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Sincerely: Rare Emails and Letters of Russell Banks, Denis Johnson, Norman Mailer & More (PHOTOS)

Yours

Read some of the correspondence, electronic or otherwise, of novelists like Russell Banks and Denis Johnson.

Published Oct. 11 2012 4:45AM EDT

galleries/2012/10/11/sincerely-rare-emails-and-letters-of-russell-banks-denis-johnson-norman-mailer-more-photos/banks-mailer-letters-update-tease_yncdpj — AP Photo; Image courtesy of Harry Ransom Center

galleries/2012/10/11/sincerely-rare-emails-and-letters-of-russell-banks-denis-johnson-norman-mailer-more-photos/banks-mailer-letters-update-tease_oohrpx — Click on "Enter Fullscreen" to read some of the correspondences, electronic or otherwise, of novelists like Russell Banks, Denis Johnson, Norman Mailer, David Foster Wallace and more.
AP Photo; Image courtesy of Harry Ransom Center

galleries/2012/10/11/sincerely-rare-emails-and-letters-of-russell-banks-denis-johnson-norman-mailer-more-photos/letter-writing-banks-1990_xnikai — Russell Banks's letter to Stephen Banks, September 28, 1990.
Image courtesy of Harry Ransom Center

galleries/2012/10/11/sincerely-rare-emails-and-letters-of-russell-banks-denis-johnson-norman-mailer-more-photos/letter-writing-banks-2006_dz0v28 — An email from Russell Banks to Stephen Banks, May 7, 2006.
Image courtesy of Harry Ransom Center

galleries/2012/10/11/sincerely-rare-emails-and-letters-of-russell-banks-denis-johnson-norman-mailer-more-photos/letter-writing-banks-2007_aevuuo — An email from Russell Banks to Stephen Banks, April 9, 2007.
Image courtesy of Harry Ransom Center

galleries/2012/10/11/sincerely-rare-emails-and-letters-of-russell-banks-denis-johnson-norman-mailer-more-photos/letter-writing-johnson-1969_ioz5i3 — Denis Johnson's letter to his family in June 1969.
Image courtesy of Harry Ransom Center

galleries/2012/10/11/sincerely-rare-emails-and-letters-of-russell-banks-denis-johnson-norman-mailer-more-photos/letter-writing-mailer-1946_snkl7s — Letter from Norman Mailer to his parents, written while Mailer was stationed in Japan during World War II, dated March 10, 1946.
Image courtesy of Harry Ransom Center

galleries/2012/10/11/sincerely-rare-emails-and-letters-of-russell-banks-denis-johnson-norman-mailer-more-photos/letter-writing-phillips1_cjg0wy — Email between writer Jayne Anne Phillips and Tom Jenks, co-editor of the online literary publication Narrative Magazine, March 16, 2006.

This email details a lengthy exchange between Phillips and Jenks about an excerpt from Phillips's 2009 novel, Lark and Termite, which was published as "Language Immersion Seoul" in the Winter 2009 issue of the online literary publication Narrative Magazine. The publication process for this story was handled largely in the digital realm. The editorial exchange took place over email, where Phillips and Jenks conversed at length about questions and concerns related to the piece. They exchanged edited versions of the story over email, showing their changes and comments using the "track changes" function on word processing software. The completed story was released in a publication that exists only in an online format. Yet even though the publication of this story was primarily a digital affair, Phillips printed out paper copies of her email exchanges and multiple drafts of the story. It is this paper documentation that is preserved in Phillips's archive, which is held at the Ransom Center.

Image courtesy of Harry Ransom Center

galleries/2012/10/11/sincerely-rare-emails-and-letters-of-russell-banks-denis-johnson-norman-mailer-more-photos/letter-writing-phillips2_tzo0ps — Image courtesy of Harry Ransom Center

galleries/2012/10/11/sincerely-rare-emails-and-letters-of-russell-banks-denis-johnson-norman-mailer-more-photos/letter-writing-salter-april20_edrckt — A letter from James Salter to Ursula Sager-Regez, April 20, [ca. 1985].

Salter is a gifted correspondent, and his letters are often as lyrical and well crafted as his fiction. This letter, written to a former lover, echoes many of the sentiments explored in Salter's 1975 novel, Light Years.

Image courtesy of Harry Ransom Center

galleries/2012/10/11/sincerely-rare-emails-and-letters-of-russell-banks-denis-johnson-norman-mailer-more-photos/letter-writing-wallace-1985_f3awbu — Letter from David Foster Wallace to Frederick Hill Associates, dated Sept. 28, 1985, containing a chapter from Broom of the System. Bonnie Nadell collection. © David Foster Wallace Literary Trust
Image courtesy of Harry Ransom Center

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