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Lot 201
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Journalist John Reed dedicates poem to "famous Edna Ferber"
Journalist John Reed dedicates poem to "famous Edna Ferber"
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Description:

Reed John 1887 - 1920 Journalist John Reed dedicates poem to "famous Edna Ferber".

1pp poem written completely in the hand of journalist John Reed on "John Reed, 42 Washington Square South, New York" watermarked onionskin letterhead and initialed "J.S.R." at top verso. The 28-line poem is dedicated to Reed's correspondent, novelist Edna Ferber. In very fine condition with expected paper folds. There is a tiny hole at the intersection of the central vertical line and the top fold that barely affects two words found front and back. Measuring 8.5" x 11". Also accompanied by an inscribed envelope addressed to "Edna Ferber Esq., Hotel Lakota, Michigan Ave., Chicago Ill.", postmarked from New York on April 23, 1913, and with "The Crowell Publishing Company, 381 Fourth Avenue, New York" typed return address. Envelope bears 2 cent red Washington stamp and is inscribed "John Reed" by different hand in blue ball point pen verso on flap. In very good condition yet with overall browning, measuring 6" x 3.375".

Here, Reed composes a faux paean to his pal Edna Ferber, with an irresistible tone of snarkiness and self-effacement. He demonstrates a creative command of language while following an unusual AABCCCB rhyming pattern. Reed sometimes spells phonetically to achieve a desired effect, and even incorporates Gaelic into the poem to fulfill his rhyming schema. The result is fun, imaginative, and ingenious.

"Famous Edna Ferber! / Still your words remember - / are within my breast! / You, whose slightest flivver / 's featured on the kivver / (Though I try foriver / Better than my best!) / Since your gracious praises / Gilded my poor phrases / It has been some time - / Do not think me frigid / Weeks I pondered, rigid, - / Biting of my digid, / Hunting for a rhyme. / You have made immortal / My unthinking chortle / *Mavourneen, ochone! / By your sprightly verses / Flatt'ring, and what worse is / (Twenty thousand curses!) / Better than my own! / How can I reward you - / I, who can't afford you / Glory that was Greece? / Here's a proposition. / In next edition / (Photographic vision) / You, as frontispiece!

J.S.R.

P.S. Send the photo now.

*Celtic Revival stuff"

John Reed (1887-1920) died of spotted typhus in Russia at the age of thirty-two, curtailing an already established and sensational writing career. The Oregonian attended Harvard University from 1906-1910, becoming interested in left-leaning politics and eventually social activism. Reed radicalized in 1913, the year this poem was written, after an arrest following a demonstration on behalf of New Jersey silk mill workers. He then served as a war correspondent during the Mexican Revolution, World War I, and the Russian Revolution. In the years preceding his death, Reed became increasingly active in the international Communist community. His reference in the poem to the Celtic Revival movement shows that he was aware of Irish nationalism.

Edna Ferber (1885-1968) hadn't yet hit it big in 1913. This novelist, playwright, and short story writer published a story called "Roast Beef, Medium" in 1913 but her hits "So Big" (1924), "Showboat" (1926), and "Cimarron" (1929) enjoyed tremendous success much later. Since John Reed and Edna Ferber were both writers with New York connections, they probably befriended each other in one literary circle or another; Ferber later belonged to the Algonquin Round Table. Ferber's progressive storylines and strong female protagonists probably appealed to the left-leaning Reed. As the poem illustrates, Reed was even a little jealous of Ferber's writing ability and her commercial success.

An outstanding poem showing Reed at his comical and literary finest!

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