March 27, 1936

Dear Herbert:

Your 'Hymn' has gone on to the printer with the rest of the contents.

With regard to the competition, the asterisk placed at the head of a poem indicates that the poem is non-competitive. That rule was made at the beginning to eliminate unfairness in a race, say, between a writer like Roberts and some new unknown youngster from a back concession. Of course it is entirely at the option of the contributor. Audrey Brown remained in with the first issue as she is young and needy, but she is starred in the present one because she won a prize in the first. Theodore Goodrich Roberts, Katharine Hale and I are appearing in the current number with asterisks but I think that not one of us with our short poems would win anyway.

Your 'Hymn' would probably win first prize by a group of disinterested critics because it is so substantial and elevated in treatment but so many of the judges are looking for satire today and would be apt to favour that mode. It is all a gamble. Do what you feel like, Herbert. Any choice you make will be perfectly acceptable to me. I am so glad to have that Hymn anyway.

Ned