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J.D. Salinger trove lies unpublished in Firestone
Published: Wednesday, February 11th, 2009
For readers raised on author J.D. Salinger’s “Catcher in the Rye,” one narrative about the Caulfields just isn’t enough. For these people, though, there is hope.
Firestone Library’s Department of Rare Books and Special Collections houses ...
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The fact that any serious Salinger scholar isn't aware of the Salinger boxes at Firestone is laughable. Also, "An Ocean Full of Bowling Balls" and some of the other stories at Firestone have more to do with Salinger's short fiction and less to do with The Catcher in the Rye than this article says. Finally, the real value at Firestone beyond reading stories Salinger didn't want published is getting a glimpse of the author through his letters. I would have expected better reporting and better reporting from the folks at Princeton and I'm proud to say that at NYU Salinger scholars would not make similar mistakes. Will Hochman
I would like to offer a brief word on the history of Firestone’s unpublished Salinger stories as well as an intriguing possibility.
In early 1946, Salinger signed a contract with Story Press to publish a collection of his short stories. Story then assembled nineteen Salinger works they intended to include into the collection – a book that was never released. Nine of those stories were and remain unpublished. In 1959, Salinger asked that two of the pieces be returned to him, leaving seven. Yet today, the archives of Story Press contain only five.
I would advise Firestone curators to be watchful for at least one more Salinger story in their possession, perhaps misfiled for many years.