from USA Today:
"Williams wrote "About a Little Girl" in 1921 after diagnosing Michael and Carl Lund's mother with leukemia when she was 11. Along with his literary career, Williams had a medical practice in Rutherford, N.J.
Lund said Williams was a friend of his mother's family, and thought after reviewing medical tests that she was likely to die. The poem contrasts a happy, outgoing "angel" of a child with the death he believed would overtake her.
As it turned out, Williams' diagnosis was wrong and the child, Marian Macy, lived until 2002 — two weeks short of 92. The poem, which Williams signed with his initials, WCW, was passed from Marian's mother to Marian, then to her two sons."
"The poem, which has a misspelling in the word "balloon," will be published for the first time by the Southeast Missouri State University. Its contents are not being released until then."
full story here.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
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2 comments:
Oh Peter, thanks for posting this! I hadn't heard about it!
WCW's been on my mind lately. Just this morning I placed a hold on his autobiography at the library. This is wonderful and I love the idea of this poem framed on the wall for all those years.
best,
Kel
It's funny how all these "lost" poems are suddenly re-emerging. I keep hoping for a treasure trove of Sexton and Stan Rice to appear.
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