2 7 P C
5th Nov 74
My dear Derek,
Many thanks for your very helpful
letter. I took your point right away :
that this poem is not consonant with the
others. There is too much of me in it and
not enough of Fox (the simplistic think
that I am Fox,but you know I'm not and
indeed am attracted to characteristics in
him precisely because I haven't them).
I'll think your points over carefully. The
final arbiter will of course be Peter
Fallon in whose judgment I have a good
deal of faith. I am very glad you made
these criticisms. But of course the poem
is not intended to be integral to the body
of the sequence. Might be better to scrap
it. We'll see.
Robt Harbinson (Roy's "Harpingsong"
- he wrote "Song of Erne") writes infatig-
ably,entertainingly and as egotistically as
he knows how. Quote:"When you go to stay
with Derek Stanford again,be sure to let
me know so that you can come over here for
a meal.... As a bribe (not,I hope,as a
deterrent!) I can assure you that I still
make homemade wine - 'it sounds good
