Lincoln, Nebraska 68505
November 1, 1972
It was a real joy to hear from you again after all this time; it really has been a long time since any word passed between us. I have thought of you many times but of late I am writing very few letters.
When your letter arrived it just happened that Hilda had driven from Columbia to Lincoln and she shared the pleasure of hearing from you. Perhaps you know that she is a lawyer practicing in Columbia. I am sure she will be writing you if she hasn't done so already.
It's good news that you like my latest book. I think you do very well indeed in expressing your feeling for the book, and I am greatly pleased with your thought of it. I am working on the adult volume of my autobiography and I think I have better than a half of it completed. It takes on a very different character from that of the boyhood and youth volume, since it is of necessity much more objective. The various episodes tend to become actual essays or short stories about experiences that I have had.
I wonder if you know about the popularity of BLACK ELK SPEAKS. The book has sold surprisingly over all the United States and in Europe. It is published in eight foreign languages and we have just received a copy of the British edition published in London. The first printing of the Pocket Book edition was placed on the market in middle April. There were 200,000 copies in this printing. By the 5th of May 50,000 more had been printed and sold. I have had no report since then, but the sale has been phenomenal. It is curious how the book survived after forty years. For nearly a generation it was dead, and then it was rediscovered in Switzerland by a group of German scholars, Carl Jung being one of them.
This is my principal news. I was very glad to hear that you are well and I judge from your letter you are happy. It is really too much trouble to be unhappy, isn't it?
It just occurred to me that you may not know about my teaching at the University of Missouri. I began teaching at the age of 68 and kept on until I was 85. I stopped then only because of my eyes which don't read as well as formerly.
Well, bless your heart, and do tell me more.
John G. Neihardt
