Letters

John Steinbeck wrote about Sag Harbor:

“Out here I get the old sense of peace and wholeness … and it seems to be getting into my work. I approach the table every morning with a sense of joy.”

“I grow into this countryside with a lichen grip.”

“I really love it out here. Am going to winterize this little house so I can come up when it is cold. I haven’t felt so good in years. … We love our little place on Long Island.”

“The place I bought is not one of the great old houses but a beautiful little point of land on the inland waters, a place called Bluff Point, with its own little bay.”

“… to go out to my little house on the point, to sharpen fifty pencils and put out a yellow pad. Early in the morning to hear what the birds are saying and to pass the time of day with Angel (Charlie’s successor) and then to hunch up my chair to my writing board and to set down with words — Once upon a time …”

Maybe some of his words could go onto a plaque at Steinbeck Park.

Jim Marquardt

Sag Harbor