"Going with me to England, think it all over carefully" Read the full letter
| Letter Reference | HRC/OliveSchreinerLetters/OS-JohnHodgson/79 |
| Archive | Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas, Austin |
| Epistolary Type | Letter |
| Letter Date | 1 July 1915 |
| Address From | Kensington Palace Mansions, De Vere Gardens, Kensington, London |
| Address To | |
| Who To | John Hodgson |
| Other Versions | |
| Permissions | Please read before using or citing this transcription |
| Legend |
The Project is grateful to the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, the University of Texas at Austin, for kindly allowing us to transcribe this Olive Schreiner letter, which is part of its Manuscript Collections. The date has been written on this letter in an unknown hand. The letter is on printed headed notepaper.
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1Telephone: 3675 Kensington.
2Telegrams: Apartment, London.
3
4Kensington Palace Mansions & Hotel,
5De Vere Gardens, W.
6
7Dear Mr Hodgson
8
9Thank you very much. I shall not be free next Saturday or Sunday, but
10will be the next. I think the afternoon is the best time. I don’t
11leave my room till 1 o’clock, & the late evening is so delightful on
12the river.
13
14No I won’t revise your play. I loath criticizing or or discussing
15with them anything any one else writes, as ^much as^ I would loath their
16criticizing or dis-cussing my work. They can do it as ^much^ they like,
17but not to me! You see it puts one in a horribly painful position –
18either one must lie, which I will not do; or, one must cause intense
19pain & seem rude, which I cannot bear -, I will not do either. – why
20should I have to do either? If your asked me to sew buttons on your
21coat, or bake you some bread or nurse you if you were ill – I would
22do it gladly; but I will not criticize either your thoughts, or your
23writings.
24
25If ever you produce a real original work of art you will not want any
26ones criticism or any ones opinions; you will paint the picture as you
27saw it in your brain, or write down the words as you heard them sing
28to you in your heart. Art is not created by willing; it springs up
29within the being ^of the artist^ & reveals itself to him.
30
31No one can tell him what he only heard & saw!
32
33Good bye
34Yours ever
35Olive Schreiner
36
2Telegrams: Apartment, London.
3
4Kensington Palace Mansions & Hotel,
5De Vere Gardens, W.
6
7Dear Mr Hodgson
8
9Thank you very much. I shall not be free next Saturday or Sunday, but
10will be the next. I think the afternoon is the best time. I don’t
11leave my room till 1 o’clock, & the late evening is so delightful on
12the river.
13
14No I won’t revise your play. I loath criticizing or or discussing
15with them anything any one else writes, as ^much as^ I would loath their
16criticizing or dis-cussing my work. They can do it as ^much^ they like,
17but not to me! You see it puts one in a horribly painful position –
18either one must lie, which I will not do; or, one must cause intense
19pain & seem rude, which I cannot bear -, I will not do either. – why
20should I have to do either? If your asked me to sew buttons on your
21coat, or bake you some bread or nurse you if you were ill – I would
22do it gladly; but I will not criticize either your thoughts, or your
23writings.
24
25If ever you produce a real original work of art you will not want any
26ones criticism or any ones opinions; you will paint the picture as you
27saw it in your brain, or write down the words as you heard them sing
28to you in your heart. Art is not created by willing; it springs up
29within the being ^of the artist^ & reveals itself to him.
30
31No one can tell him what he only heard & saw!
32
33Good bye
34Yours ever
35Olive Schreiner
36
Notation
A play by Hodgson, who seems to have published his more literary writing as Lawrence Hodgson and his engineering work as John L. Hodgson, has not been traced.
A play by Hodgson, who seems to have published his more literary writing as Lawrence Hodgson and his engineering work as John L. Hodgson, has not been traced.