one of the earliest poems in my forthcoming collection Blossoms (NightBallet Press) is "Roses and Onions" (1963). it's dedicatd to one of my favorite authors as a child -- Jean Bothwell (1892?-1977). I reference two books of hers The Promise of the Rose and Onions Without Tears.
I believe I was 11 when I read my first Bothwell book Star of India. I wrote to her & it was one of my first literary correspondences. those letters are part of my papers at Kent State.
I finally met her when I went to NYC in 1962 & visitd again the following year. on one of those visits I took this photo of her.
she was generous to me & important in my beginnings as a writer. she gave me at least one original Margaret Ayer illustration from one of her books. & when I came to her apartment she fixd dinner using one of the recipes from her famous 1950 onion cookbook (which I still have).
I have no idea if any of her books remain in print or if children still read her. but she was important to me.
I believe I was 11 when I read my first Bothwell book Star of India. I wrote to her & it was one of my first literary correspondences. those letters are part of my papers at Kent State.
I finally met her when I went to NYC in 1962 & visitd again the following year. on one of those visits I took this photo of her.
she was generous to me & important in my beginnings as a writer. she gave me at least one original Margaret Ayer illustration from one of her books. & when I came to her apartment she fixd dinner using one of the recipes from her famous 1950 onion cookbook (which I still have).
I have no idea if any of her books remain in print or if children still read her. but she was important to me.
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