A Calendar of the Letters of Willa Cather

An infamous clause in Willa Cather’s will, forbidding publication of her letters and other papers, has long caused consternation among Cather scholars. For Cather, a complex and private person who seldom made revelatory public pronouncements, personal letters provide - or would provide - an especially valuable key to understanding. But because of the terms of her will, that key is not readily available. Cather’s letters will not come into public domain until the year 2017. Until then, even quotation, let alone publication in full, is prohibited. Janis P. Stout has gathered over eighteen hundred of Cather’s letters - all the letters currently known to be available - and provides a brief summary of each, as well as a biographical directory identifying correspondents and a multi-section index of the widely scattered letters organised by location, by correspondent, and by names and titles mentioned. This book will be an essential resource for Cather scholars. Janis P. Stout is a professor of English at Texas A & M University. She is the author of numerous books, including Through the Window, Out the Door: Women’s Narratives of Departure, from Austin and Cather to Tyler, Morrison, and Didion and Willa Cather: The Writer and Her World.