"The Nobel affair: I hope I didn't give the impression of anything more than startled surprise, and my usual shrinking violet stuff. [Yes, I campaigned for EM's nomination successfully and received the necessary acknowledgement from the Nobel Prize committee Secretary soon after... but the nomination was confirmed only in January 1995. EM passed away on 16 January 1995.]

40, Guernsey Grove, London SE24 9DE
March 1, 1991
[Note: All through these reproductions of correspondence between Eric Mottram and myself, texts appearing within square brackets -of course- are my own interpolations to elucidate brief specific allusions and references made by EM. ]

Dear Wignesan,

Once more I am indebted to you for your consideration and kindness - and again it is within "Paris". This will be a rather rushed letter - I have been spending some time copying put/revising two large books of poems for both Paris possibilities, and where I am off to in a couple of hours this morning: the Basil Bunting Birthday Greeting celebrations at Durham University - I have the honour of being asked to read my poems there - and an ex-student of mine, Peter Makin, will be giving the key paper on Bunting, from his book on the great man, the first book. Preparing poems written over a year and a half - all of 1990 and the first two months of 1991 - has been as usual a pretty strenuous business. And there is another book in preparation! a sort of extension and radical addition to Interrogation Rooms, [underlined] and therefore not a pleasant activity entirely... Also I'm doing a catalogue essay on British Landscape painting, with particular reference to southwest Wales and an exhibition in Tenby, Dyfed, this summer. As well as finishing the Sufic-tawil [underlined] essay... and so on. It's called "retirement".

I certainly did not expect you to produce such a welcome and take such pains. But I am certainly glad. I've booked a British Airways plane for March 13 - BA 308 - 11.05 from Heathrow arriving in Paris 1330 - any chance you could pick me up again ? That would be terrific. Thanks for booking the hotel, and for arranging the George Whitman [Shakespeare & Co.] reading - I had hoped for my new book of poems: Season of Monsters [underlined] (Writers Forum press) to be ready, but it is still printing, but I'll read from it anyway. I wouldn't mind reading at Attica, if you want me to - I rather enjoyed that evening, [in February 1990] sparsely populated though it was. Incidentally, my friend the poet Pierre Joris [originally from Luxembourg] phoned from San Diego, California, the other evening, and he suggests my contacting his friend at Village Voice [bookshop at 6, rue de Princesse, 75006 Paris] Odile Hellier - perhaps it would be worth it. (rue Princesse ?) [EM forgets that I had arranged a reading for him there in February 1990 but, unexpectedly, the same Lady rather violently cancelled the reading without giving a reason...]

Your dinner party [with EM as the guest of honour and described in a previous posting] sounds likely to be a great event. Just arrange anything else you want to - I'll go along with it [drove EM to visit the Cathedral at Chartres and back, including a day-long visit at the Pompidou Arts Centre] - and I must say, not to have to lecture at the Sorbonne will give some time to other things this time - not that I didn't enjoy that part immensely last year.

As for Darras [Professor at the University of Picardie, Amiens, who arranged the visit on a British Council ticket - a first for EM !], so far all I have is his phone call ! I forget whether I told you what that occasion is: to talk about contemporary British poetry - address: 10 (or maybe 19 - my scribble is not too good - rue Charles V - it's in the Marais, not far from the Picasso [Museum], station Saint-Paul - staircase C, room C28 - and I don't even know what this place is ! Oh, well, he'll probably phone or write. I must say it is good to be invited but even better to be invited back ! (I've booked the return plane for British Airways 323 March 16 at 20.40)

One thing: do you remember that American Yugoslavian retired professor of slavonic languages at the University of California,who came to my readings, etc., and to Whitman's Sunday tea - name of - I think - Radoyce (that was how it sounded -) - I'd like to see him again - would that worry you ? [The man here got into trouble with his divorced wife who had him "kicked out" of her apartment/house for occupying the place without her permission.] George Whitman may know his address - like a fool, I forgot to take it - I have a feeling I did, and have mislaid it.

Re the Shakespeare and Co. book [Fire Readings: that I got EM to edit - after the selections made by R. Hallward, D. Applefield and myself ]: the news is not good, I admit, but I am, I suppose, committed to it. As for the British poems missing - I am not surprised: no one has asked me for mine, and so I suppose no one has asked the others ! [EM fails to understand that only poems read during the 72-hour non-stop reading sessions - organized by Richard Hallward - at Paris, London, Boston and New York - were up for selection and inclusion.] The whole thing really is a disgrace - still, let's hope it pulls through. Richard Hallward and I got on OK when he visited me - I hope he reported as much to you ! [ I arranged the meeting in order for them to talk over things outstanding on the book.]

Issue 2 of the Journal [underlined: Journal of Comparative Poîétics]: I'm guilty here alright...apologies, but I'll get to it ... Clive Bush's article is for the Festschrift [underlined] on yours truly, coming out soon - but the one he did before that, on poetry alone had a tiny circulation, and the printing of it was appalling: I think he may well be glad to have it done again, properly - I felt quite well about it - and also he might well like to bring it up to date...[which I published in my JCP, Vol. 1, Nos.2 & 3]

The Nobel affair: I hope I didn't give the impression of anything more than startled surprise, and my usual shrinking violet stuff. [Yes, I campaigned for EM's nomination successfully and received the necessary acknowledgement from the Nobel Prize committee Secretary soon after..... but the nomination was confirmed only in January 1995. EM passed away on 16 January 1995.] I took it as part of your astonishing enterprise on my behalf, and I know Peterjon and Jasmin [EM's North & South publishers] were both astounded and pleased when I told them. Sorry about the Swedish Academy cheque, though - I would certainly have bought you [underlined] a new car, rather than George Whitman a pair of pants (your suggestion)...

OK - I must now rush off to the station....
Many thanks once again -

Yours,

Eric

(c) T. Wignesan - Paris: 1991-2023