Into the World’s Great Heart: Selected Letters of Edna St. Vincent Millay

In this collection of letters by renowned American poet Millay (1892–1950), editor Jackson (Selected Poems of Edna St. Vincent Millay: An Annotated Edition) enlarges upon the only previous collection of the poet’s correspondence, Allan Ross Macdougall’s 1952 volume. Although Millay called herself an “epistophobe,” claiming that she couldn’t write letters, she could and did, turning out witty and insightful missives to family, friends, lovers, professional contacts, and political figures, from age eight until just before her death 50 years later. Recipients included poets Elinor Wylie and William Rose Benet, literary critics Edmund Wilson and Alexander Woolcott, artist Georgia O’Keeffe, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Filled with slang, playful language, and humor, the letters reveal Millay’s multifaceted inner life and its correlation with her work. Topics include social justice, support for the United States during World War II, concern for the physical appearance of her published works, gardening, her many illnesses, and her love of racehorses. The book includes a foreword by Millay’s literary executor, Holly Peppe, and a list of well-known poems by others that Millay wanted to memorize.