Description: American poet and writer Archibald MacLeish (1892-1982) signed this rather ambiguous typed letter to Rose Lacher, someone who was involved with the Roosevelt Memorial Foundation, asking her if she knew that the directors of the Foundation had “decided to defer their money-raising campaign until next year in order to avoid any possible political implications”.

 

MacLeish studied English at Yale and law at Harvard, served as a soldier during World War I, lived with other American literary expatriates in Paris during the 1920s, and contributed to Henry Luce’s magazine Fortune from 1929 to 1938. He also worked as Librarian of Congress at the urging of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He is remembered for revolutionizing the operations of the Library, making it more efficient and promoting it through public advocacy. After his role as Librarian of Congress (1939-1944), he served as Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs (1944-1945) under FDR. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize three times: for poetry in 1933 and 1953 for Conquistador and Collected Poems 1917-1952, and for Drama in 1959 with his play J.B.

 

Typed on a sheet of MacLeish’s personal stationery that measures: 10 ½” x 7 ¼”. Item #A01002.

 

Condition: Fold lines and two puncture marks from a removed staple in the upper left corner, otherwise in very good condition with a neat, bold signature.