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HARVARD UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
Barker Center - 12 Quincy Street - Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
ELISA NEW
Powell M. Cabot Professor of American Literature
Dear Woody,
Tel:
Fax
As I know Jeffrey has told you, I really enjoyed our conversation on the plane last spring about William
Carlos Williams's "This Is Just to Say." You offered a reading of the poem that seemed to me
completely persuasive and plausible and, yet, also, one that is not strictly dictated or delimited by the
lines themselves. These are lines that seem to me unusually open to divergent readings-- including, for
instance, a reading much more coaxing and seductive; another, much more defensive and manipulative;
another, much more about language itself as a mode of sharing. I left our conversation wanting to
explore with you the aggressive (or maybe mock aggressive) reading you gave, as well as the way this
poem, perhaps more than many, sustains so many readings. You helped me think about Williams's
poem as it seems in some ways more like a "script" than a poem, a poem written in such a way as to be
turned by different voices in different directions, a poem that might even be "directed" by the reader. I'd
love to hear you read the poem again and, if you are willing, to discuss it a bit with me on camera for my
upcoming Massive Open Online Course on American poetry.
To remind you, the course I'm working on is Poetry in America, one of three Humanities courses that
will be launched internationally by edX in the next 18 months. This free course will allow students of all
ages around the world to immerse themselves in the history, the art, and the interpretation of American
poetry. Using state of the art tools, the course will combine text, video, audio, archival materials, on site
historical narrative and interactive features, and it will have a companion book that docks with it. (I'm
writing that book now.)
As I'm asking you here, I am inviting other distinguished Americans to do short cameo readings and,
when they are willing, short discussions of the poem with me. Those who have already done tapings, or
have agreed to participate, include Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, Harvard President Drew
Faust, performer and activist Eve Ensler, journalist Michael Pollan, Tour de France champion Greg
Lemond, professor and PBS personality Henry Lewis Gates, (my husband!) Larry Summers, Rabbi
Moshe Waldoks, poet Martin Espada, playwright Tony Kushner, and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino.
We are now reaching out to Bill Clinton, Matt Damon, Natalie Portman, and John McCain, among
others, and feel confident that many will agree. I'm very much hoping that you will agree to join this
distinguished group.
HOUSE OVERSIGHT 029543
The poem I'm hoping you would read is one that we discussed, William Carlos Williams's iconic poem
"This Is Just to Say." The poem is copied below. There are, naturally, commentaries on it I could share,
if you wanted to read some, but you seem to have already thought about it quite a bit.
This Is Just to Say
I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox
and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast
Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold
Logistically, we are at your service. I would be happy to film you when I visit New York on October
24th. Or, I would love it if you would come visit Larry and me in Boston with Jeffrey. We could show
you and Soon Yi around Harvard, eat a big bowl of plums, and talk poetry. I would introduce you on
camera and you'd read, or recite, and we'd perhaps talk about the poem for a moment.
Thank you very much for considering this proposal. I admire you immensely and would feel honored to
bring you into this project.
Best,
Lisa New
HOUSE OVERSIGHT 029544