You Come Too

“The Pasture”, an uncharacteristically sweet poem of Robert Frost’s—one of the handful given to grade school children to read—ends each of its two stanzas with the line, “You come too.”

Frost wrote of cleaning a spring and tending to a new calf—“You come too”—with the promise that it wouldn’t take long, that hint of the over-busy world to which we all belong.

Now I’m asking you, my able and loyal readers, to “come too” as I head into yet another revision of my biography, Doris Duke: The Invention of the New Woman. Originally set to be published in 2016, it is now delayed till October, 2018, which will make this a seven and a half year labor, two and a half years of that time spent dealing with my editor’s deletions and questions.

I plan to furnish you with some of the paragraphs I may have to delete—I will try my best to hold onto them, but it may simply not be possible. As all of us writers know, the big publishers hold all the cards, avoiding accepting a manuscript they’ve commissioned, formally, which means the second installment of my advance will not be paid for another two years—and the first installment came through more than five years ago and is, of course, long since spent.

I'm asking you, my able and loyal readers, to “come too” as I head into yet another revision of my biography on Doris Duke. Originally set to be published in 2016, it is now delayed until October, 2018.

This is one of the reasons writers can’t survive, economically and, it sometimes seems, spiritually.

Also, because this length of time between books is too long for my readers to have any sense of continuity, or to know that I am always writing, with new short stories hot off the griddle, I’m going to begin to publish one of these unpublished works here on my blog, in the hope that it will furnish all of you with a little sustenance during this long wait.

I am fortunate to have a publisher at all. I am blessed to have readers who will, perhaps, wait till the fall of 2018 to read the book they’ve been hearing about for a long time.

Comments

Sallie, I am sorry to hear about your publisher’s truculence, but delighted to hear you’ll give us the out takes! I will take better care of myself to be sure I’m around for the 2018 release. “Anticipation….,” as the song goes.

We – at Shangri La – Doris’ home in Honolulu have been waiting, waiting for this book to be published. We recognize her value. And, the value of Shangri La’s outstanding collection of Islamic Art. We wish you well. And, we stay tuned for progress with the publication. Yes, please share whatever information is edited. Doris’ Shangri La offers education and inspiration in the World of Islamic Art. Doris Duke is an inspiration for many guests at Shangri La.

I don’t know if you will see this, it is in an old post. I was just re-read reading Moving Beyond Words and came across your name. I can always use another role model in this world. This post was one of the suggested links, and ‘You come too’ is what drew me in – that line from that poem is one that has always resonated with me. I’m so glad to see someone else using it.