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to Mrs [Dorothy] Dudley Short, concerning her intention to organise a poetry recital at the Wigmore Hall, on behalf of the Arts and Letters Sectional Committee of the National Council of Women of Great Britain, for Aid to China, the first letter agreeing with the general principle but saying 'I don't think, however, that the Wigmore Hall is particularly good for poetry readings. It is too big', and concluding later, 'I should be very imprudent if I consented to read my poems without knowing what other authors are to be invited to speak and who are likely to accept', the second weighing up the pros and cons of the Wigmore Hall and the Aeolian Hall and suggesting poets are chosen from a younger generation, 'Those amongst whom I was included at the Aeolian Hall were all poets whose reputations had been made twenty years or more ago. I think there might be more general interest now in a reading drawn from the works of the younger men of whom Stephen Spender, Day Lewis and Louis MacNeice are the available elders', referring to some of the poets she mentions that are not likely to be available, 'Aldous Huxley and W.H. Auden are in America and Harold Monroe has been dead for some years. I do not think that it would be easy to induce Siegfried Sassoon to come up from the country for anything of this kind. You might do best to get in touch with Stephen Spender who, incidentally, has the advantage of taking a sympathetic interest in Chinese affairs', Short's pencil notes at foot of letter, the third letter (not on Faber letterhead) apologising that he has been away on holiday in the New Forest and wanting to clear up some of the details of the readings, with one sentence added in holograph, a little soiled lower left, the fourth letter saying that everything seems satisfactory and hoping that the Chinese Ambassador and Lord David Cecil will accept, suggesting also that it 'seems to me rather a pity to issue a circular of the meeting until you can give them names of all the poets taking part but perhaps there is a special reason for this. As for how long each poet should hold the floor, that depends partly on how many poets there are altogether. When you have got all the poets I think the time should be divided up evenly between them and alphabetical order is probably the least invidious', and concluding 'When the time limit is fixed, people should be asked at least to time themselves conscientiously beforehand so that they will not over-run', Short's pencil notes upper right, all somewhat creased and a little frayed at edges with minor marks, pin holes to upper left corners, each one page, 4to - Quantity (4)