Exceptional matte-finish 7.25 x 9.25 close-up photo of the esteemed poet, signed and inscribed in fountain pen, “To John Ciardi, from, Robert Frost, in old friendship.” Double-matted and framed to an overall size of 14.75 x 16.75. In fine condition. Provenance: Tollett & Harman Autographs.
An established poet and the longtime poetry editor at the Saturday Review, Ciardi directed Vermont’s esteemed Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, a seminar routinely attended by high profile authors like George R. R. Martin, John Irving, Norman Mailer, and, its most frequent attendee, Robert Frost. Ciardi admired Frost deeply and often looked to the aging poet as a mentor. In a letter to Ciardi, dated March 3, 1956, Frost explains, ‘You read my poems. I read yours. You ask in yours if God loves you. By all the signs he is playing you for one of his favorite boys, professor, publisher, editor, lecturer, director, and accepted poet. We all love to watch you go it.’ As a friend and supporter, Frost encouraged Ciardi throughout his career, and would later deem him as ‘one of the hopes of American poetry.’ A wonderful portrait linking two men who helped elevate the standing of New England poetics.
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