[West, Nathanael]: Herbst, Josephine:

$1,500 · Offered by William Reese Company

[A Superb Series of Four Typed Letters, Signed, With Accompaniments, about Nathanael West to West's Biographer, Jay Martin]. A remarkable, detailed and closely typed sequence of letters, plus two associated supplements, totaling many thousands of words, written by novelist Joephine Herbst to Jay Martin, in the context of his work on Nathanael West The Art of His Life (New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1970), to date the authoritative biographical treatment of West. Herbst provides incisive and multifaceted recollections based on her acquaintance with West and his circle, ranging across a broad range of artistic, political and personal concerns. The fourth letter, which itself spans six full pages, is a detailed response after her close reading of a draft of Martin's manuscript, including praise, corrections, disagreements and other commentary, from the most particular to the most general. In several cases, Herbst sets out at considerable length to provide background on points she feels Martin has not quite understood, or which she feels could be expanded, particularly in the relation of West's, John Herrman's and her own relationship to progressive politics and so-called "proletarian" fiction. A four-page supplementary "Note on Erwinna Background," is particularly interesting in its treatment of issues affecting farmers in the area, labor agitation, West's involvement with farming, and as well her own and John Hermann's writing and travels in the 1930s.

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