Writer and famed literary critic Edmund Wilson wasn’t a fan of giving interviews, doing any kind of editorial work, reading manuscripts, and a number of other things according to a printed response to “a student group asking him to do a reading” recently posted at Crooked Timber.
The note “breathes of another world,” though it does prove that Wilson did have his price: “I don’t give readings either unless I’m offered a very large fee” is handwritten above the header, which reads “Edmund Wilson Regrets That It Is Impossible For Him To:” and is followed by a list of things the author would presumably not do (“donate copies of his books to libraries”).
Russell Jacoby points out that “Wilson could live from his writings (although he skipped paying income taxes [ed. note: some argue he didn’t pay in protest of the Cold War]),” but asks “how many can do this nowadays?”
(via The Book Bench)
