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Correspondence from W.H. Auden
Via Santa Lucia 22
Forio d'Ischia
Prov. di Napoli
Italy
August 17th [1949]
Dear Reinhold,
I ought to have written long ago to
thank you for Faith and History which I
have read with the greatest interest and
pleasure. I hope you are now really getting
a bit of a rest, and have not been
frustrated by the heat. Our drought broke
three days ago with a violent windstorm
which by popular [unintelligible] always
occurs when the Cardinal visits the island.
Just before that we had a big local
Festa for San Vito (an adolescent wine-god).
For once the Madonna stayed at home and only the
male saints went visiting. The fireworks were at
9 p.m. so San Vito could see them before
he was put to bed. Perhaps all these goings
on are the reason why none of the children
here play with toys. (What are the poor little
protestant children to find in church?)
Geoffrey Gorer (who enraged you so much about
the [unintelligible]) has just been staying with us for
a fortnight with the proofs of his new book
about the Russians. The clue to their character and
conduct seems to be the way the children are
swaddled. He may come back and do a two year
study of Fascism as a culture, about which we
have started gleaning some points, e.g. only the
girl children are given any responsibility and [unintelligible]
is confined to [unintelligible]
I get a plane from Rome on Sept. 22nd and shall
look forward to seeing you as soon as I get back I hope.
Lots of love to you lots as family
Wystan
P.S. have had a lot of
worry over a married couple who
rented my [unintelligible] Island cottage and have
gone mad together.
Reinhold Niebuhr Papers: Library of Congress, Manuscript Reading Room
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