as from a very characteristic and very general psycho
logical mechanism, operative in young artists as a naivete (or an
instinct) and in old artists as a wisdom (or an instinct). 5 I am sure
I could illustrate this for you ifl had the culture. You will always,
as an historian, give more credit to circumstance than I, with my
less than suilline interest and belief in the fable convenue, ever
6
whether before the Union or after, or that it was ever capable of any thought or act other than the rudimentary thoughts and acts belted into it by the priests and by the demagogues in service of the priests, or that it will ever care, ifit ever knows, any more than the Bog of Allen will ever care or know, that there was once a
599
31 January 1938, McGreevy
shall be able to. However you say it yourself on p. 34.
One of the criticisms that I should like to make about the second halfand that I should think will certainly be made by the pros, is that for an essay of such brevity the political and social analyses are rather on the long side. I received almost the impres sion for example, as the essay proceeded, that your interest was passing from the man himselfto the forces that formed him - and not only him - and that you returned to him from them with something like reluctance. But perhaps that also is the fault ofmy mood and ofmy chronic inability to understand as member ofany proposition a phrase like "the Irish people", or to imagine that it ever gave a fart in its corduroys for any form of art whatsoever,
31 January 1938, McGreevy
7
of a criticism that allows as a sentient subject what I can only
think of as a nameless and hideous mass, whether in Ireland or
in Finland, but only to say that I, as a clot of prejudices, prefer
the first half of your work, with its real and radiant individuals,
8
Broussais this week for exam. & X Ray and no doubt more
ventouses. Dr Paul the French Spilsbury has benn (for been]
commanding me to his presence in the morning at 9. 15 and
I replying patiently and politely that my condition does not
9
me. There are all kinds of reasons que je me porte partie civile,
and all kinds for my not doing so. There appears to be a remote
possibility of my receiving compensation from the Ville de Paris,
but if it involves me with lawyers I should prefer to do without it.
The police still have my clothes. But whatever I do and however
it goes there are going to be plenty of unpleasantness[es] before
10
Molasses. I have accepted en principe. Broadcast first from Athlone[. ]11
Don't you think one of us ought to write to Laugier, since after all he has been kind, to say that you don't see your way to taking
12
I am writing[. ]13
God love thee, Tom, and don't be minding me. I can't think
of Ireland the way you do. Ever
s/ Sam
painterinIrelandcalledJackButlerYeats. Thisisnotacriticism
to the second, with our national scene. Et voila.
I am much better the last few days - less pain. I go back to
allowmetogetupbeforemidday. Soontheywillbearresting
it can be called an affaire classee.
Joyce's birthday spree next Wednesday at the Jolasses
the thing up? I shall do it with pleasure if you don't want to.
If you see Denis please thank him for his letter and tell him
600
31 January 1938, McGreevy
TIS; 1 leaf, 2 sides; TCD, MS 10402/155.
Brian Coffey's letter to George Reavey on 9 January 1938 offers more particulars:
The latest news of Sam, yesterday afternoon was that he was safe, if no complications set in[. . . ] The facts are as follows. Sam was returning about 8:30 from Cafe Zeyer-Av D'Orleans with Alan & Belinda, when an individual came from behind some fair booths, & tried to talk to Alan, who was walking behind. Alan took no notice so the man became more insistent and started insulting first Alan, then Belinda. Alan gave him a light shove, & then Sam & the man got into a tangle, there was kicking & a blow. Then the man ran away. After some seconds Sam said he was hurt. A & B found blood on his hand. (TxU)
584
chap M. Prudent.
I wonder did you hear from Laugier, & if anything has been
13January 1938, Reavey
Reports on the time of the incident vary widely.
May, Frank, and Jean Beckett arrived on 9 January 1938 by airplane, according to
Joyce's report in his letter to Giorgio and Helen Joyce on 12 January 1938 Uoyce, Letters ofjames Joyce, lll, 411). Frank Beckett wrote to McGreevy on Wednesday [12 January 1938]: "Each day I have seen him he seems better & unless any unseen complications occur should be out ofthe wood very soon. I am waiting here ti! I know definitely he is out of danger and then will be speeding back to Ireland, perhaps during next week end" (TCD, MS 10402/152).
"Entin" (Oh well).
2 SB refers to the poem McGreevy had requested: 5 January 1938, n. 1.
3 "<;:ava"(Thingsareallright).
Nancy Cunard had just returned to Paris following three months in Spain (Chisholm, Nancy Cunard: A Biography, 242).
4 As witnesses, Alan and Belinda Duncan had to file police reports; the assailant, Robert-Jules Prudent, was apprehended in a hotel at 155 Avenue du Maine under the name of Germain Prudent ("Robert Prudent agresseur de l'ecrivain irlandais Beckett
est arrete," L'Humanite 11 January 1938: 8).
5 GeorgeandGwyneddReavey.
For SB's wish to reprint the image of apes playing chess in Murphy: 13 November 1936, n. 5.
Reavey had asked SB for names of possible reviewers.
GEORGE REAVEY LONDON
13/1/38 H6pital Broussais Rue Didot, 14me
[Paris)
dear George & Gwynedd
Many thanks for wire & letters. The boet Peckett gave me
great pleasure.
It was a new kind of 12! ! ! Night certainly.
You will have heard about it from Brian so wont go over it
1
taken till I can get up & down to X Ray room. They never vouch safe a confidence to me, just drift in, together & singly, shake
585
again.
It appears I shall be all right, tho' no proper X Ray can be
13 January 1938, Reavey
hands, look at the chart, ask for 33, give a few disgusted taps like a
connoisseur asked to examine fake Meissen & drift out. So I don't
know when I'll be let up. The medecin chef nearly assaulted me
2
special introduction.
Hope Gwynedd well over pleurisy thing, And that both of
you are beginning to feel benefit of excesses - Love
Sam What about apes? 4
ALS; 1 leaf. 2 sides; pencil; TxU.
1 Reavey's wire and letters have not been found. He did send cuttings from the column "Items from Abroad," Daily Telegraph (8 January 1938: n. p. , and 11 January 1938: n. p. ), both of which correctly spell SB's name. In London newspapers reporting the stabbing incident there is no evidence of an article that refers to the "boet Peckett"; in both L'Humanite and Le Figaro, however, SB is referred to as M. Samuel Peckett ("En quelques lignes," Le Figaro 8 January 1938: 4; "Drame nocturne: Un ecrivain irlandais poignarde par un inconnu," L'Humanite 8 January 1938: 7A).
2 "Medecin chef' (senior consultant).
3 At the time, SB was staying at the Hotel Liberia. Coffey's residence: 3 November 1937 [for 3 December 1937J, n. 1.
Reavey had proposed to show Murphy to Viking. Joyce's New York publisher of A Portrait ofthe Artist as a Young Man, Benjamin W. Huebsch (1876-1964), had merged his firm with Viking in 1925; Viking published Finnegans Wake in 1939.
586
to-day because I had the window opened. What a system.
You know the kind of people to send the book to. I shall make out a list later. I shall of course want to go over the proofs myself. If they are sent to the hotel they then can always be collected. Or they could be sent to Brian at the C. Universitaire. By all means let the Viking see the book. I much prefer that to giving any of the others the chance to change their mind. But I would not ask Joyce to move in the matter. 3 And I would be very sorry if anyone else did. The reasons are obvious enough. It will be taken in USA now all right, sooner or later, without any
dear George
Proofs safely received. Hope to let you have them back
towards end of week. The checking of the chess is what will
1
I trust the blurb is not going to be part of the book, i. e. will
not appear actually between the boards of the book. That is
an arrangement that I quite definitely would not consent to.
I suppose I can't stop them putting it on wrapper. If I could
2
disappointed. Why the rush anyway?
How are Gwynedd & yourself? Any pourparlers with P. G. ?
And have you had a look at her premises? 4
Had an XRay this morning. Can't extract from them when
I am likely to get away. Have not been up yet. Love to you both
Sam
ALS; 1 leaf, 1 side; pencil; TxU. Dating: SB in Broussais following stabbing on 8 January 1938.
1 SBreferstothegameofchessbetweenMurphyandMr. Endon(Murphy,242-245); he wished to verify its moves by playing this game with Geer van Velde.
587
17 ljanuary 1938}, Reavey
Routledge began sending advance copies to potential reviewers and book dealers on 15 January 1938 (UoR: Routledge).
4 The "apes at chess": 13 November 1936, n. 5.
GEORGE REAVEY LONDON
17! h Uanuary 1938]
Hopital Broussais [Paris]
delay me -- Shall have to get Geer up with his board to help me.
I would. But I won't have it tacked on to my text.
I suppose also my apes have faded out as a possibility. 3 I am
17 Uanuary 1938}, Reavey
2 The blurb for Murphy appeared preceding the title page in the proof copy
(InU):
Description. -A definition has been "defined" as the "enclosing ofthe wilder ness of an idea within the wall of words". To define some things is to kill them; no less this novel. If it has a meaning, it is implicit and symbolic, never concrete. Murphy is a character for whom the unseen is the real and the seen a necessary obstacle to reality. To get beyond that obstacle is his aim in life, and he neglects or despises the criteria of the substantial world. Hence he lives in the lowest strata of society; he lives intermit tently with a prostitute and her persuasions cannot move him to better his material prospects. He pretends to look for a job, but so long as he can devote some time each day to exploring the inner life of the mind, that is all he worries about. Ultimately he gets a job in an asylum, where he feels a certain kinship with the inmates.
But if the theme of the book defies description, not so the writing. The portrayal of the scenes is masterly. There is a diversity of simile which could only proceed from a mind well stocked with many seem ingly antagonistic branches of knowledge, and words and phrases reveal an acquaintance with our language and a natural distinction in their use which a Johnson might admire. The style is leavened with a Celtic way wardness which is as attractive as it is elusive and leaves the reader uncertain of the source of his enjoyment.
The blurb appears with substantial revisions and omission of plot summary on the order form for the book (RUL, Routledge), and still more briefly on the inside dust jacket of the novel.
A portion of the blurb appeared in Routledge's announcement of their spring list (T. M. Ragg to George Reavey, 11 January 1938, TxU). On the same day, Reavey wrote to Ragg to ask him to hold the prospectuses for Murphy because he wished to consider another idea for them; on 12 January 1938, Ragg confirmed to Reavey that he had done so; and on 26 January 1938, Ragg reminded Reavey of this and asked for his assistance in generating ideas for sales of the book (UoR, RKP, 103/6).
3 Regardingthe"apesatchess. "
4 "Pourparlers" (talks. negotiations). SB refers to Peggy Guggenheim and her London art gallery Guggenheim Jeune (see 5 January 1938, n. 4).
THOMAS McGREEVY LONDON
21/1/38 Broussais [Paris]
588
dear Tom
Your notes & messages and concern were a great help. Your
1
It has gone pretty well, though it still hurts me to breathe.
I was up for 1st time avant[-)hier, for a few hours in afternoon.
Fontaine came same day & said she thought I could leave
to-morrow. I hope she confirms that when she comes to-day.
I shall go straight back to Liberia, where apparently they
are bringing me down to 1il floor. I know it will take time
to get back to average, & I am told I will be the proud pos
sessor of a pleural barometer for years to come. But all things
considered, & with my fingers on the pencil, I am well out
2
yesterday before the juge d'instruction & were confronted with the wretch, who seems more cretinous than malicious. 3
Hope you met Mother & Frank in London. 4 He was relieved to be getting back, and she sorry. I felt great gusts of affection & esteem & compassion for her when she was over. What a relationship!
All kinds of people came to see me that I've either forgotten (e. g. Evrard and his wife) or never known (the Cremins, pals of Denis at Irish legation here, she very pretty, he very earnest). The
Joyces have been extraordinarily kind, bringing me round every thing from a heating lamp to a custard pudding. 5
Proofs nearly corrected. I changed more than I intended, chiefly for want of something to do. It strikes me now as a very dull work, painstaking, creditable & dull. Alfie Peron wants to translate it for NRF. When I send it back to Reavey I shall ask him to give it to you for a quick run over, for printer['Js errors
589
wirealsowithG&G&thenyesterdaywithDenis. Isheonhis way over?
21 January 1938, McGreevy
of it.
Poor Alan & Belinda have been angelic. They had to appear
21 January 1938, McGreevy
that I may have missed, or anything else flagrantly incorrect.
I know you won't mind. The blurb, printed on the flypage,
infuriated me so much that I wrote to Reavey refusing per
mission to have it appear between the boards of the book &
regretting that I could not keep it off the wrapper also. Then
afterwards I realized it was probably written by himself or
Gwynedd or both! Try & find out for me - And of course my
original idea for apes on cover just fades out - How short it
6
else you have. I should think there will be a job going with P. Guggenheim eventually, as Mrs Henderson will hardly be a
8
At least it is more of an act than Nijinsky9 [. . . ]
Have begun Goncharov's Oblomov. Pereant qui ante nos
nostra dixerunt!
Some of the infirmieres are impayables. One especially is a
born comedian - Stoops excruciatedly to pick up something &
10
Long affectionate letter from Ruddy.
Shall write you properly from Liberia. Thank Raven for his
12
1 McGreevy·slettersandthetelegramsthathehadsentwiththeReaveysandwith Denis Devlin have not been found.
2 "Avant-hier"(thedaybeforeyesterday).
590
looks in page proof.
This was Verlaine's hospital, wasn't it? 7
Send the Yeats to Liberia anytime now, also anything
permanency. Write to Laugier & Delbos still at Foreign Affairs. Cocteau of course is only interesting as morbid psychology.
says "Ah, que la terre est basse. " Spontaneous hemistich.
11
letter & Hester for her good wishes. Love ever
Sam
ALS; 2 leaves, 3 sides; TCD. MS 10402/153.
Joyce had arranged for his own physician Dr. Therese Bertrand-Fontaine (1895-1987), who was the first female doctor in the Parisian hospital system, to attend Beckett.
3 As witnesses. Alan and Belinda Duncan were required to appear before the examining magistrate in order to identify Beckett's assailant, Prudent.
4 FrankBeckett'slettertoMcGreevy:12January1938,TCD,MS10402/152.
5 Henri Evrard (1908-1985) was an Agrege from the Ecole Normale Superieure, Professor in Algeria, Marseille, and Paris, and later became lnspecteur General de ! 'Instruction Publique. Cornelius Christopher Cremin (1908-1987), First Secretary in the Irish Legation in Paris, and his wife Patricia Josephine Cremin (nee O'Mahony, 1913-1971) were friends of Denis Devlin and Thomas McGreevy.
6 AlfredPerondidnottranslateMurphyintoFrenchforGallimard'sNRFimprint, although he worked with SB on the translation which was dedicated to him when the novel was published by Bordas (1947).
The blurb and apes for Murphy: 17 January 1938, n. 2 and n. 3.
7 Verlaine was in the Hopital Broussais several times between 1887 and 1895; the hospital figures in his Mes Hopitaux (1891) and "L'Hopital chez Soi" in Dernieres chraniques de ! 'h6pital (1895), (Antoine Adam, The Art of Paul Verlaine, tr. Carl Morse [New York: New York University Press, 1963] 48-51); Paul Verlaine, Oeuvres en prose completes, ed. Jacques Borel, Bibliotheque de la Pleiade (Paris: Gallimard, 1972] 1229, 1237).
8 SB refers to McGreevy's essay on Jack B. Yeats which is dated January 1938, although it was published in June 1945 (MacGreevy,jack B. Yeats, 33).
Peggy Guggenheim's assistant at Guggenheim Jeune was Wyn Henderson (1896-1976), who had earlier worked with Nancy Cunard's Hours Press Uacque line Bograd Weld, Peggy: The Wayward Guggenheim [New York: E. P. Dutton, 1988] 160).
For Laugier and Delbos: SB to Thomas McGreevy, 3 November 1937 [for 3 December 1937], and 31 December 1937, n. 3. SB urged McGreevy to consider Laugier's sugges tion of applying for a subvention.
9 GuggenheimJeune'sfirstexhibitionwasofJeanCocteau'swork(see5January 1938, n. 4). The Polish-Russian dancer and choreographer Vaslav Fomich Nijinsky (1890-1950) was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1919 (Peter Ostwald, Vaslav Nijinsky: A Leap into Madness [New York: Carol Publishing Group, 1991] 178-184).
10 Oblomov (1858), by Russian novelist Ivan Goncharov (1812-1891), is about the eponymous character of prodigious sloth who conducts business from bed. "Oblomov" was Peggy Guggenheim's pet name for SB.
"Pereant qui ante nos nostra dixerunt" (Death to those who have spoken our thoughts before us), a sally attributed to Aelius Donatus, fourth-century Roman gram marian and teacher of rhetoric.
"lnfirmieres" (nurses). "Ah, que la terre est basse" (Oh, how far down the floor is). 11 T. B. Rudmose-Brown.
12 ThomasHolmesRavenhill. HesterDowden.
591
21 January 1938, McGreevy
22 January 1938, Reavey GEORGE REAVEY
LONDON
22/1/38 Liberia [Paris]
[no greeting]
Merci de ton mot. �a va, sans que je sache exactement ou. Epreuves suivent ce soir ou demain matin. Il ne me manque
plus qu'une phrase, et comment! 11 finit par m'emmerder, Murphy O'Blomov. Je passerai le reste de ma vie a regretter les
1
APCS; 1 leaf, 2 sides; to George Reavey Esq, 7 Great Ormond Street, LONDON W. C. 1; pm 24-1-38, Paris; TxU.
22/1/38 Liberia [Paris]
Thank you for your note. All going well, though I don't know exactly where.
Proofs follow this evening or tomorrow morning. Only one
sentence to go, and how! In the end, he's becoming a bloody
bore, Murphy O'Blomov. I'll spend the rest of my life regretting
1
1 "MurphyO'Blomov"isareflectionoftheeponymousOblomov. "Apes at chess": 13 November 1936, n. 5.
592
singes.
Allons hop! / tier se repete
Sam en homme genial
the apes.
Enough of this: on we go! / proud, repeats himself Sam like the genius he is
GEORGE REAVEY LONDON
25/1/38 Liberia
9 Rue de la Gde Chaumiere
Paris 6me
dear George
By this post I return proofs. I trust I have not exceeded
my allowance. Will you pass them on to Tom for the once
1
Sam
APCS; 1 leaf. 2 sides; to George Reavey Esq, 7 Great Ormond Street, LONDON WCl, pm 26-1-38, Paris; TxU.
1 SB asked McGreevy to read his corrected proof of Murphy. GEORGE REAVEY
LONDON
27/1/38 Liberia [Paris]
dear George
I am sorry to be a thorn in the side of the gentle compositor
but I don't see how I can correct my corrections. I considered them very carefully and they seemed to me necessary. The insertions at end of section 5 especially so. If they leave me £10 or £20 in somebody's debt I can't help it. My executors will
593
over. Gobbless
27January 1938, Reavey
27 January 1938, Reavey
shoulder the burden. Whatever you do don't send back the proofs and have me add more! 1
God love thee G. Sam
APCS; 1 leaf, 2 sides; to George Reavey Esq, 7 Great Ormond Street, LONDON WC 1; pm 27-1-38, Paris; TxU, Reavey.
1 Reavey's letter to SB has not been found. The corrected proof copy has not been found: a final typescript of Murphy dated 26 June 1936 is at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center (TxU). In Demented Particulars, C. J. Ackerley has studied the changes between this typescript and the text as published by Routledge.
THOMAS McGREEVY LONDON
27/1/38 Liberia [Paris]
dear Tom
Many thanks for all your letters. Forgive delay in replying.
I wanted to wait till I saw Fontaine this morning before writing
1
of Parma violets from Joyces) and taking it as easy as poss. , just slipping out twice, & sometimes only once, a day for meals & coming back immediately, going to bed between 9 & 10 & lying in till midday. In spite of which the pain has been considerably worse. So I rang up Fontaine & had my appointment with her at Broussais changed from to-morrow to to-day. 2
I am just back now from seeing her. She examined me & said things were proceeding normally and that the pain was only to be expected & that I might make up my mind to its being there
594
you.
Have been here since Saturday (on arrival an immense bunch
27January 1938, McGreevy
for some time. She prescribed some anti-neuralgic dope for me
to take. And I have to take my temp every vespers. She had no
objection to my going out for meals. She said to return this day
week for a further examination & X Ray. Then I was passed on to
her assistant Fauvert, who did a Radioscope, said there was still
some blood knocking about & more or less repeated Fontaine.
Then on to a sister, who clapped 21 cupping glasses (ventouses)
on to my chest & back & left me feeling like an Osram advertise
3
So you see I am getting on as well as can be expected & that
there is no need to worry. The Duncans have been angelic, com
4
Do send along your Yeats, I am in a hurry to see it. I have
been reading 0Blomov, appallingly translated by one Nathalie
6
is a question of handling Reavey with kid gloves.
Mother is a marvel. She sat up all the way from Euston to
8
equal length.
J. J. was round avant-hier, very worried about L. [ucia), of
whom news is bad, and wondering would Geoffrey be over at Easter. He says he is going away to Zurich to rest after his his [sic) birthday. I should not be surprised if I were invited to go with. I wouldn't really mind, he has been so incredibly good all this
time, but I won't be well enough. I wont even be able to be at his
ment for 15 minutes. The temporary relief was considerable.
ing every day, sometimes twice, and ready to do anything for me. I had a card from Reavey this morning, full of alarm about my proof corrections. I made the only possible answer by return.
I am sorry you have the corvee of giving it the once over. 5
(for Natalie] Duddington.
Peron wants to translate Murphy for NRF. I suppose again it
7
Dun Laoghaire. They had an appalling crossing.
Had a long letter from Ursula & replied to them jointly at
9
birthday party this day week.
10
595
27 January 1938, McGreevy
Poem dictated itself to me night before last:
they come
different and the same
with each it is different & the same
with each the absence of love is different with each the absence of love is the same
Thought of sending it to Sheehy - then withheld my hand.
The Van Veldes wanted me to go to Fontainebleau this
11
week-end, but rien a faire.
I am sorry you don't feel equal to taking up the Laugier
thing. I was talking about you in a general way to Peron. He knows someone to do with the Louvre and is going to make
12
sunlit surface yesterday brighter than the whole of Ireland's summer.
Letter from the Manning. Both Harvard & Buffalo possibil
ities for the summer apparently. And a cheerful letter from
Cissie, now on the sea 20 mins. from Cape Town, & leaving for
13
ALS; 2 leaves, 3 sides; TCD, MS 10402/154.
1 McGreevy'slettershavenotbeenfound. ForDr. Fontaine:21January1938,n. 2.
2 SBlefttheH6pitalBroussaisonSaturday,22January1938.
3 Dr. Fontaine's assistant Fauvert has not been identified. SB was treated with the application of ventouses to stimulate blood circulation in the lungs; when first applied, the cups may have looked like lightbulbs; Osram General Electric Company manufactured light bulbs, lamps, and electrical tubes.
4 AlanandBelindaDuncan.
596
enquiries.
How lovely it is being here. Even with a hole in the side. A
home beginning ofApril. God love thee Ever Sam
27January 1938, McGreevy
5 Reavey'scardtoSBhasnotbeenfound. SBhadaskedMcGreevytolookoverthe proofs. "Corvee" (chore).
6 SB refers to McGreevy's study of Jack B. Yeats. SB had been reading Ivan Goncharov, Oblomov, tr. Natalie A. Duddington (1929). One review found Duddington's translation "a remarkably accomplished and painstaking piece of work . . . as good a translation as one could hope for" ("Gontcharov's 'Oblomov,"' Times Literary Supplement 14 November 1929: 919).
7 Peron'sinterestintranslatingMurphy:21January1938,n. 6.
8 May, Frank, and Jean Beckett had returned to Dublin via London, by a train that left from London's Euston station and connected with the ferry to Dun Laoghaire.
9 UrsulaandGeoffreyThompson.
10 "Avant-hier"(thedaybeforeyesterday).
Lucia Joyce was in treatment for mental illness; Geoffrey Thompson was a practicing psychiatrist in London.
Joyce's birthday was 2 February. Joyce left for Switzerland c. 6 February, staying in Lausanne on his way to Zurich (Roger Norburn, A James Joyce Chronology [New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004] 181).
11 SB did send the poem to Edward Sheehy at Ireland To-Day, as he wrote to McGreevy on 11 February 1938: "I sent 'they come' (translated by Peron as 'ils vien nent'! ! ) to Ireland Tcxlay, where the great purity of mind & charity of thought\Vill no doubt see orgasms where nothing so innocent or easy is intended, and reject the poem in consequence" (TCD, MS 10402/156).
The poem was first published in English in Peggy Guggenheim's Out of This Century: The Infonnal Memoirs of Peggy Guggenheim ([New York: Dial Press, 1946] 205; rev. asOutofThisCentury: ConfessionsofanArtAddict[NewYork:UniverseBooks,1979] 175); in this printing, initial letters of each line are capitalized, "and" replaces "&" in line 3, and "life" replaces "love" in line 5. Federman and Fletcher ascribe the substitution of "life" for "love" in line 5 to SB; however, the text of the poem in the present letter indicates that the variant was introduced in Peggy Guggenheim's transcription of the poem (Samuel Beckett: His Works and His Critics, 23, 50). As published in French as "elles viennent" in "Poemes 38-39," Les Temps Modernes 2. 14 (November 1946) 288, the poem has no initial capitalization. and line 5 reads: "avec chacune ! 'absence d'arnour est pareille" ("with each the absence of love is the same").
12 GeerandElizabeth(neeJoki,knownasLisi,b. 1908)vanVelde. "Rienafaire" (nothing doing).
Henri Laugier proposal: 10 December 1937 to McGreevy. Alfred Peron.
13 MaryManningHowe'slettertoSBhasnotbeenfound. Herhusbandtaughtat the University of Buffalo, and he had family connections at Harvard.
Cissie Sinclair was visiting her son Morris in Graaff Reinet, near Cape Town, South Africa: 5 June 1936 [for 1937], n. 6.
597
31 January 1938, McGreevy THOMAS McGREEVY
LONDON
31/1/38 Liberia
9 Rue de la Gde. Chaumiere
Paris 6
Dear Tom
Many thanks for Yeats essay and letter. I am sorry you haff
bin hafting such trouble with the finances ofit. Was it necessary to drag in the Authors' Assoc. or whatever it is? 1 Could it not have been a private arrangement between you and him more fair to you?
I have read the essay twice and think you have every reason
to be very pleased with it. Certainly in the first 18 pages I do not
think there is a syllable that needs touching. The point about
the association and spartness [for apartness] offigures and land
scape is most beautifully established. 2 And the dangers ofover
analogy admirably negotiated. On p. 7 the name of Douanier
Rousseau suggested itself to me to follow Le Nain, Chardin,
Millet and Courbet, but perhaps the idea is too wide for what
you want. 3 You develop the Watteau indication very differently
from the way it was in my mind, less philosophically and
emphatically and probably more justly, certainly in a way that
is justified by what leads up to and away from it as my idea of
"inorganic juxtaposition" and "non-anthropomorphised human
4
evident as the beginning, holds together perfectly. It is more "construit" perhaps, more Catena. I understand your anxiety to clarify his pre and post 1916 painting politically and socially,
598
ity" would not have been.
The rest ofthe essay, though I do not find it quite as self
and especially in what concerns the last pictures I think you
have provided a clue that will be ofgreat help to a lot ofpeople,
to the kind of people who in the phrase of Bergson can't be
happy till they have "solidified the flowing", i. e. to most people.
I am inclined personally to think that the turning away from the
local, not merely in his painting but in his writing (he has just
sent me The Charmed Life), even ifonly in intention, results not
so much from the break down ofthe local, ofthe local human
anyway, as from a very characteristic and very general psycho
logical mechanism, operative in young artists as a naivete (or an
instinct) and in old artists as a wisdom (or an instinct). 5 I am sure
I could illustrate this for you ifl had the culture. You will always,
as an historian, give more credit to circumstance than I, with my
less than suilline interest and belief in the fable convenue, ever
6
whether before the Union or after, or that it was ever capable of any thought or act other than the rudimentary thoughts and acts belted into it by the priests and by the demagogues in service of the priests, or that it will ever care, ifit ever knows, any more than the Bog of Allen will ever care or know, that there was once a
599
31 January 1938, McGreevy
shall be able to. However you say it yourself on p. 34.
One of the criticisms that I should like to make about the second halfand that I should think will certainly be made by the pros, is that for an essay of such brevity the political and social analyses are rather on the long side. I received almost the impres sion for example, as the essay proceeded, that your interest was passing from the man himselfto the forces that formed him - and not only him - and that you returned to him from them with something like reluctance. But perhaps that also is the fault ofmy mood and ofmy chronic inability to understand as member ofany proposition a phrase like "the Irish people", or to imagine that it ever gave a fart in its corduroys for any form of art whatsoever,
31 January 1938, McGreevy
7
of a criticism that allows as a sentient subject what I can only
think of as a nameless and hideous mass, whether in Ireland or
in Finland, but only to say that I, as a clot of prejudices, prefer
the first half of your work, with its real and radiant individuals,
8
Broussais this week for exam. & X Ray and no doubt more
ventouses. Dr Paul the French Spilsbury has benn (for been]
commanding me to his presence in the morning at 9. 15 and
I replying patiently and politely that my condition does not
9
me. There are all kinds of reasons que je me porte partie civile,
and all kinds for my not doing so. There appears to be a remote
possibility of my receiving compensation from the Ville de Paris,
but if it involves me with lawyers I should prefer to do without it.
The police still have my clothes. But whatever I do and however
it goes there are going to be plenty of unpleasantness[es] before
10
Molasses. I have accepted en principe. Broadcast first from Athlone[. ]11
Don't you think one of us ought to write to Laugier, since after all he has been kind, to say that you don't see your way to taking
12
I am writing[. ]13
God love thee, Tom, and don't be minding me. I can't think
of Ireland the way you do. Ever
s/ Sam
painterinIrelandcalledJackButlerYeats. Thisisnotacriticism
to the second, with our national scene. Et voila.
I am much better the last few days - less pain. I go back to
allowmetogetupbeforemidday. Soontheywillbearresting
it can be called an affaire classee.
Joyce's birthday spree next Wednesday at the Jolasses
the thing up? I shall do it with pleasure if you don't want to.
If you see Denis please thank him for his letter and tell him
600
31 January 1938, McGreevy
TIS; 1 leaf, 2 sides; TCD, MS 10402/155.
