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letterhead UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE BERKELEY DAVIS IRVINE LOS ANGELES RIVERSIDE SAN DIEGO SAN FRANSISCO SANTA BARBARA SANTA CRUZ Seal of The University of California 1868 DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH AND COMPARATIVE LITERATURE IRVINE, CALIFORNIA 92644

December 26, 1973 Mr. Jack Conroy 701 Fisk Avenue Moberly, Missouri 65270

Dear Jack:

    I've delayed shamefully in thanking you for the copy of underlined:  Writers in Revolt and the newspaper interview you sent me.  True, Henry Kisor was a little "gushy" ("when I wiped the tears from my eyes"), but it was a good interview, particularly whenever it quoted underlined: you, and it was good to hear your  voice and to learn that except for that terrible diabetes, you are well and hearty.  I like the pictures too, along with your inked-in comments.
  Underlined:  Writers in Revolt, of course, is a gem, you know, I looked at a couple of issues of Anvil when I was writing my West book,  but I didn't realize how many good pieces you managed to get, what a high standard you set in those 7 years, in those 3 magazines.  Most welcome of all is your good introduction, full of wit and sharp asservations.*   You have untangled a lot of things which otherwise would have been confusing  to future historians and literary scholars who will be studying the doings of the Sage of Moberly.
 Why didn't you include more than one of your own contributions to the magazines?  I looked for them first, and then, I went on to read the Algren and Hughes pieces and then read straight through.  Some of the folks I know or have met--Sonora Babb and Farrell and Mike gold--but some others were new discoveries for me--I'd never read a word by Kalar or Kissin or Leokum or some others.  And it was good to see new pieces by some writers whose other work I knew.
   The next time I do any kind of course on the 30s, I'll certainly be using the book.  In the meantime I'll be recommending it to students, as I do "The Disinherited," of course.
  How comes the autobiography?  Many of us look forward to seeing it.

Cordially, signed: Jay Jay Martin JM:sej

• Obviously, you "did" Philip Rahv "in"

handwritten after signature I was j ust in Chicago, where I met Marcus Klein. We talked about you, as he bought underlined: Writers in Krock & Brentano's