Dear Jay?

More than a year ago, I purchased a copy of James Joyce's "Ulysses" from a local antique shop. The edition I found was published in 1946 by Random House's "The Modern Library" series, and while holding it in my hands that day, I decided that it was the version of "Ulysses" that I wanted to someday read. When the book showed up on the syllabus for my British Literature class this past fall, I was excited to put my esteemed copy to use. Apart from the actual pleasure or reading the assigned book was an old letter I discovered about midway through the text (somewhere near the "Calypso" episode), from Sue to someone named Jay, or perhaps the more mid-19th-century name Gay. After consulting a handful of friends, it was decided that the owner of the book must be in fact Sue, who authored the letter to J/Gay but neglected to send it, for whatever reasons, nesting it instead inside the unfinished edition of Joyce's novel.

As for dating the letter, I have tracked down the most accessible external reference, that being Sue's mention of the movie "Carousel" (although she misspells the word), which, according to the International Movie Database, was Rodgers and Hammerstein's romantic musical starring Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones, among others. Released on February 16, 1956, "Carousel" was nominated for awards by the Writer's Guild of America and the Director's Guild of America. At any rate, this puts the date of the letter's authorship at roughly late winter or early spring in 1956, when the desegregation of schools was still a hot issue and when Elvis Presley and Marylin Monroe had just begun making waves.

The only other external reference I could pin down was Sue's reference to "Ole Denison," which I take as a reference to Denison University in Granville, OH, just a short drive from where I grew up. Denison University still has a Tri Delta sorority (as Sue mentions in the letter), but I couldn't find any online records capable of leading me to the identity of Sue, J/Gay, and her friends. Ironically, the only Google search item that directly corresponded was an antique postcard of the Tri-Delta sorority house at Denison University, dated from a decade before the letter I have.

I've included the text of the letter below, having rendered it as closely as possible to the original, which includes the misspellings and the Emily-Dickinson-like use of hyphens as all-'round punctuation marks. There are in fact many quirks in the letter (a handful of which I've noted), and it is interesting to see the ways in which I am forced to approach the letter as an artifact from a time and a place--even a culture and a lifestyle--much different than my own.

---

(page 1)

Dear Jay,

I can't find any other paper so
you'll have to put up with this--

The place doesn't look any
different- except Skippy who has
been clipped- he looks like a
little lion- his tail is -> * I
think he's a little embarassed
about it all.

(My?) passed everything so he'll
graduate but Donny's not doing
so well--He's a nervous wreck--

I was wondering if you'd do
me a favor--get the $20 check
from Sandy Yates--go to bank
& cash it--forget it--then go to
Ileen Dunkin's & buy one of those
little seed dolls that are under
glass & and have them send it air
mail or something--It's for
Mom for Mothers' Day.

Also would you send me
the Student directory with the
tri delt grades. I put them in
there next to the girls names

(page 2)

I talked to Judy- She said Occi
wasn't home yet- She also
gave me some words of
advice--"If I play my cards
coolly I can have Occi for
the summer!" Isn't that
sweet of her--Well I'm not
going to play my cards
coolly and If Occi wants to
take me out--O.K.--if not
their are plenty of other
fish around here.

How's everyone-there- say
"Hi" for me.

I don't know when we're
moving to the beach- Any
chance that you can come
down before you start work-
It's kind of cold around here
but it would still be fun-
I wish you'd go back to Ole
Denison next year. Did you
ever find out who mystery-
man was- the one that
came to visit you- or was
it the same one who called.


(page 3)

Went to the movies last night
with (My?) and Duck boy- we
sat around eating crackers
and "trinken" beer. Tell
Dick Huffman- we saw "Carosel"
It was great- the boys laughed

Bud gets home today so
Judy is jumping around- Oh
Well-

Well had**- Write and have a
ball.

If you want you can also
have them send that beach
towel- out of the $20.

Thanks-
love-
See Ya Soon-
Sue


* helpful illustration of Skippy's hairdo:


** this could be the word "had," but the capitalization makes me wonder if it's something like "Hap"--perhaps a nickname?