Meanwhile There Are Letters: The Correspondence of Eudora Welty and Ross Macdonald

by Suzanne Marrs (Editor), Tom Nolan (Editor)

An intimate correspondence between the Pulitzer Prize–winning Southern writer and the famed crime novelist reveals “a remarkable relationship” (Sue Grafton).
 
In 1970, Ross Macdonald, the creator of hardboiled detective Lew Archer and an innovator in the crime genre, wrote a letter to Eudora Welty, the beloved first lady of Southern literature—initiating a thirteen-year correspondence and an unlikely friendship that grew into something much deeper. Though separated by background, geography, genre, and his marriage, the two authors shared their lives in witty, wry, tender, and at times profoundly romantic letters, each drawing on the other for inspiration, comfort, and strength.
 
They brought their literary talents to bear on a wide range of topics, discussing each others’ publications, the process of translating life into fiction, the nature of the writer’s block each encountered, books they were reading, and friends and colleagues they cherished. They also discussed the world around the Vietnam War; the Nixon, Carter, and Reagan presidencies; and the environmental threats facing the nation. The letters reveal the impact each had on the other’s work, and they show the personal support Welty provided when Alzheimer’s destroyed Macdonald’s ability to communicate and write.
 
The editors of this collection, who are the definitive biographers of these two literary figures, have provided extensive commentary and an insightful introduction. They also include Welty’s story fragment “Henry,” which addresses Macdonald’s disease. With its mixture of correspondence and narrative, Meanwhile There Are Letters—a finalist for the 2016 Edgar, Anthony, and Macavity Awards—offers “a glimpse into the inner lives of these tender, brilliant bookish souls” providing “a thrill beyond measure” (Ann Patchett).

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir, Biography Memoir, Autobiography, Literature, Books About Books

657 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 7, 2015

About the author

Suzanne Marrs is the author of Eudora Welty: A Biography and One Writer's Imagination: The Fiction of Eudora Welty and is a recipient of the Phoenix Award for Distinguished Welty Scholarship. She is a professor of English at Millsaps College. "

Reviews

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Kenneth Millar (detective novelist “Ross Macdonald”) read in a New York Times interview that Eudora Welty had once almost sent him a fan letter but then refrained because she feared to do so might be “icky,” he sent her a fan letter of his own. Thus began a correspondence that would last twelve years, from 1970 to 1982, only ending six months before Millar's death from the complications of Alzheimer's.

The times they met face to face could be counted almost on one hand, yet their first meeting—a year plus a week after the letters started, in the lobby of Manhattan's Algonquin Hotel—established a close bond which grew more intense with each year. Although Welty was a maiden lady in her early 60's, conventional in her morals, and Millar was a man in his late 50's committed to his marriage (he was the husband of mystery novelist Margaret Millar), their epistolary romance—nuanced, deliberate in its purity, yet filled with an intense personal regard—is a testimony to human love just as moving as the letters of Heloise and Abelard or Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning.

I have heard it said that intense flirtation is tantamount to adultery, and I will concede that, in this age, it is often true. But not here. Not in these letters.

Welty and Millar refuse to create any sort of mutual fantasy world. What they do instead is to share and explore the particular details of each others lives, their likes and dislikes, discovering in otherwise insignificant connections—a mutual friend, the joint affection for an obscure novel, a city they both once visited (or plan to visit), a shared literary contact or political opinion, a recent bird sighting, a few strikingly similar (or dissimilar) days of weather--a confluence of correspondences that may serve to bring the great rivers of their two selves together. (It is a metaphor that Welty would explore in her Pulitzer prize winning novel, The Optimist's Daughter (1972), where she speaks of the union of the Mississippi and the Ohio at Cairo, Illinois: “All they could see was sky, water, birds, and confluence. It was the whole morning world.”)

This can be a sad book, and it gets even sadder toward the end. The reader feels each writer's desire for the other's presence in almost every line, a desire more poignant as Millar's Alzheimer's progresses. His letters grow more laconic and less frequent, until at the last it is just Welty who writes, conjuring the particular connections they share in an ever continuing litany, desperate to keep the confluence flowing even as it ebbs away.

Both are long dead now of course. But—thanks to biographers and editors Marr and Nolan—“there are letters.” And although they may not be “the whole morning world,” these letters are certainly a resplendent piece of it, a reminder of how two people—through the magic of their words and their chaste and ardent imaginations—once contrived to make “the whole morning world” shine.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

...it's as if you had stopped time and handed me a glass which admits the future to our present vision, and the past too, joining present and future times, as if we had lived beyond life, as indeed we are going to do now to some extent, together.

p. 344, Kenneth Millar (aka Ross Macdonald) to Eudora Welty; in response to her asking to dedicate The Eye of the Story to him

The two editors of this volume are the authors, separately, of the biographies of Eudora Welty and Ross Macdonald and have done a phenomenal job compiling, editing and providing the context for the letters these two famous authors shared with each other. I know I will continue to refer to this volume, as I still do What There Is to Say We Have Said: The Correspondence of Eudora Welty and William Maxwell. I see from my review of the latter, also edited by Welty's biographer (and friend), that I had the same experience with both books: "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..."

It's a bonus to have an unfinished story of Welty's at the end of this volume, not because of any literary merits, but as insight into her profound understanding of and love for Millar. The fragmented story's ending pierced my heart, as did the end of the real-life story of these two literary luminaries who, more than anything else, were wonderful people.

[Diane Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to review a letter collection between 2 people because it has no basis for any type of criticism or praise; it is what it is. However, I did enjoy these letters, read by me over a 5 month period. It gave me insight into Welty's actions and feelings, and introduced me to an author I know of but have never read, Ken Millar, aka Ross MacDonald. Personal correspondence has become a lost art.

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a fan of collections of letters, and this is a particularly moving one. I enjoyed watching the growing friendship and love between these two authors, and then the final section, as Millar develops Alzheimer’s, is an emotional ending. They also included a draft of a story that Welty attempted to write, inspired by their friendship, which is an emotional complement to the letters.

[Mississippi Library Commission · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely letters by two master story tellers... From time to time it plodded a bit, but the commentary by Suzanne Mars and Tom Nolan made this a fairly fascinating peek into the lives of Eudora Welty and Kenneth Millar. If you haven't already, be sure to pick up What There Is to Say We Have Said: The Correspondence of Eudora Welty and William Maxwell. (Ms. Eudora knew how to write a right fine letter!)

[Tracy]

Perfectly nice, well-written letters written by perfectly nice people. Do I wish there was some spice? YES, I DO.

[theresa Younce · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a book on my Book Club list and though I live in Jackson, MS, and am quite familiar with Welty, I was not sure I would like this. I did though, very much. The two authors (one a biographer of Macdonald and the other a biographer of Welty) worked together and let you know what was going on in the lives of each as each letter or group of letters from a particular year are read. The development of friendship and love between these two people and yet their careful conformity to their moral beliefs is so refreshing in this day and age of "whatever makes me feel good should be what I do." Macdonald was married to a very difficult person, and remained faithful to her and Miss Welty always included her in the letters and yet you know that they care deeply for each other. How they met and how they helped each other are always part of the literary scene and mutual friends in publishing and academics are a part of their correspondence. This is a delightful and poignant peek into a relationship between two fine people.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible compilation of letters between Eudora Welty and Ken Millar, aka Ross MacDonald, master of the hard-boiled detective story. The close correspondence between these two accomplished authors gives the reader a glimpse into an intimate friendship and reveals the mutual respect that existed between them. This is a great view into the heart and soul of the two individuals. I applaud the efforts and research of Suzanne Mars and Tom Nolan and the acknowledgements, permissions, and extensive notes that accompany this publication.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eudora Welty and Ken Millar (aka mystery writer Ross MacDonald) write to each other about their work, their reading, and their lives in these thoughtful and surprisingly simpatico letters. The later letters are hard to read as Ken Millar develops Alzheimer’s disease, and the friendship comes to its end with his death. As much as I enjoyed Ms Welty’s letters to and from her New Yorker editor William Maxwell, I thought these letters gave more insight into her character, thoughts about writing, and her books. And Ken Millar’s letters left me looking forward to reading his mysteries

[MD · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have long been a fan of Eudora Welty, but was not familiar with Ross Macdonald (Ken Millar.) Their letters are beautiful, and they document a relationship that started in a seemingly silly way.

Mind you, I am biased: I love correspondence. I love setting down thoughts on paper, and letting them go through the US Postal Service. This is how I conducted the one true romance of my life, and -to this day- both parties cherish that process, believing it is an intrinsic part of who we are as a couple today.

In this day and age, people don't take the time to unfold themselves layer by layer through long letters, or through the exchange of what appear to be superficial details but that carry weight, and the essence of those involved.

If you love letters, and you have memories of sitting on the curb waiting for the mail truck to arrive, sometimes to fill you with joy, and others to leave you disappointed and forlorn, read this book. If you have no such memories, read the book anyway. You will meet two extraordinary people who managed to love each other without being sordid, or betraying their individual commitments to lives that had long existed before they coincided and became -truly and deeply- friends...

And then go read some Eudora Welty and some Ross Macdonald, and tinker around with all else they exchange by way of favorite authors, books, subjects... It is, truly, a wonderful book that Ms. Marrs and Mr. Nolan (each a scholar in her/his own right on both these authors) have put together. The letters themselves were a labor of love, and the editors' efforts do them tremendous justice.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I could give this book every star. The whole collection is overshadowed by what we know is coming, what we know will happen to Ken, the veil that will drop over his memory in time. That knowledge looms throughout, but does nothing to dampen the beauty of what passes between them. Late in the collection Welty writes Millar, "Nothing can change that companionship for a venture, if you're a child or if you're long-travelled in experience - I feel less & less that our years tell us all that much, just by rolling over us - what we need is one another." Or as Ann Patchett writes in her jacket blurb, "What could be better than a love built on friendship, and a friendship built on letters?"

[Lancelot Link · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far my favorite book I read this year. I was enjoying it so much I would stop reading it at times, partly because I didn’t want it to end and partly because I knew enough about Millar and Welty to know how this was going to end. A true love tragedy told in letters. A delicious peek over the shoulders of two incredible talents who talked about books and writing and reading and life. Truly a book I absolutely cherish.

[Linda Gaines · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved reading letters by two gifted writers. I haven't read any Ross MacDonald (not my genre) but I will look for a short story to see how he writes. I'm glad that a woman, I so identify with (birthday April 13) had such a good and loving male friend.

[Lelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The letters Eudora Welty and Ken Millar exchanged through the 70s and early 80s are a warm, wonderful read, full of insights into writers, writing, reading, books, birds, coping with loss and aging, and what it means to love someone over distance and time.

I came to this book fresh off Suzanne Marrs’ biography of Eudora Welty, which I found a bit stiff and studied, with a tendency to reveal more about Welty’s travel schedule than her warmth, charm, kindness and forbearance. All of those characteristics - the living, breathing presence of Eudora Welty - comes through in these letters. Little jokes and anecdotes, the way she feels into stories and other people’s lives, her deep regard for Ken, and her Southern manners that keep her from ever writing, “Ken, your wife seems very unkind.” (Which is about as harsh as I can imagine her being, whereas I might have wanted to say, “Ken, your wife is being a bitch.”)

This was also a wonderful introduction to Ken Millar, whose Lew Archer books I plan to dive into now that I know Eudora read - and reread - them. His sweetness is evident in every letter, as is the darkness that he wrote about and that dogs him all his life. He has a great line in one of the early letters that makes you feel his vigor and fortitude, like a mythic hero descending to - and emerging from - the underworld.

“... I left the academic world to write popular fiction in the hope of coming back by underground tunnels and devious ways into the light again, dripping with darkness.”

Eudora and Ken had a remarkable friendship and their letters offer a heartening reminder of the deeply meaningful connections that are possible between people whose minds and hearts occupy a similar space, even if their lives aren’t joined geographically.

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Going into this novel, I didn't realize how long it was since I read it in e-book format. I certainly never lost interest in the developing, deep friendship between Welty and Macdonald. There were times that their correspondence was so entirely book and publishing related that I did question whether or not some abridgment wouldn't have added to the overall reading experience of the collection. In the end, I saw the error of my ways. By the time Macdonald's health is critically impacting his life, the reader is so invested as to feel deep empathy for all.

[Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading ten years' worth of letters between Eudora Welty, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of short stories and novels set in and around her Jackson, Mississippi home, and Kenneth Millar, who used the penname "Ross Macdonald" for his hardboiled detective novels, might seem boring. But their correspondence, unlikely as it might seem, was very nurturing to them both, and showed the depth of feeling and confluence of thought between two great 20th century writers. Though the book ends on a sad note, with Millar's descent into Alzheimer's disease and early death, the overall tone is of joy.

[Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading the correspondence of literate folks - and I've read a few collections - always makes me a little wistful for days when postal communication was more common. Yes, it's easier and faster to send an email or a text, but often that ease and speed detract from the quality of the message rather than enhance it. And there are some deep, thoughtful, and sincere messages in this collection.

[Susan Richner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a comforting book to open each night before bed. Eudora Welty is the epitome of a dignified and refined Southern intellect. Her kindness and intelligence inspire. I had to read “The Optimist’s Daughter” before I even finished “…Letters.” I also gleaned many other other titles for my “Want to read” list from the conversations between Eudora and Ken.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

It got me thinking about the lost art of letter-writing, even more than the particular lives of Eudora Welty and Ross MacDonald. I'm not convinced that they were lovers, but it is clear that they had a very strong connection, and provided a life-line to one another.

[Anelie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this. I've been a Ross MacDonald fan for a long time and reading these letters makes me want to read Eudora Welty (I've read a story or two). Along with many of the authors they discuss in their letters. 4.2 stars rounded down.

[Paige · Rating 3 out of 5]

A touch boring. If you want to read some platonic letters of adoration between two authors from the 1970s, this book is for you. A lot of bird talk.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quotable:
Their (the Millars) marriage, though much more companionable in time, came to be one of almost separate lives beneath one roof. Still, Ken honored the vow “till death do us part” and expected others to do likewise.

“[H]e had such control: the most controlled person I ever saw. […] He respected other people, in a very grave way, and he would wait for them to speak.” -Eudora Welty

I used to thrive on loneliness but now I depend on friends. –Ken Millar

[T]he intention of popular art… is to express a society to itself in terms it can understand. –Ken Millar

Of that little crowd, three have died. It’s the time of life I’ve now reached, I know – But your feelings don’t change. -Eudora Welty

“The memory is a living thing, it too is in transit. But during its moment, all that is remembered joins, and lives – the old and the young, the past and the present, the living and the dead.” Eudora Welty

[A] place takes so much of its beauty and its value from the people who have been there. –Ken Millar

[Y]ou know reading as a child always had something about it of stolen happiness, didn’t it? –Eudora Welty

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meanwhile there are letters was a compilation of correspondence between Eudora Welty and Ross MacDonald, covering 13 years in the 1970s and '80s. I did not get the whole romance part of it - just did not see that at all. They read as affectionate and understanding, letters that show each other great support and sharing of their mutual profession. But romance? The most I might say would be that one or both may have thought, "another time, another place". The story was sad all the way through, but if you have known someone with Alzheimers, especially poignant at the end. The end made the whole book worth it. My attention flagged at times as many of the letters have a significant portion of "Thank you for sending me that book (article, review, etc)" or, "I saw X at the conference, do you know him? He knows you" In a way, however, the banal parts gave them a reason to keep talking and supporting each other. I hope wherever they are, they are having lunch and discussing the art of writing.

[Susan Lundy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish this had been Tom Nolan's book instead of Suzanne Marrs book. The book seemed slightly biased toward Eudora Welty, and actually maybe that fits with their current respective places in US literature. I, however, am a Margaret Millar/Ross Macdonald fan, and I felt as though the attempt to indicate some sort of deep relationship or even romance between Eudora and Kenneth was, well...something maybe forced upon the Editor(s) because sex sells?

Overall, the Editor did a good job of noting, documenting, and giving further research when needed. The correspondence produced some interesting tidbits which would not matter to younger folk who don't remember the gossipy times of the late 60's and early 70's...or the people referenced. I also got a fuller understanding of the marriage between Ken and Margaret Millar, and feel as though I understand their mutual works of fiction much better now that I can see their other interests and attitudes towards life.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This seemed like a good example of two writers who wrote with the expectation that their correspondence would someday be immortalized in such a book. Now, my middling rating does not really address the content of these letters, nor the authors' diligence in collecting and commenting on it. These letters just don't, for the most part, seem spontaneous and real. And about half of them seem to be taken up by the respective writers congratulating themselves on having established this epistolary friendship.

Well, I am a fan of the works of both authors, but I think these letters should have been given a pass and perhaps used only to illuminate aspects of the writers' lives in their biographies. If they opened their hearts to each other, it was certainly done in an exceedingly self-conscious way.

[Gretchen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably more meaningful if one were a devoted fan of these two authors' work--I don't know Macdonald's at all and have read just one novella by Welty--but even without appreciating the specific content of this dialogue, I was moved to see an intimate friendship develop late in life through correspondence of two people who initially were strangers. Everyone who likes to write letters should be lucky enough to develop such a an engaging, personal, and sustained correspondence. A meaningful companion to my summer of letter writing.

[Beesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most interesting thing about this book is the fact of the friendship between Eudora Welty and Ross Macdonald, and that the fact of their friendship became a topic in their letters and its own unique thing that only they really understood. I also greatly enjoyed their discussions of what they were reading and what they were writing, and what they thought of various writers. Of less interest for me was the information about the minutiae of their daily lives. Their correspondence had an elegiac undertone to it that gave me a different view of both of them.

[Geekfork · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the subject matter but i have to read it again when i have more energy and focus - the more mundane aspects of everyday life contained in this correspondence (as it can't help but be present) made my eyes glaze over. That being said, I still highly recommend the book - and I say that as someone who had only heard of Eudora Welty and never heard at all of Ross MacDonald/Ken Millar. I now want to read whatever I can get my hands on from these two people.

[Mhd]

Led to this book by a great review in LATimes. Sample was extremely interesting...and I don't even usually like this sort of thing. Beautiful letters, well written...tell quite a story. Must finish!!

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do we write letters anymore? Not likely with email and texting, but good to be reminded of pen to paper and descriptive life in the moment for these two friends, authors, admirers of one another. A pleasant read!