Letter from John G. Neihardt to Lucile Aly, October 21, 1968

5835 Vine St.,
Lincoln, Neb.,
10-21-68 Dear Lucile:

I am hoping to hear from you again soon, and that you may have some better news about the general situation there.

Also, I am eager to see some more of the autobiography, Surely the last I saw was excellent.

I wanted to draw your attention specially to that description of my verse form in the Cycle. It's very important. I was surprised to note your defining my form as couplet. There are very few couplets in the Cycle, considering the fact that there are nearly 8000 [lines?] rhymes in the whole. Most of my effort in writing the verse was inavoiding couplets, by way of avoiding

monotony. You will remember Sterling's remark about this. He said: "The predictable predictable monotony never occurs". The statement made by the Chairman of English at Peru College is admirably direct and accurate: "It is blank verse with supplemental rhyme". And I add, "The verse unit is not the line, but the breathing length between verses." This is so little known, and there is so little real knowledge of verse technique abroad these days, that it constitutes a real contribution.

I've stood a lot of idiotic abuse because I was supposed to write in couplets (like Pope and Dryden! My God!)

I love you the same as ever. And pass some of my feeling on to Bower and old Stewart!

My book is thriving. I love it. Your book & mine will carry a big wallop!

— John N.