Part of a collection of letters from John Steinbeck to Alicia Patterson Guggenheim, written from New York and during his travels in Ireland, England and Israel in 1965-1966. Alicia had died in 1963, and Steinbeck wrote the letters in this series as a weekly column for Newsday. She was the editor and publisher of Newsday from 1940 until her death in 1963, and Steinbeck addressed his letters "not ... to someone who is dead, but rather to a living mind and a huge curiosity" (see MA 2519.39). Letters in the collection have been cataloged individually; see collection-level record for more information.
Typed on Newsday letterhead stationery.
Assuring him that contributing a once-a-week column to Newsday would not be "like the chore that is given to most columnists who write three or five a week" and reminding him that his column would be on any topic he liked; remarking that a weekly column by Steinbeck would not only bring prestige to Newsday, but also give him "the greatest personal pleasure" since his wife Alicia so cherished Steinbeck's earlier contributions to the paper. Outlining the usual financial arrangements with syndicate contributors.