Sir, – I have been shown an article by Rand Brandes on "Sorting Heaney's Study" (Online Books, May 18th); it ends with the suggestion that the material of Death of a Naturalist was rejected – "unread?" – by the Dolmen Press.
I was aware of all the early affairs of the Dolmen Press; I was aware of the proposed book by Heaney. Liam Miller was eager to add it to the body of poetry by new Irish poets gathering around the Dolmen Press. I had seen some of Heaney's early poems and knew he was important. And I have a clear memory of Miller's disappointment when Heaney asked for his book back. Miller's letter returning the book, reproduced from among Heaney's papers with the Brandes article, has been missing until now, despite much searching – even, it seemed, by Heaney (see his interview with Dennis O'Driscoll in Stepping Stones). It reads like what it was: a letter not rejecting a book, or returning it unread, but returning it reluctantly "as requested" (Brandes's words). – Yours, etc,
THOMAS KINSELLA,
Philadelphia.