MARIANNE MOORE
Letters
For
most
if
her life, the poet Marianne Moore wrote letters daily. They ranged from
short notes to highly-detailed descriptions
if
thirty-five pages or longer. Many of her
longest letters were written to family members; her family was intensely close and
used a variety
if
animal names and other playful names to refer to themselves. The
letters selected here are addressed to her brother,John Warner Moore, who was a chap–
lain in the
us.
Navy and later at a boy's preparatory school. He is addressed as
"Winks" and "Badger;" Moore signs the letters "Rat," (a name taken from
The
Wind in the Willows)
"l-teaz," and "Winks." In the first letter, Moore refers to
the Aldingtons, who were the poet
H.D.
and her husband, Richard Aldington; and
Dora Marsden, who began
Freewoman: A Weekly Feminis t Review
in
1911,
the name
if
which was later changed to
The Egoist.
"Mole" is Mary Warner
Moore, the poet's mother; Edwin Howard was an architect and a close personalfriend
if
the Moores.
October 10, 1915
Dear Winks,
Moley beats me this I know,
for my spare ribs tell me so.
Mole is not a little condemnatory of me because I exerted myself so,
to prepare for the lady who is visiting Mrs. Glass and who knows the
Aldingtons-Miss Rhodes. We suggested last week that she and Mrs. Glass
come to tea today at 2 as they had to get home at 4 to receive the children
from school. Miss Rhodes came alone saying Mrs. Glass had had to go to
Harrisburg. She is a perfectly delightful lady, rather tall with gray hair and
she wore a lovely hat black velvet with gray silk bows or rather ribbon side
wing effects. She told me all about my confederates. Said Mrs. Aldington
[H.D.] kept her house spotless and that Mr. Aldington has dispensed with
Editor's Note: From the forth coming book
The Selected Letters
rif
Marianne Moore
by
Marianne Moore and edited by Bonnie Costello. Copyright
©
1997 by The Estate of
Marianne Moore. Copyright
©
1997 by Bonnie Costello (for introduction, annotations,
and additional material). To be published by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
