The Harry Ransom Center at UT Austin today announced two impressive acquisitions to its already massive collection: letters from cherished American playwright Tennessee Williams and equally cherished American novelist John Steinbeck.

The first, a pair of letters by Tennessee Williams, were written to his friend and former lover Pancho Rodriguez Gonzalez, who served as the inspiration for Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire.

The first letter dates to 1947 New York, just after Gonzalez's departure for New Orleans and just before rehearsals began for the Broadway production of "A Streetcar Named Desire." The typed letter, signed "Tennessee" to "Dear Pancho," is filled with details about Williams's living situation and their mutual friends... Within the letter Williams comments on how Gonzalez's life is much happier than his and remarks: "Self-pity: my out-standing virtue."

The second letter juxtaposes the lighthearted tone of the earlier one, in which Williams expresses relief that Gonzalez "arrived safely in New Orleans," "missed the hurricane" and is with his mother and sister. Williams updates Gonzalez on the local news of the past week since he left, describes the apartment he will move into shortly—and complains about his present dwelling—and talks about plans for the upcoming Broadway production. Williams also expresses shock at the price of rent in New York: "My rent here for the week is shocking - $156! - Two months rent in New Orleans."

Earlier today, the Ransom Center also announced that it had acquired 77 letters from John Steinbeck to Henry S. White, his close friend and business associate. The neatly handwritten letters, spanning a period between the fall of 1948 to late summer of the following year, chronicle a dark time in Steinbeck's life that was marred by the death of his best friend, Ed Ricketts, and his divorce from his second wife, Gwyn.

"The letters offer insight into Steinbeck's everyday life and his emotional state during this period," said Thomas F. Staley, director of the Harry Ransom Center. "They not only reveal Steinbeck's day-to-day activities and concerns related to the production company but also provide knowledge about his personal life, family concerns and emotional difficulties, financial troubles and his travels."

One of the letters reads:

"Right now my nerves are pretty bad. The discipline of the film held me down and now that it is done the lid is a little bit off. I think I must get back to work or violent play very quickly.

"There is no really valid reason for going to New York except the pleasure of seeing you and Betty and a few others. I still have a feeling of revulsion about the city which of course has to do with G[wyn]. That will take some time to get over. The cold blooded planning of that thing becomes more apparent all the time.... I'm kind of used up Henry and will be for a little while until I get ironed out inside. The scars are deeper than I thought."

The Ransom Center's existing Williams archive consists of over 75 boxes filled with letters, photographs, and newspaper clippings, and includes manuscript drafts for Streetcar and The Glass Menagerie. Its Steinbeck collection includes a manuscript of "East of Eden" and a daily journal that was kept in tandem with the novel's development, plus a similar journal for "The Grapes of Wrath" and early versions of "Tortilla Flat" and "The Pearl."

You can search the individual archives here:

[Steinbeck]
[Williams]