A master’s reminiscences …

… A Viking Cruise for Old English Majors | City Journal. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Hall’s book is subtitled Reminiscences & Opinions for good reason—it is rich in anecdotes. Hall says that Frost ridiculed verse without meter: “I’d just as soon play tennis without a net.” Dylan Thomas liked a huge breakfast. “He was an eater when he was not drunk.” In a 1948 letter, Eliot wrote, “Mr. Hall, I wish that you would date your letters.” Hall took the advice. “I dated every letter, note, and postcard I have written since.”