Reel-to-Reel Tape 01 Side B -- Carson McCullers dictating letters

MC298-5-1-001b

Reel-to-Reel Tape 01 Side B -- Carson McCullers dictating letters

December 1963

Reel to Reel Tape

Carson McCullers dictating a letter to Marielle Bancou (1921-2015) for about 1 minute and 10 seconds, during which Carson tells Marielle that Mary [Mercer] had given her a Dictaphone, then corrects herself to "a talking machine" for Christmas. "Ernest, a precious boy who lives upstairs, is helping me to run it." Then there is a 1 minute 10 second gap before Ernest, presumably, says "the machine will now record" and asks Carson if she would like to recite a poem. She recites two, one with the phrases "Nothing resembles nothing, yet nothing is not blank. It is configured hell" and "Of ticking clocks on winter afternoons". Then another minute of silence.

Then at about 4 minutes in, Carson resumes dictating the letter to Marielle. She tells again about receiving the tape recorder from Mary Mercer and says she hopes is will help her with her writing and to not be self-conscious and able to record her works. She goes on to ask Marielle to help arrange an exchange of Mary's house in Nyack for a house in Paris for a summer or six months. "You're wonderful at doing things like that, darling. When are you coming back here darling? I just miss you so much when you're away. Ida [Reeder] sends you her love and to Pascal and, of course, so do I." "Your little snow white". Then there is an aside to someone to whom Carson says, "She used to call me 'My little snow white' ".